First off, after realizing how much repetition and how many man hours I will waste, I'm not going to bother uploading pictures to Blogger. All my photos are on Facebook, and since I'm friends with all of you on Facebook, it will just be easier to view them there. Whew. Now that that's over...
Last weekend, we visited a Buddhist temple buried in the mountains that was absolutely marvelous. Though I don't share the faith of those who worship there, my awe was just as genuine as theirs when we hiked up the hills to the various little temple buildings. The first temple we visited (note that we went to two distinctly different Buddhist temples in two very different regions over the course of two days) was built on the edge of a cliff, over-looking what the Koreans call the Eastern Sea (the Pacific Ocean to us). Between the smell of the sea and the glorious haze and the sea breeze, it was an overwhelming experience.
The architecture was beautiful and despite the persistent rain, the whole visit was nothing short of incredible.
After leaving the first temple, we visited a hugely popular cave... Hwanseon, I recall. It was enormous. I've never been into a cave like it... divided into dozens of caverns and at least thirty stories high in the middle, it was incredible. I managed to make it almost all the way through without slipping... until we reached the end. I placed my foot awkwardly on a slippery step and fell on my butt, leaving a nice waffle-like impression on the seat of my white shorts and startling people at the back of the cave with my shriek of horror. The slip itself didn't scare me... it was the twenty foot drop into the raging river right below me that did. Thankfully, I was only slightly humiliated and we managed to make it the rest of the way out without incident.
We stopped in the mountains for the night, staying at a cute little resort. We made it in just before a typhoon hit. It's monsoon season here, and heavy rain has become a part of my everyday life, for the present at least.
The next day, we took our time getting up and leaving, since the rain had not slackened at all. When we finally did venture out, we stayed in the car for the better part of the afternoon. We did stop at a second Buddhist temple, just as beautiful as the first one, but in a higher area, and away from the sea. This temple was wealthier, as displayed by the multiple gold Buddha shrines scattered around its premises.
All in all, it was a great weekend... I learned a lot about Korean Buddhism and the splendor of the Eastern mountains.
-B
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