Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Gangcheonsan - A Teacher Wellness Hike

This post could equally have been titled "The Day Upon Which Ally Discovered why Koreans do not believe in Outdoor Pools".

Last Monday marked the official end to the school term and the start of summer vacation. (Well, maybe not 'vacation' per say... Korean students don't really seem to get those, most of the students and teachers are still at school attending or teaching specialized classes. Thus, I've spent the mornings since at school running an Olympic-themed English summer camp for some of my students  (and being pelted with goo-balls, water balloons and any number of other things as part of the daily activities :D). It's been ridiculously fun and I've loved having the chance to wear shorts to work given the end of monsoon season and the extremely hot weather we've been having lately!). 

In celebration of the official end of term, all of the teachers were whisked off 1.5hrs northeast to the valley of Gangcheonsan (강천산) where we were fed an absolutely delicious lunch on the banks of the river. 

The river view.

A supremely yummy 'Chicken in Lacquer Stew'.
Our restaurant.
After eating our fill and honouring the teachers who will not be returning next term, it was time to head off on a hike. Possibly one of my favourite things about my school is the fact that my principal loves hiking.
Gangcheonsan itself offers a number of easy strolls along the valley bottom accompanied by stunningly picturesque waterfalls and a wonderfully lazy river perfect for swimming in - check out the pictures below.







While all of these things were wonderful, they were not my favourite part of the park. That honour goes to the fabulous suspension bridge seen below. Though there wasn't technically enough time to hike up to it, cross, and make it back to the bus for the designated meet up time. I had by that point, found my self hiking with the principal, vice principal and a number of the senior teachers - all of whom wished to climb and cross it as much as I did. And, hey, you can't be late if you're with the head of the school ;).


From the top, we spotted a lovely turquoise pool about half way up one side of the mountain and, of course, what else was there to do after a sweaty hike but check it out ;).


Meanwhile, back at the river, the fish are being fed a feast!
True Korean Wildlife!!!

Daegu & Surroundings!

A few weekends ago I decided to skip out on the famed Boryeong Mud Festival and hop on the 3hr30minute bus eastward to Daegu (대구). In addition to being Korea's 4th largest city, Daegu was my third choice (after Seoul & Gwangju) of potential places to live in Korea. This, combined with the fact that I have a number of friends living there, makes it fairly embarrassing that I had not yet been :P. That having been said, waking up at 5, deciding to go and hoping on a bus with no warning is not exactly conducive to meeting up with friends - I guess I'll just have to visit again sometime ;)! It is, however, conducive to random encounters with fellow travellers and the making of awesome new friends :).

The first thing I did upon arrival in Daegu was to hop on the subway heading toward a different bus station from which I could catch a bus heading 1.5 hrs back in the direction I had just come from. While this may seem a bit of a daft and counterproductive move, it is, in fact, one of the only ways to get to Haeinsa (해인사), one of Korea's most important Buddhist temples. Nestled mid way up in lush rolling mountains, this beautiful temple was originally built in the 9th century but has been renovated and reconstructed quite a number of times in the intervening centuries.


While it is a beautiful temple, that would not normally be enough to drag me so far out of my way given that there is such a profusion of temples in Korea. What Haeinsa is most known for, however (and what has led it's classification as a UNESCO world heritage site), is something far more notable than just beauty. It's the fact that Haeinsa is home to the Tripitaka Koreana, the oldest, most complete and accurate collection of Buddhist scriptures written in Chinese script.

One  of the four buildings that house the Tripitaka
Poster showing what the inside of the house would look like if photographs were allowed.

The Tripitaka is contained in 52,382,960 characters written on 81,258  70cm x 24cm, 2.6-4cm thick wooden printing blocks. They were first carved in 1087 but were destroyed by fire during the Mongol invasions of 1232. They were ordered re-carved by King Gojong shortly thereafter. This process took 16 years (from 1236-1251). These blocks were moved to Haeinsa in 1398, where they have remained to this day as the main reference source for Chinese speaking Buddhist monks and scholars.




After wandering around the temple area with my new-found travelling friends, it was time to head into Daegu to check out the city proper. Although I'd heard tell that Daegu was not exactly a pretty city, all of my impressions were to the contrary. Built on a fairly wide river, the city does seem to be a bit bisected, but it's lovely none-the-less. The city centre was nothing short of bustling. I was also duly impressed with the existence of a proper downtown. Gwangju is not exactly hicks-ville, but we have no true city centre, rather we have a collection of hot spots. Daegu, by contrast, has a properly pedestrianized and beautifully groomed shopping zone with markets and restaurants off to the sides!


Even a sudden drenching downpour didn't daunt my enthousiam for the city, and I loved the excuse to explore the winding back alleys that form the traditional markets. 

Cheapest & most delicious seafood pancake ever! 3,000won! These things are normally 10-15,000!
They even had a k-pop stage set up!
Post-performance
While wandering in hopes of encountering a foreigner bar where I could search out some friends and a place to stay for the night, I instead encountered fellow travellers (or in this case, fairly locally-based marines) with whom I wound up continuing to explore. Once they had returned to base, it was off to the jjimjilbang (찜질방), bath house, for me for the night. In randomly asking passing Koreans, I was directed to a place called 궁전 라벤다 (or Lavendar Palace) over near the express bus terminal (which I must say, is nowhere near as nice as Gwangju's though it did contain some interesting furniture - see below).

Need to work out while waiting for your bus? Daegu Express Terminal has you covered!

What a find that was! Not only did they have a DVD-bang (movie room), PC-bang (computer/gaming cafe), restaurant, noraebang (think Kareoke), mini-put & driving range (dead serious), they had a roof-top terrace! All of this, of course, to be enjoyed wearing your jjimjilbang-supplied bright orange loose shirt and shorts post-bathing. Making friends with the roof's other occupant (a fellow Gwangju-ite! Though a Korean one.) enabled me not only to escape the snoring old men sleeping elsewhere (jjimjilbangs, though cheap and awesome, rarely supply a restful night's sleep) but allowed for some great Korean practice accompanied by a dazzling view of the city (only 7th floor, but Daegu is hilly and surrounded by mountains on all sides) and a nice cool breeze. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of this experience as I felt awkward taking photos in a bath house...

While my initial intention had been to head out bright and early the next morning on a hike up to the giant stone Gatbawi (갓바위) Buddha located in Palgongsan (파공산) Provincial Park on the outskirts of Daegu, the overcast sky and pull of lounging in a pool proved too strong, and I wound up spending several additional hours soaking myself. While the Lavender Palace didn't seem to have too many oil pools, they did have a Dead Sea Salt pool (affording much less buoyancy than one might expect ;) ), a proper ice room (with huuuge sheets of ice on the walls), several saunas, hot pools and a cold pool done up as a grotto complete with stalagmites & stalactites (or at least this is what was found in the women's portion, no idea what was in the men's!). Oddly, while I had no problem with the ice room, all of the ajummas (middle aged Korean laddies) were snickering at how long it took me to coax myself into the cooler temperatures of that pool.

Once I did finally set off, the overcast skies provided the perfect hiking weather - definitely a necessity for that hike! I've never felt so out of shape on a hike before. It's only a 2km climb, but it's a 2km climb directly upwards! My one consolation was that all of the Koreans seemed to be as winded as I was :D.

Not even half way and already dying! First glimpse of a beautiful temple along the route.


A bit of a view through the mist.
Up at the top. I saw a number of older ladies trekking up with their goods for sale. They were all outpacing the rest of us. 
The lovely view from the top. I really need to learn to stop climbing in fog.

For contrast, here is a lovely photo taken by a friend a few weeks previous.
(Photo Credit: Lauriane Woollatt)

The giant stone Buddha.

A closer shot.
A shot of the mist on the way down.
Once back in Daegu, I had just enough time to check out the city's famed Oriental Medicine Market - though I must say, it's more like a long street of shops than it is a market. Never-the-less, it was neat to see the large quantities of interesting fungi, herbs, plants and animal parts. Perhaps more impressive is the sheer amount of ginseng present in the shops on those streets. I wonder how much it's all worth?

Ginseng!

Something spiky - anyone know what Eom Wood is? 
On the whole, a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. I definitely think I need to get back to Daegu at some point!

See, I told you it was a pretty city!

Friday, July 13, 2012

Cycling in Gwangju

Last weekend I (finally) managed to take advantage of some gorgeous weather and the need to run errands, and went on my first true bike ride around town since arriving here. Well... I suppose that's not entirely true. Having been so excited about finally acquiring a bike and the time to use it, I also went on a bike ride the weekend previous  - in the pouring rain (sorry Jason for dragging you along!). While monsoon season was due to start a month or so ago, it only truly started two weeks ago, just in time for me to insist on riding my bike :D. It was actually a great deal of fun (I rode in the rain plenty while living in England, but never in a true downpour!). It was not, however, conducive to taking pictures. This past weekend's ride was just the opposite, with gorgeous nearly clear skies allowing for some lovely photo ops. Check out the pictures below to see some of the sights I regularly see on my bus rides into town.

Gwangju proper from the West with Mudeung Mountain in the distance.

Looking southward along the main branch of the river. This is Sangmu or 'New Downtown' district of Gwangju. (I actually live quite close to the 'NewNew Downtown' District which is quite wonderful, but of which I, sadly, have no pictures since it seems to be raining whenever I go!)
Some lovely paths and parks along the river. One of the things I love most about Korea is that no space ever seems to be wasted. Parks, sports fields and outdoor workout stations fill any available spaces - including those located under overpasses!
Crossing the river into down town after it curves eastwards.
Northward toward some high-rises that seem to permeate every Korean city.
While I thoroughly enjoyed my ride into town, it was possibly one of the most harrowing rides I have ever undertaken. I live out on the west side in an area that is separated from the rest of the city by two arms of the river and the expansive area of floodplain between then. Rather than cycling the winding route along the river, I'd decided to take the more direct route along the roads. While the freeways and overpasses were quite comfortable to cycle, with wide and well maintained cycle paths, these all but disappear on the larger, non-freeway, roads and cycling becomes either a fight not to be run down by the buses (who I previously thought only had it out for motorists and pedestrians, nice to know they choose their targets in a fair and equitable fashion :P), a jungle expedition through thick tall grass, or a game of thread the bike through the cars parked up on the sidewalk (this latter route, though time-consuming, soon became my favourite). While I've been told by many cyclist friends that my normally 45min bus ride into town is much faster on a bike, this route took me nearly 1 hour and 30 mins! I'm not sure whether this is due to my inability to cycle rapidly, the thirty-some-odd degree heat (Celsius), the amount of times I stopped for photos or the fact that I have no gears on my bike. Non-the-less, it was a thoroughly pleasant ride.

After finally making it into town and running all my errands, I saw that I still had plenty of time until dusk and decided to check out some of the sights that I had here-to-fore not had the time to see. Chief of these was 5.18 memorial park in Sangmu, which celebrates the lives and deaths of the  hundreds to thousands (the death toll is not known) of Gwangju citizens (mostly students) who took up arms from May 18th to 27th in 1980 and died fighting for democratic rights for all Koreans. Known as the Gwangju Massacre, the event and the sacrifice of the martyrs is considered significant by all Korea, with May 18th established as a national holiday. It carries a special weight here in Gwangju where the incident occurred and where many people remember the event and victims personally.

The park itself is absolutely lovely (as any park celebrating life, liberty and perseverance really should be), with lovely monuments, bike and walking paths, fountains, workout stations and shrines. The atmosphere is also supremely friendly and warm, with people greeting one another and conversing with strangers. There was even an older man playing the accordion at one of the pavilions and a group of flute playing university students at another to complete the experience. It was almost impossible to remember that one was right in the heart of downtown!
5.18 Monuments


The monument from behind.
The pagoda atop the hill in the park.
A view from the pagoda toward the Northwest where I live, you can see the flood plains behind the buildings and the "New New Downtown" area even further behind.
Looking Southwest-ward toward the 'New Downtown Area'.
Looking to the East
To the East with Mudeung and Old Downtown. Check out the storm clouds rolling in.
The lovely pagoda and fountains at the base of the park.
Riding home along this route, I also had the opportunity to ride along the floodplains which, while not exuding the prettiest scent in the world, make for some beautiful scenery.



One of the other things I love about Korea is how friendly and welcoming everyone is. After rejoining the river for the final leg of my journey home, and just as my stomach was beginning to make itself known, I was waved over by two young families (with 3 lovely children each!) who were having a barbecue under a bridge. Inviting me over and sitting me down, they ensured I was well fed as we watched the sun set over the river, stuffing me with meat, beverages, mouth watering sea food, side dishes and desert (the children were insistent that I share their cookies and fruit). Such warmth is both incredible and normal. While I was a special guest in the sense that I was a foreigner and, so, the adults had many questions for me and the kids delighted in showing me their English, many passing Koreans were waved over as well and such sharing of food is a regular practice when eating outdoors. Love it!
  
The kids playing along the river.

The bridge after sundown.

Looking toward the Wolgok-dong/Hanam area at dusk.