Gyeryongsan National Park

On Father's Day, our local USO tour group went hiking at Gyeryongsan National Park, a mountainous park just northeast of us.  Prior to purchasing tickets, I asked David, the young man who works at the tour desk inside the USO, if he thought us old folks would have any problems on this hike.  David knows us pretty well at this point; I like their tours, and we kind of stand out:  we are often the most elderly participants on these adventures!  David's recommendation was to stop at the last temple because the final kilometer to the summit (2500 feet) was straight up.  Thank you, David, for the warning!!

 Here is Bill with backpack and hat and ready to trek (Korean borrowed word for hike) the mountain.

All of the national parks we have visited have cities or small towns/communities just outside their entrances.  Some areas have a commodity they are famous for--the ginger grown there or honey made there.  This community did not seem to specialize in any one thing, but some of the restaurants were beautiful.

Here is our group, ready to rock and roll.  I am in the center, wearing a hat.  Bill is in the back somewhere, hiding.








This is Vincent, our tour guide.  Korean men often wear capri length trekking pants.  Sometimes I will see men in town wearing these, too, and it always makes me take a second look.  Of all the different things I have seen in Korea, men in capris make me look twice.  I am not sure what that says about me.

The entrance into the park was so flat and deceptive of what was to come.  The beauty was consistent throughout our trip.

A Korean group was coming out of the park as we were going in.  We were there about 10 am, and the hike to the summit takes about 2 hours at a steady pace, so these folks got started early.  For most Koreans, 10 am is early, unless you are a farmer.

I just loved the railing on this bridge.  All of the parks we have seen thus far in South Korea have Buddhist temples, giving me the impression that parks are as much a worship area as they are a 'communing with nature' area.  The railings make the Buddhist-feel stronger.

This is the first temple, Gapsa.  There are a total of 4 temples in the 29 square mile park.  We saw 3.  The park is also known for endangered animals that live there.

It may be difficult to see, but center left of this photo is a Buddhist monk in traditional garb.  He is wearing a straw hat and there is a fellow just in front of him, making him look very large when in fact he is not.

 Inside one of the sanctuaries at Gapsa.  There were hundreds of little gold colored Buddhas all over the walls.

The inner courtyard at Gapsa.  It was a large temple.  Some sanctuaries are posted 'no photos', and I try not to take pictures while people are kneeling inside.  We may enter the temples, shoeless of course, and I have done that, but again, not if people are worshiping.

Small Buddhas on the outer wall of Gapsa where people place stones and ask for guidance in life.

It doesn't look that steep, does it?  Yeah, hike it when you are 50 plus, then let me know how steep it felt.

Some areas were packed dirt, most were rocky, and then there was this bridge of sorts, square rock pilings to walk over a creek.  Pretty cool.

Temple #2 has a name, but I am not sure what it is.  This temple had Buddha paintings adorning the walls.

Prayer requests hang from the ceiling.

On the floor to the left is a bag of rice...

and here are bananas and soju (rice liquor, like Golden Grain; you could run a vehicle on this stuff)  left as offerings.  The monks will take the food items and use in the monastery except for the soju unless there is a ceremony where alcohol is used.  Some sects of Buddhism do allow the monks to drink alcohol, but I do not know if any of the Korean sects do.

You know I was birdwatching at this point.  We got behind our group at the very beginning because I had zero intentions of keeping up with those folks.  Bill usually passed me when I stopped, then I would catch up.

Sometimes he would sit with me, and he helped me find a blue and white flycatcher I kept hearing at the creek.  It was right in front of us, very beautiful.

I also sighted a Varied Tit (like a chickadee back home but has a rufous body and buff on head/neck), Eurasian Nuthatch (like our red-breasted), and a Yellow Throated Bunting (I don't have a comparison for this one).  The park is known for having Ruddy Kingfishers during the spring and summer, but those birds are rare sightings these days.

Taking a break from trekking and birding.  Although the temperatures at the foot of the mountain were hot, the tree cover and elevation made it feel much less here.

OUR summit.  This is the last temple on this trail.  Bill had lunch at the base of the temple grounds while I walked up some more to explore.

It is just pretty and peaceful.  I saw the Yellow Throated Bunting here.

I kept walking up...

This is the highest sanctuary.  People were kneeling inside, so I did not take interior pictures.  











This is the view from my personal summit where the highest sanctuary building was located.  There was a small dirt trail going behind the sanctuary where a few people where going up more.  I was not so inclined, ha, ha.

On the main temple grounds, the sanctuary's theme was painted Buddhas.  Under the eaves where different Buddhas painted doing vairous tasks...

and inside were hundreds of miniature painted Buddhas.  I was told some were wooden and some were like paper mache. 

For those of us with bad knees, coming down a mountain can be as grueling as going up, but we made it.  I noticed at the bottom of the trail was this cistern.  The water comes from the turtle's mouth, and there are blue ladles to use for drinking.  I assume this is for the monks and not tourists.

 I could visit this park every day.  It was just that lovely.  And we ate some delicious squid pancakes after our trek!  Yum!  Not like breakfast pancakes, y'all, like savory pancakes with green onions and all the great side dishes with vegies and tofu.  Bill tried mahkuhlee (I am sure I am not Romanizing the word correctly), a carbonated rice wine.  I had tried it previously.  It really is pretty good, but is definitely for sipping.  I think it was a fabulous Father's Day although William may have a different opinion.  It certainly was one to never be forgotten!

Buddha's Birthday 2014

Buddha's birthday is a national holiday in South Korea.  The day varies because it is chosen with the Lunar Calendar, so this year it was May 6th.  It just so happens that May 5th is another national holiday, Children's Day, and with May 1st being celebrated here as a labor holiday, the first week of May saw many Koreans traveling and visiting family.  Bill and I chose to just stay home, not that he had any time off.  The Army suggested US citizens stay off the roads 1May to 6May.  The USO tour group we like to travel with also canceled all its trips for May because the country is observing this month in mourning for the victims of the ferry accident.  

There are two Buddhist temples in our town.  One is small and more central, the other is large and on the outskirts of town.

This is the entrance of the smaller temple.  It is behind some shops, sort of off an alley road.  The pink sign says Buddha Welcome Day meaning 'we welcome Buddha Day' or Buddha's birthday.  This is my translation, no one else's, so if your Korean is better than mine, cut me some slack.

There are two Buddha statues at the top of the stairs leading into the temple.  I had the dogs with me, so I was not about to go up the stairs.  Same with the big temple, I won't go through the gate with the dogs.

 This is the larger temple on the outskirts.  The day I took these pictures, I heard a monk chanting and using the percussion bowl you frequently see them playing.  It was quite pretty.

 I had Marie and Tweek with me, so we stood just outside the gate and listened.  Not long after, a young fellow comes out the gate, waving at me.  He stopped, looked down at the dogs and grinned such a big grin.  That was all Tweek needed, and her tail wagged and she pulled to get to him, but I know just because many Koreans like to see the dogs, they don't like to touch or be touched by them.

This fellow did not fall into that category.  He squatted down and held his hands out, so I let the leashes loosen, and Marie and Tweek proceeded to wag and sniff and be petted for several minutes.  He pointed and said, 'Girls?' and I said, 'Nae' (yes).  He stood up and said, 'Wait' and left.  He came right back with a bottle of orange juice and a can of coffee (very common and very yummy if you have seen but never tried) and held them out to me.  I had no money to offer him, but like a good guest I took them and said, 'Gam saham nee da' (thank you).  He pet the girls some more, stood up and waved, said, 'Bye'.  I said, 'Annyonghi kaysay yoh' (stay in peace) and bowed just a little since he was much younger than me.  He bowed more deeply since I am his elder, and replied, 'Annyonghi kahsay yoh' (go in peace).  We left, and since I was thirsty, I opened the oj and drank it quickly.  We got to the soccer field where there is a small park, and I stopped to sit and enjoy the can of coffee.  I let the girls off leash since it is a confined area, and Marie proceeded to take advantage of the sunny day and warm grass.                                                                      

Makes me think of Snoopy on the Peanuts cartoons.

                                                            Marie is everybody's favorite, but don't let the sweet demeanor and super cuteness fool you.  She is a dog bully, and pesters Pepsi nonstop.  She will pester dogs she doesn't know, too, until they fuss at her, then she cries like she has been mortally wounded.

 She is cute, though, and super sweet to people and kids.  She loves kids, whines and wags and pulls to see them which we can rarely do on the street since most Korean mothers would rather their children not be licked by whippets.

                                                     She does enjoy getting treats from
                                           the gas station attendants we see often.

 I should learn to glean such joy from simple things.

 I told her she had no shame, at which time she looked up at me as if to say, 'You're just jealous.'

Tweek not so patiently waited while I drank my coffee and Marie continued her rolling.  Naturally the border collie wanted to keep going so she could continue to urinate on the entire city.  She marks worse than any male dog I have ever owned, even raising her rear so she can get the urine vertical. 

We have also seen many flowering trees I cannot identify, not that I am much of a botanist.

The pictures don't do them justice.  The flowers are trumpet shaped, lavendar, in heavy clusters. 

 These flowers were easier to get to, so I could get a close up.  They are very, very sweet smelling, too. 

I found some gardenias in pots at the commissary on Yongsan, the army base in Seoul, so I bought them and planted them in my front yard.  Yes, I rent, but I don't care.  I will enjoy them for the next two years, and my landlord can dig them up if she wants.













The farmers are planting their rice now.  It has rained a few days in the past two weeks, and they have opened the dams to run water into the fields.

They plant the little rice seedlings by hand.  It is impressive to watch.  They are very fast.

 What is the above flower?  It seems I should know, but I can't come up with it.  Below is a yellow azalea, something I don't see often at home or here.

 Is this plant below strawberry?  I keep seeing it and wanted to call it blackberry, but I don't think they have those here, and the flowers are yellow instead of white.  I should get a plant ID book or look it up online.

This is the river where we walk sometimes.  We have to drive to get there, so I don't go every day, but it is a nice place to walk.  I should be able to take the dogs off leash here, but they find too much trash to eat.  The fishermen tend to dump their biodegradables in the weeds.  It is still pretty and peaceful.