A Visit to Buddha Mountain, Part 1: Going Up

One weekend, we visited some Buddha houses on Mount Palgong. Our bus drove us a good distance up the mountain, but the hike was still quite a hike.

Before we got going, I used the restroom, because it's smart to go BEFORE embarking on a two-hour hike into the wilderness, especially if you're female. I'm already wary of park bathrooms located in sheds, but this was a whole new experience.

It was my first Korean toilet. You squat. And you bring your own toilet paper. I wasn't prepared.

We walked for a while on a sidewalk. Along the way, and all the rest of the way up the mountain, there were people selling things.

After going a short distance, we came to a building. I have no idea what it was, but it looked like a gate. It was completely painted in the amazing, intricate, 100%-paint-everywhere style we saw on the temples we visited that day.

There was a monk selling souvenirs near the gate thing.

There were cups hanging on a wall for people to drink hosed-in mountain water out of.

There was a temple up a hill near the gate. We saw more amazing painting, another monk (this one banging on something to make noise along with chanting coming out of some speakers,) some golden idols, and - typical of Korea - a garden on a ledge that had been built into the hillside.

Here's a video. Please ignore the part where it's sideways in the beginning before I remembered how to take videos.

We left the temple when I was done staring and pointing my camera at their religious moments and walked back down the hill. After a short distance, we crossed a bridge. There were small stone statues on the bridge. They were lion-like creatures - maybe even lions - with fangs. We called them oni. We've been using "oni," the Japanese word for demon, a lot lately because we're close to Japan and Korea is kinda like Japan and we find it pretty darn hilarious. Like, one morning, all our windows were open, and I heard some construction sounds from about half a mile away, and they were, like, pipes banging together or something and the noises were really weird and hollow, and I asked Joe what that noise was, and he said "Two onis rubbing together." And the downstairs floor of our apartment is a cement area full of water, and it's very creepy, and it's "The oni spawning pool."

But anyway, the oni:

(I took this picture with the Korean lady in it for authenticity.) By the way, people probably dress like this in the States, too, but wow do they wear some weird combinations of patterns and colors here. And I just noticed that lady in the background who seems to be bowing to the oni.

Rock piles are a common sight on the trails here in Korea. Our tour guide explained that people build a little pile and make a wish, and the wish is supposed to be granted. I don't know if rock-pile wishes are granted by Buddha or if they're more like birthday-candle wishes.

There were quite a few merchants selling fruit by the trail.

Along the way, we saw monks sitting with collection boxes.

At one point, I saw a man sitting by the road calling out in Korean, and at first I thought he was another merchant. My stomach flipped when I noticed he was missing a hand. He was begging for money. I was shaken. I'm not used to seeing handless people. I didn't know what to do so I kept walking like everyone else.

There's a lot more to tell about this trip, but I'm splitting it up into different posts so you don't get bored. See you next time!