Buddha’s Birthday

Buddha's Birthday at Yeongheungsa Temple, Gyeongju

In case you missed it the last few dozen times I’ve said it, let me just say again:  Buddha’s Birthday is my favorite holiday in Korea.  On Buddha’s Birthday, or “Seokgatanshinil” (석가탄신일) as it’s called in Korean, the Buddhist faithful hang lanterns bearing prayers and wishes all around the temples, which serve free vegetarian Bibimbap for lunch or dinner.   The larger temples often host free concerts and cultural performances in the afternoon, but what really makes Buddha’s Birthday special for me is the Lantern Parade held after sundown at historical temples like Bulguksa and Tongdosa.

Buddha's Birthday at Yeongheungsa Temple, Gyeongju

Buddha's Birthday at Yeongheungsa Temple, Gyeongju

Going by the lunar calendar, this year’s Buddha’s Birthday falls on May 10th, which just so happens to be today.  Unfortunately, from glancing out the window, it looks like spring showers are going to put a damper on this year’s festivities.   However, to mark the occasion, I’m posting some photos I took on Buddha’s Birthday last year, when the weather was a bit sunnier.  My son had been born just a few weeks earlier and my in-laws were visiting so together  we popped over to Yeongheungsa (영흥사) Temple in Chunghyo-dong to check out the festivities and partake in the free lunch.

Buddha's Birthday at Yeongheungsa Temple, Gyeongju

Buddha's Birthday at Yeongheungsa Temple, Gyeongju

Yeongheungsa is neither a very large or historic temple, yet it has a pleasant atmosphere and beautiful grounds.   Being an urban temple, it doesn’t lack for patronage either.   The temple has lovely landscaping, plus its numerous Buddha halls are decorated with colorful scenes from the life of the Buddha, as well as legends from the history of Zen and Korean Buddhism.  Unusually for a city temple, the temple also has two separate halls for Korean shamanistic deities:  one for the San-shin, or Mountain God, and another for the Yeonghwang, or Dragon King.

Buddha's Birthday at Yeongheungsa Temple, Gyeongju

Buddha's Birthday at Yeongheungsa Temple, Gyeongju

Getting there around noon, Yeongheungsa was packed with hungry devotees.  Upon arriving, folks would pour water on the statue of the baby Buddha and then make their way up the stairs to the Buddha hall to pay their respects with prostrations.  Tents had been set up around the lawn and the atmosphere was festive as local Buddhists chatted with family and enjoyed their veggie bibimbap.

Buddha's Birthday at Yeongheungsa Temple, Gyeongju

There was table by the front gate where the faithful could pick up a  lantern, fill out and attach a prayer card and then hang the lantern in  courtyard for a small donation.  We chose to hang one for our new born  son and made the mistake of asking about the suggested donation.  The  going rate was about 30,000 won, which might help explain how the temple  is so well funded    By mid-afternoon, things began to die down a  bit at Yeongheungsa.  We took our leave to go rest up a bit before  heading out to Bulguksa for the lantern parade that evening (which I  unfortunately expect to be called off this year due to rain).

Buddha's Birthday at Yeongheungsa Temple, Gyeongju

Buddha's Birthday at Yeongheungsa Temple, Gyeongju

Anyhow, if you’re interested in dropping by Yeongheungsa next Buddha’s Birthday (or any other time for that matter), it’s not too hard to find.  From the Bus Stations, cross over the river on the main road (Chunghyo-ro Road) and continue straight up the hill along Chunghyo-dong.  Yeongheungsa Temple will be a few lights up, on the left, just past Seoraebol College.  It’s tucked in a little bit from the main road along the foot of Mt. Seondosan, so keep an eye out for the stone sign below.

Buddha's Birthday at Yeongheungsa Temple, Gyeongju

South Korea Holiday Travel

South Korea is not only famous for Korean Wars; it has other claims to fame as well. It held Quadrennial Olympics in 1988. It has expanded in all circles and can light the torch to any emerging nation. Thus it commands the influx of a great many tourists from world around to spend holidays.
If you plan to book luxury class deals through L4L to South Korea, await inspiring stay. You can move in to different directions from its capital Seoul. Seoul is mounted with skyscrapers but gives due reverence to temples and pagodas.
People come here to either wallow on beaches or do paragliding and trekking. There are about 1700 trails in South Korea; most prominent being on the sidelines of Daegu City. You can take low cost luxury class flights with numerous benefits to this beautiful nation.
Jejudo is its little Hawaii with a mixture of volcanic mountains and subtle vegetation. For tourism, it even boasts of Gyeongju which is an open-air museum. You get everything worth noting from an archaeological perspective here in this city.
Then there is an abundance of greens and natural parks; major ones being Bukhansan and Seorakasan. You get fascinating wildlife to check out. You can go for mileage fares for your family to be redeemed at a later date.
Night life is quite romantic with many haunts and pubs highlighting the side roads. Then there are hotels and resorts worth staying in. These hotels offer comfortat all range- from shoe-string budget to elastic ones.
Haeundae Beach is a paradise for those who love capering on the sea and sands. Then Seoul’s downtown markets offer glorious merchandise that are in a league of their own. You can use frequent flyer bonus miles to this Asian country and really make your holiday eventful. L4L is always around to take you there.

Ulleungdo islands, South Korea

Ulleungdo is a rugged volcanic island belonging to South Korea, located approximately 135 kilometres east of the Korean peninsula in the Sea of Japan. With dramatic scenery including steeply rising cliffs, unique rock formations, evergreen forests, and a stunning main harbour, it has become an increasingly popular destination for travelers. Its highest peak is called Seonginbong Peak, and there is a village along the coastline on the slope. On the north side is a caldera crater which collapsed to create the Nari Basin and the Albong Basin.

Ulleungdo Island : A distant view

Ulleungdo Island, South Korea: A tourist boat ride

Ulleungdo Island: The beach side resorts

The hillside island road

The cruises, ships lined up at the coast for tourists

The island waterfalls

The pentagon shaped rocks

the mountain surronded by the island

The Ulleungdo squid is especially famous for their outstanding quality. It has been said that there are no thieves, pollution or snakes on Ulleungdo Island. On the other hand, there are many aromatic trees, wind, beautiful women, water and rocks.
You can enjoy the scenery by taking a cruise around Ulleungdo, Gwaneumdo Islands, and a natural tunnel. Elephant Rock, Samseonan, and Lion Rock are some of the other tourist attractions praised by tourists.

Ulleungdo, Mysterious Island: Day 1

Dodong Harbor, Ulleungdo
Over Chuseok break (yes, that was over a month ago) I went to Ulleungdo with Adventure Korea. I tried really hard to book this trip to Ulleungdo by myself, but Ulleungdo is a remote island and Chuseok is the most traveled holiday in Korea. I spent a long week in early September frantically trying to juggle bus, train and ferry schedules, but I gave up right around the time I realized that the only ferry from Ulleungdo reached the mainland a mere thirty minutes after the last train back to Seoul departed. Caroline emailed me that afternoon asking if I wanted to go on the Adventure Korea trip to Ulleungdo with her, and I said sign me up.

We left Seoul just after midnight on Sunday morning, September 19th, bound for Donghae City and Chuam Beach. The idea was to sleep on the bus, although I'm not sure how, since a) we were on a bus (other people seemed to have less trouble with this than me) and b) we stopped at a rest spot every hour, effectively waking most people up. We reached Chuam Beach at 4:30 in the morning.

"Good morning," our guide chirped over the loudspeaker, waking us up again. "We're at the beach, but sunrise isn't for another few hours, so you can keep napping.

The engined turned off, the AC stopped and the bus started to get stuffy. A few rows ahead of me, a man started to snore. Caroline looked over at me and asked, "Sleep on the beach?"

"Oh yeah!" I said. We walked down to the beach and I dozed off to the sound of the surf crashing against the beach and the knowledge that when I woke up, my bra would somehow have sand in it. Sunrise at Chuam Beach is suppose to be spectacular; it's even shown on the morning news while the national anthem plays, but thanks to clouds and early morning drizzle, there wasn't a sunrise. It just got progressively lighter and lighter until it was morning. Shortly after sunrise, a patrol of soldiers marched down the beach.

"Why are there soldiers?" asked Cameron, a fellow teacher who had just arrived in Korea two weeks earlier. "This is a beach!"

"North Korea," I told him. Donghae is only eighty miles from the DMZ, and many of the beaches in the area are lined with barbed wire and closed to the public. It's easy to forget since South Korea is so nonchalant about it, but the Korean peninsula is technically still at war.

Our ferry to Ulleungdo departed from Donghae at 10:00, and after sunrise, we left the beach and went into town for breakfast. It was before 8:00 on a Sunday morning, the weekend before a holiday, and not much was opened, but we eventually found a Dunkin' Donuts willing to open early for a chance to make money off a group of 90 foreigners desperate to not eat kimchi for breakfast. We drank our coffee, ate our donuts and were stared at by the poor cashier who really hadn't though her morning would be that busy, much less involve that much English. The ferry ride was uneventful; other people complained of a rough ride, but I slept the whole way. We reached Dodong Harbor on Ulleungdo by 1:00 and walked to our minbak, a Korean style bed and breakfast with a mat on the floor in place of a bed, for lunch.

After lunch, we hiked along the Haengnam Shore Walkway. It was a nice hike, meandering along the coast. Ulleungdo is a volcanic island and in many places, there were steep drops from the edge of the island to the ocean. The path clung to the side of the coast, starting near the water and then climbing high above the shore before dropping back down to the ocean, with bridges spanning small coves of startling clear blue water. The hike was suppose to lead to the Dodong Lighthouse, but when Caroline and I reached the end of the coastal walkway, the trail turned inland with no sight of a lighthouse, just a pier stretching out into the ocean. Turns out the lighthouse was another forty minute hike inland, but we amused ourselves by wandered down to the pier and climbed on the A-jacks forming the breakwater.

The group was suppose to take a cable car to the Dokdo Observatory before dinner, but by the time we made it back to the minbak, it had started to rain heavily. The Dokdo Observatory was postponed until another, hopefully clear, day and one of the staffers looked at the group assembled on the front steps of the hostel and said, "Well, I guess it's time to start drinking." Caroline trekked through the rain to the FamilyMart for soju and orange juice and we ended up in a group playing cards on the front porch until dinner.




Top: Soldiers on Chuam Beach; Middle: Waves crashing against the breakwater on the Haengnam Shore Walkway (left), Stone cairn along the Haengnam Shore Walkway (right); Bottom: Haengnam Shore Walkway

Tiger, German Market

TORONTO, ONTARIO - One of the disadvantages of doing most commuting underground in the subway is that one is completely oblivious to what's above ground. Apparently, the holiday light display shaped like a tiger pictured above has graced Koreatown here in Toronto near Christie Pits Parks each December since 2008. I didn't notice it until this year, and I have to say it may be my favorite lighted sculpture in the city.

Genuinely new this year is the German-style Christmas Market in the Distillery District of Toronto. I arrived late to the opening ceremonies on Friday night to discover that so many people had shown up that it was almost impossible to move around the stage, as shown above. This event is the best approximation of a German Christmas Market that I've seen in North America; I'll have more to say about it in a future post as I plan to go back at a quieter time--but it only runs through next Sunday.