Happy Birthday Buddha

It makes sense.  In America, we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  In Korea, they celebrate the birth of Buddha.  I am not quite sure what that entails for practitioners of the faith, but for me, it meant a day off work and a three day weekend.  I've never understood why so many of the figures in Buddhism are pudgy, because from what I know, the founder starved himself under a tree until he reached enlightenment and even afterwards didn't really indulge himself.  I digressed, but I did go to a temple to celebrate his birth.  To me, it seemed more like a family day than a religious ceremony, however, there were aspects or some kind of rites occurring.  On another side note, I think the temples make a poop ton of money on Buddha's big day.  We were lucky enough to learn how to bow properly to Buddha as well as how to meditate.  The same temple is actually going to do a 'temple stay' at the end of this month and I think Katrina and I are going to go.  Enough writing - here are the photos:

(Yep, he's got a few years on Jesus.  I do believe we were celebrating his 2556th birthday...)

 

(Some entertainment outside the temple.  There were a few stalls with food and beverages for sale.)

 

(Lots of lanterns up - perhaps it's similar to candles)

 

(The temple we went to was packed.  Here is what I mean when I said I think it was more of a family day.  A lot of families brought blankets to lounge on.)

 

 (Spenser checking out a little shrine)

(Spenser, myself, and Katrina enjoying our holiday)

 

(Again, with this picture and the last, you get a sense of the madness at the temple)

 

 (So, one way to make money, people donate it, and then their names are put on these tags hanging from the lotus lanterns)

 (A little bit of prayer and lots of Buddhas)

 (More lantern, more tags, more money and lots of people waiting in line for...)

(... this.  I have no clue what it is or what people did when they arrived at this little statue but it seemed to me to be the main event.  The only possible thing in my experience I could compare it to is communion; although, I have a feeling it is nothing like that.)

 

(A sea of lanterns...)

 

 (Liked this ornament...)

 (Myself and Katrina)

 (Again, no idea what this was, but it almost seemed like a wishing wall.  People would get Post-It notes from somewhere, write something on them, and then put it on this pillar.)

(Yep, those are all Post-It notes...)

 

(One of the major temple guardians...)

Spring Time

A little while ago I did some spring time shots of the local park, about a 5 minute walk away and around Suwon Fortress, around a 10 minute bus ride away.  Also, good news, I figured out the photo problem.  My camera automatically flips the pictures, but my computer doesn't recognize, but Blogger does.  So, when I flip the picture on my computer, it is actually an extra flip on Blogger.  I'm not a computer genius, but I have no idea how that works.  Anyway, here are some Spring Time photos.  Enjoy.

(The Cherry Blossoms are out...)

 (... in full bloom)

(The bad thing is they only lasted about a week.  So, these amazing views were over before I knew it.)

 (Pow - close up shot)

 (Protectors of the park.  Not sure what they are made of, they almost seem organic...)

(Perhaps if I knew Korean, I could read the sign and know if these are specific people)

 (Suwon Fortress.  Katrina and I walked around an area we had never been - kind of nice...)

(My favorite shot of the day.  It was actually difficult to find the cherry blossoms at the fortress.)

(From what I just read, the largest gate in South Korea...)

Seoul Olympic Park

Another quick update...  as I'm sure many of you know, the Olympics were held in Seoul a while back.  Now, in honor of that, there is a Seoul Olympic Park.  We went to rent bicycles but forgot it was Children's Day, yes, that is a holiday in South Korea.  Anyway, it was so busy we just had to walk around.  Hopefully one of these days we'll be able to go and rent bicycles.  Here are a few photos from our adventure.

 (A fun picture with the camera, let in a little too much light...)

 (Not sure if you can see the people but this entrance is ginormous)

(The main reason for this picture was the girls wearing Hanboks with backpacks.  Also, you can see one of the kinds of 'bikes' you can rent.)

(Katrina being excited)

(A nice little shot of a part of the park.  Here we were able to see a little fountain show...)

(Hanging on the bench)

(Katrina deep in thought)

 (Only a small fraction of the madness that was Children's Day)

 (Sweetest art project for kids ever)

(I think the kids just dipped their hands in pant and then went to town on giant balls.  It looked like a lot of fun...)

(A classy glassy cathedral which was actually interesting)

Bugaksan

On my final day of vacation, after spending 4 at the beach, I headed to Bagaksan.  It was a nice little hike with a few fantastic views.  The only problem, well, I guess for me there were two:  poor weather and the fact that in the sweetest parts to take pictures there was always an annoying little 'NO PHOTO' sign.  Otherwise, it was a great little hike, about 2 hours.  (For more info and a little more background check out:  NY Times Article on Bugaksan).  On a side note, there was an assassination attempt on the Korean president from this mountain and it is very close to the 'Blue House' the Korean equivalent of the White House.  I think the no picture thing is more hype than any other possible rational explanation, such as military security, same as the DMZ trip.  Oh, this is such a secretive military sensitive area that you are allowed to hike here, but you can take pictures. 

(Form that needs to be completed before entering - remember your passport or ARC)

 (One of the main entrances)

 (One of the few places I was allowed to take a photo - great downtown shot of Seoul, minus the fog)

 (More of downtown Seoul)

(Another entrance)

(*On a side note, quite a few of the pictures could again not be uploaded since Blogger is junk now)

National Museum of Korea

So, I now officially hate Blogger...  It doesn't upload photos properly and the new format is just terrible.  Again, this is my opinion but I have no idea what the H E double hockey sticks the people at that company are thinking.  Then again, it's free.  So, I guess I shouldn't complain.  With that being said and my hatred for blogger evident, I went to the National Museum of Korea in Ichon.  I've seen it countless times and finally decided to stop.  Katrina had a date with one of her friends so off I went.  I would recommend, especially as a first stop museum in Korea.  Also, take a picnic because there is an awesome park nearby.  Anyway, here are the photos.  By the way, Blogger doesn't even automatically spell check anymore, so be careful.  Who knows, maybe Blogger just hates me???

(Entrance to the National Museum of Korea)

(Main Gate)

(Nice pagoda of sorts)

(City in the background with the reflecting pond)

(Better shot of the reflecting pond)

(Dragon Falls)

(Sweet hand sculpture made out of roof tiles)

(Different view)

(Fingernail, or sorts)

(Can you see the dragon?)

(Not sure what was happening in this ancient picture but it looked quite interesting)

(For any deer lovers out there, here is the perfect vase for you)

(A war horse with warior)

(Stamps, aka seals, similar to a signature in America)

(An old book, amazing in and of itself)

(Money...  I'm sure it's worth a lot more now than it was then)

(Sweet kids' toys)

(These two were no bigger than my thumb)

(Dragon bell)

(Markers for Baduk)

(Board for Baduk)

(Ginormous pagoda inside the museum)