Things since Thailand have been fairly relaxed. A lot of people who I have met here are soon leaving, so we are just preparing for their departures and crossing more things off the Bucket List. My next big adventure will be in December where I plan to go to China and see the Great Wall.
Last weekend we crossed the "Konglish" party off the list. Many shirts, signs, etc make no sense and have multiple spelling mistakes. Some of the shirts the kids wear to school are ridiculous both in meaning and non meaning. We had everyone over for a potluck event and we all wore a "Konglish" shirt. It was nice to have everyone over for drinks and potluck before we made our way to Waegook.
This weekend I crossed off the babies 1st birthday event. Hyun who takes care of all the odds and ends for us in Gumi invited us to his daughters 1st birthday. I have to say it was a bit over the top, but the first birthday in Korea is a big deal. Long ago many babies died before their first birthday due to malnutrition, so now they have a very elaborate party to show friends and family their healthy baby. For GaIn's party they rented a wedding hall, had buffet style dinner, and free alcohol, for 100+ guest. The family was dressed in matching outfits. There was a hired photographer with photo booths set up. There was a movie made for GaIn and her life up till now along with games, and prizes. They also are very superstitions here so one of the games they play is showing the baby a tray of items. On the tray is money, a ball, a pencil, string, stethoscope, and a few other items. Each item is a symbol for something (i.e.: string= long life, stethoscope= doctor). Which ever item the baby chooses will be his or her future aspiration. GaIn choose the ball and the pencil which means she will be athletic and academic. I have to say, I felt like I was watching an episode of my Sweet 16, except it was for a 1 year old. GaIn will not remember it, but there was lots of pictures for her to look at when shes older. It was nice as a foreigner to see another part of their culture...even if it made me say "Ohhhh Korea"
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Now that Thailand and Chuseok are over and everyone is back in Korea the Bucket List is continuing. This weekend we crossed temple stay off the list.
On Saturday afternoon we made our way to Gyeongju to the Golgul Temple. It was probably the most exhausting 24 hours I have ever willing been through, but defiantly work the experience. When we arrived we changed into our very faltering Monk wear and headed to archery practice. The routine of a Buddhist Monk is VERY structured so all day it was one thing after the next. Following the archery we were sent for community work. Here the women had to sweep the walkway and the men had to clean windows. All things are very simple and they believe in simple living, so the brooms we used were made of bamboo and straw, while the boys washed the windows using a newspaper rag. Dinner was next thing on the schedule. Monks do not waste anything, so when eating your meals you MUST clean everything off your plate. Dinner is also very simple and light. Most meals consist of white rice, vegetables, soup, and sometimes tofu. They believe that eating light meals helps the body maintain energy. After Dinner we went to evening chanting which is similar to a pray session along with many bows. After chant we started our Sunmudo training. This is a Korean form of a Zen Martial Art which is suppose to harmonize the mind, body and breath. The training is a mix between yoga, gymnastics, and taekwondo. It was probably one of the hardest things I have done. All the monks make it look fairly easy, but the positions and moves are very tough. After training it was bed time (10pm), where we headed back to the room and slept on the floor.
On Sunday we had a 4am wake up. You are woken by a junior monk who is beating a wooden bell. Between 2-6am is said to be the best time to meditate so they wake up early to hike the mountain where at the top is a meditation cave. 4:30am you must be at the cave to start chants and meditation, if you miss this activity your punishment is 3000 bows, which takes 8-10 hours to complete. 6am we left mediation for breakfast. Breakfast was a Buddhist ceremonial meal called Barugongyang. It is a meal where you eat and clean together with all the monks, junior monks and other guest at the temple. During the meal you are give 4 bowls. One for each: rice, vegetables, soup, and water. The water bowl is to remain untouched until the end of the meal where you use the water to clean your other bowls. You pour the water from bowl to bowl until they are cleaned then you drink the water so you do not waste anything. Following breakfast we were given a chance to enjoy tea while asking about life in a temple as a monk. It gave us an eye opening look at just how much dedication is required. Everyday they have the same schedule full of chanting, meditation, and exercise, it sounds peaceful but it is challenging. The last thing on the list was to complete the 108 bows. Not just a small fold at the hips, but a full bow from standing to bending touching your forehead on the floor.
After my 24 hour Temple Stay I know I could never live the life of a Buddhist Monk. Little sleep, little food, and little talking is they norm way of life for them and that takes a lot of discipline and dedication. It was a great experience to live the life for a day, but I was very glad to sleep in my bed, and enjoy a nice dinner when I returned home.
On Saturday afternoon we made our way to Gyeongju to the Golgul Temple. It was probably the most exhausting 24 hours I have ever willing been through, but defiantly work the experience. When we arrived we changed into our very faltering Monk wear and headed to archery practice. The routine of a Buddhist Monk is VERY structured so all day it was one thing after the next. Following the archery we were sent for community work. Here the women had to sweep the walkway and the men had to clean windows. All things are very simple and they believe in simple living, so the brooms we used were made of bamboo and straw, while the boys washed the windows using a newspaper rag. Dinner was next thing on the schedule. Monks do not waste anything, so when eating your meals you MUST clean everything off your plate. Dinner is also very simple and light. Most meals consist of white rice, vegetables, soup, and sometimes tofu. They believe that eating light meals helps the body maintain energy. After Dinner we went to evening chanting which is similar to a pray session along with many bows. After chant we started our Sunmudo training. This is a Korean form of a Zen Martial Art which is suppose to harmonize the mind, body and breath. The training is a mix between yoga, gymnastics, and taekwondo. It was probably one of the hardest things I have done. All the monks make it look fairly easy, but the positions and moves are very tough. After training it was bed time (10pm), where we headed back to the room and slept on the floor.
On Sunday we had a 4am wake up. You are woken by a junior monk who is beating a wooden bell. Between 2-6am is said to be the best time to meditate so they wake up early to hike the mountain where at the top is a meditation cave. 4:30am you must be at the cave to start chants and meditation, if you miss this activity your punishment is 3000 bows, which takes 8-10 hours to complete. 6am we left mediation for breakfast. Breakfast was a Buddhist ceremonial meal called Barugongyang. It is a meal where you eat and clean together with all the monks, junior monks and other guest at the temple. During the meal you are give 4 bowls. One for each: rice, vegetables, soup, and water. The water bowl is to remain untouched until the end of the meal where you use the water to clean your other bowls. You pour the water from bowl to bowl until they are cleaned then you drink the water so you do not waste anything. Following breakfast we were given a chance to enjoy tea while asking about life in a temple as a monk. It gave us an eye opening look at just how much dedication is required. Everyday they have the same schedule full of chanting, meditation, and exercise, it sounds peaceful but it is challenging. The last thing on the list was to complete the 108 bows. Not just a small fold at the hips, but a full bow from standing to bending touching your forehead on the floor.
After my 24 hour Temple Stay I know I could never live the life of a Buddhist Monk. Little sleep, little food, and little talking is they norm way of life for them and that takes a lot of discipline and dedication. It was a great experience to live the life for a day, but I was very glad to sleep in my bed, and enjoy a nice dinner when I returned home.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Thailand was an amazing vacation. Very relaxing, self pampering, and a couple of days of partying. It was hard to come back and get into the routine of things again. Also it is fall weather in Korea now, so to come back from the hot sun in Thailand was a bit depressing.
On Friday we arrived in Bangkok early evening and made our way to Khao San Road. This is a street full of shopping, eating, and partying. It also has a tone of hotels, so we checked into a great spot right on the main street called D&D. It still amazes me when traveling in Asia how cheap accommodations are. For a standard room with a king size bed, bathroom, and free breakfast it only cost 800 baht ($25 Cdn) a night. We were exhausted after the day of traveling, so we made our way to supper where we enjoyed some Pad Thai served by a lady-boy, and back home to sleep. The lady-boys in Thailand are an interesting sight. Some of them you second guess yourself because they are truly beautiful. The give away for most of them are the hands, although some are well manicured its hard to hide. They keep themselves very clean, with their hair and makeup done. They also have very feminine shapes, which most would be jealous of. It is also strange to think that in Thailand they really are accepted as a third gender. After being in Korea and visiting Thailand I know see how narrow minded the culture in Korea really is.
On Saturday we wanted to do some shopping in Bangkok, so we made our way by local bus to MBK which is a shopping district. We didnt have much luck at MBK so we decided to head back to Khao San road for lunch and shopping. While we were eating lunch we met a couple of guys from England who were pretty entertaining, so instead of shopping we spent the afternoon drinking with them. Saturday night we took an over night bus to the ferry pier where we caught the ferry in the morning to Koh Samui. If I were to do it again, I would probably fly to Koh Samui, the 14 hour bus ride was no comfortable and very long. Although we did meet a lot of people who are on traveling adventures, and later spent time with throughout the week it was just a long trip. There were a ton of people from Europe who were in Thailand for a short period before heading to Australia.
When we arrived in Koh Samui we checked into our hotel which was located on Chaweng Beach. The beach and water were beautiful. White sand, and teal blue warm water. We were again exhausted from traveling so we spent most of Sunday napping. Monday - Thursday we stayed in Koh Samui and just spent time relaxing on the beach, enjoying massages, and eating delicious food. We got to meet up with some of Caitlin's friends from home (South Africa) for some drinks. A couple of people we met on the bus were staying in the same area so we spent our evenings having a few drinks and dinner with them. The people you meet while traveling are very interesting. Even just to learn about different cultures and countries was very entertaining. For people we only met a short time ago there ever seemed to be a lull in conversation. Thai food is much better than Korean food, and the variety is massive. I ate on average 4 meals a day, just so I could fit in all the things I wanted to try. Pad Thai is by far my favorite dish, but even the selection of western food excited me.
On Thursday we took the ferry to Koh Phangan. Thursday night was the Full Moon Party which is said to be the world's largest full moon party. It is an all night beach party and it was pretty wild. There were different dance areas, a load of drink vendors, and swarms of forgieners who come for the event. We had planned to stay in Koh Phangan for two nights, but we didn't like the beach or accomadations as much as in Koh Samui so we went back early.
Friday afternoon we made our way back by ferry to Koh Samui, where we relaxed after a wild night of partying. Saturday was our last day on the beach so I laid pool/ beach side while Caitlin did some shopping. Before we left we enjoyed some Thai massages, which is more like a stretching process then a massage. I enjoyed it, to me it felt like yoga without having to put in much effort. We decided we would fly to Bangkok from Koh Samui instead of taking the overnight bus back which was a great plan seeing as we still had a long trip back to Gumi from Bangkok. All in all a very relaxing trip. Thailand is really cheap to eat and sleep. It is a great beach getaway in Asia. Also another successful trip weather wise for me. I seem to go to locations during rain season, but it only seemed to rain at night while we were sleeping so it was perfect.
On Friday we arrived in Bangkok early evening and made our way to Khao San Road. This is a street full of shopping, eating, and partying. It also has a tone of hotels, so we checked into a great spot right on the main street called D&D. It still amazes me when traveling in Asia how cheap accommodations are. For a standard room with a king size bed, bathroom, and free breakfast it only cost 800 baht ($25 Cdn) a night. We were exhausted after the day of traveling, so we made our way to supper where we enjoyed some Pad Thai served by a lady-boy, and back home to sleep. The lady-boys in Thailand are an interesting sight. Some of them you second guess yourself because they are truly beautiful. The give away for most of them are the hands, although some are well manicured its hard to hide. They keep themselves very clean, with their hair and makeup done. They also have very feminine shapes, which most would be jealous of. It is also strange to think that in Thailand they really are accepted as a third gender. After being in Korea and visiting Thailand I know see how narrow minded the culture in Korea really is.
On Saturday we wanted to do some shopping in Bangkok, so we made our way by local bus to MBK which is a shopping district. We didnt have much luck at MBK so we decided to head back to Khao San road for lunch and shopping. While we were eating lunch we met a couple of guys from England who were pretty entertaining, so instead of shopping we spent the afternoon drinking with them. Saturday night we took an over night bus to the ferry pier where we caught the ferry in the morning to Koh Samui. If I were to do it again, I would probably fly to Koh Samui, the 14 hour bus ride was no comfortable and very long. Although we did meet a lot of people who are on traveling adventures, and later spent time with throughout the week it was just a long trip. There were a ton of people from Europe who were in Thailand for a short period before heading to Australia.
When we arrived in Koh Samui we checked into our hotel which was located on Chaweng Beach. The beach and water were beautiful. White sand, and teal blue warm water. We were again exhausted from traveling so we spent most of Sunday napping. Monday - Thursday we stayed in Koh Samui and just spent time relaxing on the beach, enjoying massages, and eating delicious food. We got to meet up with some of Caitlin's friends from home (South Africa) for some drinks. A couple of people we met on the bus were staying in the same area so we spent our evenings having a few drinks and dinner with them. The people you meet while traveling are very interesting. Even just to learn about different cultures and countries was very entertaining. For people we only met a short time ago there ever seemed to be a lull in conversation. Thai food is much better than Korean food, and the variety is massive. I ate on average 4 meals a day, just so I could fit in all the things I wanted to try. Pad Thai is by far my favorite dish, but even the selection of western food excited me.
On Thursday we took the ferry to Koh Phangan. Thursday night was the Full Moon Party which is said to be the world's largest full moon party. It is an all night beach party and it was pretty wild. There were different dance areas, a load of drink vendors, and swarms of forgieners who come for the event. We had planned to stay in Koh Phangan for two nights, but we didn't like the beach or accomadations as much as in Koh Samui so we went back early.
Friday afternoon we made our way back by ferry to Koh Samui, where we relaxed after a wild night of partying. Saturday was our last day on the beach so I laid pool/ beach side while Caitlin did some shopping. Before we left we enjoyed some Thai massages, which is more like a stretching process then a massage. I enjoyed it, to me it felt like yoga without having to put in much effort. We decided we would fly to Bangkok from Koh Samui instead of taking the overnight bus back which was a great plan seeing as we still had a long trip back to Gumi from Bangkok. All in all a very relaxing trip. Thailand is really cheap to eat and sleep. It is a great beach getaway in Asia. Also another successful trip weather wise for me. I seem to go to locations during rain season, but it only seemed to rain at night while we were sleeping so it was perfect.
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