Temple Stay

This past weekend, Amanda and I went on a temple stay. This is very popular among foreigners because you get a chance to experience the monk way of life. We went to a Buddhist temple two and half hours south of Seoul. The name of the temple was Geumsansa. It is known as one of the most famous temples in Korea. The temple grounds were beautiful. It really was interesting to see how monks live and learn about this way of life. However, I do not enjoy waking up at 3 am. I also did not enjoy the surplus of "free time" to meditate. I believe that knowing how to meditate is something you have to learn. It is very hard to just sit for long periods of time without knowing how to calm your mind. I ended up chatting with Amanda, sleeping, or reading during much of this time.

At the rest stop, I found this to eat..... Mat Fish Paste... uh what?

Temple breakfast. Temple lunch. Temple dinner. Same meal for every meal. Meals are served at 6 am, 12 pm, and 6 pm. It was the same food, but then again, that is very typical in Korea in general. You are expected to eat everything you take, no waste.

The following photos are of the temple. Most do not need captions. You can just look at them.

This is me in a very thoughtful pose.

In case you need to make a call during your visit at the temple, a phone is available.

This bell is rung three times a day, at dawn, at noon, and at dusk.

The buildings were so detailed.

Ah yes... the monk attire.

Being very zen-like.

Making a lotus lantern. A lotus grows out of the mud but is never dirty. This is why it is so amazing. I also learned that lotus flowers should give you a happy heart.

My completed lotus lantern.

Temple cafeteria. There is no talking. Eating is for nourishment, not enjoyment.

This is the monk in charge of beating the drums and ringing the bell.

She is demonstrating how to do a meditative walk. I have never seen someone move so slowly. Luckily, it started pouring rain immediately after this picture was taken so we did not have the walk almost 100 yards moving at the incredibly slow rate.

Tea time.

These trees are in love because it is two trees that somehow share a branch.

Pretending to mediate.

The beating of the drums.


3 am meditation and chanting.



Temple talk.

Trip to Gangneung

For my three day weekend at the end of May, I went with a few friends to the east coast of Korea. We went to a beach city called Gangneung. Good luck pronouncing it... I get corrected by Koreans every time I try to say it. We spent a day at the beach. The next next day, we went to see a North Korean sub that was captured in 1996. Also, there was a US Navy ship that had been given to South Korea as a gift. It was a very interesting, very eerie experience. The guard towers along the road with soldiers carrying huge guns didn't help make it any less eerie!

Guard tower.... soldiers were ready with guns.

The sub.

Amanda and me about to enter the sub.

The submarine was very small. 25 North Koreans were in it. The sub got stuck in my rocks when they were trying to go back to North Korea and this is when they were captured. Their mission was to spy on the naval installations in the area and then return. Once the sub was stuck, the crew then decided to destroy the everything in the submarine by burning it and try to make it to the DMZ. The crew split up in several groups but one was soon spotted by a civilian who became suspicious and alerted the authorities. The sub still smelled like fire inside.

Next, we got to tour a navy war ship.

Just relaxing on my post on the Navy ship.

At the controls.

On board barber shop.

Not really my kind of bathroom.

I'm going to shoot some enemies!

On board doctor's office.

Beware of those snppery floors!

There was also a very small homemade boat that 11 North Koreans used to escape to the south.

It was quite small.

This is my Titanic pose.. but seriously, this is a very real situation. People try to take refuge in the south, escaping the tough situation in the north.

tally ho!

The beach.

The lake near the beach.

yay for sparklers!

Thank you to Mike H. for taking these pictures!

Robin's Pizza!!!!! it was good too!!

Well, it was good, except we ordered a salad with our pizza and this is what we got..... corn, tortilla chips, mashed pumpkin, mashed potato, canned peaches, bananas, slivered almonds, and a very small bit of salad there in the front.Not quite the salad I was expecting.