| Well, these are just some of my many photos from the last couple of years in Korea (and a trip to Japan): |
| And another big palace building (also in Seoul): |
| This is on Cheju Island, beautiful place, not nearly as many people as the rest of Korea (thank god!). This was a very beautiful temple overlooking fields of flowers and the ocean (one of the few places you can see the sea where it is not littered with debris from the industry): |
| And on Cheju there are many big 'Harubang' ('ugly grandfather' statues, can't quite remember the story, but they are a symbol world-wide of Cheju Island. This is not exactly the tradtional stone-carved Harubang, but I thought a telephone box was a little more interesting! This is with my Kiwi friend Jo, who was also a teacher here in Korea. |
| And this is the second biggest Buddha I have ever seen...(the biggest was in Thailand) It's on a mountain not too far away from my old city, and this is Minnie, a Korean friend of mine: |
| This is my Canadian friend Jin, on top of Kumo Mountain. |
| And Japan! This is Mai, my family's Japanese homestay student. She and her family took wonderful care of me over Christmas at their home in Tokyo. |
| And this is another Buddhist temple, this time Japanese (in the centre of Tokyo)... |
| One last photo for the moment: This is me as a monk at Hwagyesa Temple in Seoul...you see, I actually wanted to go to China for my vacation, but all of the flights were sold out, and looking through the paper I discovered an ad for a meditation retreat at this temple. Always interested in trying new things, I turned up, was suitably outfitted, and led to the meditation room, where we spent ALL day meditating and chanting. You can never imagine what it feels like to sit crosslegged for 8 hours, unless you do it yourself! Oh my God. It was torture. Then chanting for hours on end. My throat was hoarse, my back just about broken, my legs aching, so that I could barely stand. But anyway, bedtime was at about 9:30, however being crammed into a mosquito-filled room with heaps of other snoring prople is just not condusive to sleep. I eventually di fall asleep at about 12, only to be woken up at 3am (Yes! A.M.!)to begin the day's chanting and meditation. Then the whole thing over again the next day. I now have an incredible respect for all monks, I really don't know how they do it. So...without further ado, here is a picture of jessica the monk...i'm just glad we didn't have to shave our heads! |
| Lots of beautiful places, people and things, but always remember one thing..while it is incredible to experience all these fantastic or strange things and places, home is always where the heart is [well that has to be the most overused cliche ever!]. I never even considered New Zealand beautiful before I went travelling, I took it all for granted. But now I am certain we have the most beautiful country in the world. |
| This first picture is from a typical outside corridor in a palace somewhere in Seoul... |
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