I know I like to laugh, but I'll tell you what, hiking in Korea is no laughing matter. I found out that the Korean government gives tax payers the equivalent of a couple hundred dollars every year to buy hiking/exercise clothing and equipment. Koreans love to hike, and not just pleasant hike around the little lake hikes, but serious straight up the mountain hikes. Koreans apparently do not believe in switchbacks. Therefore, when hiking in Korea be prepared to hike it like you mean it!
And of course on every mountain is a Buddhist temple. This one on the hike to Gatbawi was one of the most beautiful and well-kept ones I have seen.
The temple marked the halfway point of our 2km (straight up to the summit of the mountain) hike.
The views were phenomenal, the weather was beautiful and we would have thoroughly enjoyed every minute, except that we didn't know it was such a serious hike and we forgot water. We were all pretty dehydrated by the time we finished!
At the summit there is a giant, ancient statue of Buddha carved out of the stone. It was pretty cool to see it and know that it was older than most anything you'll find in the United States.
We didn't take pictures of the surroundings for fear of being disrespectful, but off to the left side of Brian was an canopy-covered area where there were probably 50-60 people bowing and saying their prayers to Buddha.
It was fun to get out and explore more of the Korean countryside, but I woke up this morning and couldn't walk because I am so sore. I'm not sure if I should do more of these hikes to get in better shape, or if I should just admit that I'm getting too old for that kind of bodily abuse.
As a funny sidenote Florence chatters constantly with nonsensical, ridiculous observations and questions about the world around her. As we were hiking back down the mountain Florence began saying, "Mom, I really want lemonade and strawberry cake at my funeral. And I want the chairs to be covered in blue and the tables to be covered in yellow. Oh, and I think I want a bounce-around, that'd be really fun. Mom, did you have that kind of stuff at your funeral?" I wasn't sure if I should laugh or be dismayed that at 10 years old she couldn't quite see the inherent flaw in her stream of thought. I turned to her and said, "Florence, honey, do you think there's anything wrong with the question you just asked me?" She froze, figuring she must have said something wrong or I would have just answered her. Diamond started laughing, "You're dead at your funeral. You don't get to come back. Mom's not dead, duh!"
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