Buddha Buddha Buddha

This weekend brought two new adventures. Saturday was spent meandering through Nampo-dong's street market for food and fashion. Nampo-dong is west of where I live in Haeundae (but just about everything is west of where I live). The area boasts the best shopping from high end boutiques to side street markets peddling everything from knock off Louis Vuittons to t-shirts, scarves, jewelry and second hand vintage shops.

There was also a plethora of street food vendors which I found extremely fascinating. I tried a few things but really can't tell you what I was eating. One thing looked like a sushi roll, another looked like a dumpling and the last was a really spicy sausage and noodle thing. Local food is always good so I haven't really encountered anything I haven't liked to some degree.

Although there were a ton of fish options, I didn't try any on Saturday. There is a huge and very famous fish market which is also located in the area. I plan to head back to check it out another time!

Sunday was a great day for hiking and a little temple time. A few new friends and I headed to spot in northern Busan to hike up a little mountain and find the "hidden" temple. The temple isn't really hidden but more of a b*tch to get to.


The Korean hiking experience is like nothing I've experienced. First of all, Koreans have all the necessary (and unnecessary) equipment - hiking poles, hiking boots, the proper mountaineering tear proof pants, wicking t-shirts, insulated vests, huge backpacks, hats to protect against the sun, etc. If the product is sold at Patagonia, North Face, or any rink-a-dink trekking store, these people have it!


Along the way to the mountain, our group was approached by a group of Romanians looking for the same temple. I have to mention that you don't have to actually climb the mountain to get to the top. There is a cable car which would transport you up at a mere cost of 3,000won (about $2.25). We told the Romanians we were heading in the same direction and could point out the cable car for them. As we walked to the foot of the mountain, we chatted with the men about what they were doing in SKorea (they are in shipping apparently. I didn't ask what they were shipping...).


At the base, we waved goodbye and began to walk toward the start of the "trail" (stair master would be more accurate). The men asked what we were doing. We told them that we intended on walking up. (however, after seeing the Koreans in all their gear, I was suspecting that we were in for more than we bargained for). I later found out that the hike was a vertical assent straight up the mountain. The path consisted of thousands of stones strategically placed as steps.


Anyway, the Romanians decided to join us for the walk up. I tried to explain that it was going to be steep and they might not have the proper attire but my message didn't seem to translate. Anywho, the guys made it but not without a lot of breaks (which I happily took as well!) and some heavy duty sweating!


As we climbed up, there were some highlights. Picturesque views of Busan and Buddhist figures carved out of the side of rocks.


Eventually, we made it to the top. It was a great view and we stopped to take a few pictures of the city.




Next stop was the "hidden" temple. So, the temple isn't so much hidden as it is misleading. You would think that after the 1hour climb to the top, the temple would be there. I mean, why else would everyone be climbing up this godforsaken rock? Oh, no. I couldn't be more wrong. The temple was located another hour climb. We had to go down the backside of the mountain and then up another peak to finally reach the temple.


While at the temple, we gave offerings to Buddha statues and witnessed many Korean praying to the stone carvings.

Last but not least, we found the holy grail of Buddha shrines. A small room in one of the temples held a few hundred gold Buddha statues. Not sure why it is important to have so many statues in one room? Maybe so they don't get lonely? It was pretty stunning!

Buddha Buddha Buddha - Em