All things beautiful: great and small

Dan and I went on a walk today, and we were surprised and delighted to see a colourful snake in the leaves near the path. We managed to get a great photo of it, and it got me thinking about a number of other photos of 'small things' I've taken. From thistles and water lilies to snakes and insects, sometimes it's the small things that fascinate me the most.

This lettuce is a little bit wilted, and lets throw this dresser out...

It is not uncommon to discover, from time to time, a little mould in the back corner of the fridge... This weekend, we had a similar experience, only instead of a piece of cheese, it was a dresser, and instead of a refridgerator, it was a bedroom. It is common knowledge that a piece of cheese in the refridgerator should be moved more often than once in two months. Unfortunately, we totally neglected the obvious analogy: dressers and mould are to bedrooms as cheese and mould are to refrigerators. Oh well, live and learn. Like that scummy piece of tupperware, our back wall is now clean, but viewed with suspicion. The dresser has gone the way of the cheese, into the trash.

Chiakson

On Sunday morning Dan and I decided to hike to the peak of Chiakson (a nearby mountain that is only an hour away by local bus). Chiakson means 'Magpie Crags Mountain', and we saw both magpies and crows gliding through the valleys far below us. It was a tough hike! We left the falls (the easy first 2.6km) at 11:30am, and got to the peak just before 3:00 in the afternoon. Unwittingly, we took the steeper, more difficult path up to Birobong (the tallest peak: 1,288m). The hike up was unpredictable, steep, and exciting! The path varied from level and even metal staircases, to bigger stone or earth steps, to a sheer rock face with only a rope to pull ourselves up with! The last 300m were grueling, but in the end all our sweat and pain was worth it. The view was breathtaking. Just take a look at some of our pictures!

Jusangjolli Rocks

This 2km stretch of coastline is known for its striking hexagonal rock columns. This unique rock formation is apparently the result of the rapid cooling and contraction of lava as it poured into the sea.

Perhaps it was because the sun was setting, but I thought the coast here had a bit of an eerie quality. Some of the shorter stones looked like skulls, and it seemed like the perfect setting for a pirate’s demise, or a scene from a ghost story.

Jeongbangpokpo

After the crater, we stopped to see this impressive 23m high waterfall. This waterfall is unique in that it falls directly into the sea. I enjoyed sitting by the spray and admiring the scene from a safe distance. Trenton, however, climbed all the way around the falls (yes, right behind the falling water!) making us all a bit nervous. (But the adventure was obviously worth it for him, because he was grinning about it for the rest of the day).

San-Gumburi Crater

This crater was left by one of the many secondary volcanoes on the island (there are 360 of them!) However, it is unusual in that it erupted only gaseous material. It's large size (in both diameter [600-650m] and depth[100m]) has created a unique mixtures of biomes within a small space (is biome the correct term here?) The crater ranges from tropical to subtropical to temperate, depending on the location within the crater. The surrounding area was also very beautiful: families were taking their pictures among the reeds that grew in the fields nearby, and the plane next to the crater was well groomed and marked with traditional Korean grave mounds that seem to spot Korea's landscapes wherever we go.

Manjanggul: Lava Tube Caves

On Thursday afternoon we explored the world's longest system of lava tube caves. These elaborately textured caves were formed back when Hallasan was still an active volcano. The floor of the cave was wet and held the impression of the wet lava from so many years ago. The walls of the cave had intricate patterns and textures that varied with the flow and temperature of the lava. The ceiling was very high, and at times made us feel like we were in some kind of underground cathedral.
Unlike the caves in Barbados (which is also a volcanic island) that were studded with waterfalls, stalactites, and stalagmites, these caves were darker, more open, and marked with the distinct traces of lava. For me, these caves evoked legends of underground snakes, thoughts of subterranean cathedrals, and wonder at the creation of this island (that, relatively speaking, was not so very long ago).

Dolharbang Park

Here's a great picture of three of our traveling companions posing next to a wood sculpture in Dolharbang Park. Emily and Trenton (the couple sitting on his knee) are both former King's students, and they also teach at ELP with us. John Gurnett is a friend of theirs, and coincidentally, my grade nine French teacher's younger brother! Small world...

Just a small point of interest: all of the dolharbangs in the park are replicas. It was delightful to see all the statues though, and the park itself was tasteful and informative.

Dolharbangs

Not much is known for certain about Dolharbangs, or their role and purpose in society. From what I’ve read, their purpose could have been three-fold, or any one of these three aspects: a location marker (they originally stood at the gates of the three counties during the Joseon dynasty, and were also markers at government buildings), a guardian (defending against warring invaders, disease, or any other evil) and/or a ceremonial reminder (of a deity or an ancestor). I was fascinated by these stone figures, and frustrated by the lack of information I was able to find. But, perhaps this also contributes to their haunting and mysterious qualities…

Lost Boys

Although these little totem-like statues were in the Dolharbang park, I think they might be replicas of Dongjaseoks, which is literally translated as ‘child stones.’ ‘Child stones’ were markers placed on the graves of children. This little row of stones made me think of Peter Pan’s ‘lost boys’, even before I researched what they might be. “Of course it also shows that Peter is ever so old, but he is really always the same age, so that does not matter in the least. His age is one week, and though he was born so long ago he has never had a birthday, nor is there the slightest chance of his ever having one.” -Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

Jeju Circus

At 10:00 in the morning on Thursday the seven of us went to see a Chinese circus. We witnessed a unique spectacle of Chinese acrobatics and gymnastics, followed by an impressive performance of Mongolian-style horseback stunts.

Hello! Welcome to The Bunjae Artpia!

This little harubang stood at the end of the bridge in the bonsai park. There were four of them: two at each end of the bridge. Although this one was only a replica, these totem-like statues are a common sight and a well-known symbol of Jeju-do.

Spirited Garden: Bunjae Trees

The Bunjae Artpia has an impressive outdoor arrangment of hundreds of bonsai (the Korean word is bunjae) trees, and some of them were hundreds of years old. These three were my favorite. The park also had other interesting flora, including palm trees, century plants, several different species of orange trees, and strange fruit-bearing vines.

Goldfish

At the end of our walk there was a pond with a huge collection of goldfish. We all enjoyed their entertaining appetites and colours (the fish would swarm on top of eachother in order to get the fishfood tourists could buy, and some of their colourings were unusual, ranging from bright sunshine yellow, to a blue & white porcelain pattern, or a stark black and orange marbled look).

The O'sulloc Tea Museum

Angela insisted that we make a stop at the O'sulloc tea museum, while our travel companions visited mini-land miniature park; in Angela's estimation, tea and pottery (in any setting) are wonderful beyond Mount Rushmore, the Eiffel Tower, the White House and all the wonders of the world (found in a Jeju miniature park).

The extra time spent at O'sulloc pleased us both. The museum was interesting and the grounds offered a good opportunity for solitude and reflection that was sometimes lost in our efforts to see as much as possible.

Green tea ice cream and what the...?

The grounds of the O'sulloc museum were beautiful, delightful, and well, interesting... We enjoyed eating green tea ice cream, wandering along the garden paths, and even making a few surprising discoveries

Celadon Pottery

This is a beautiful example of Celadon pottery. Korea's famous blue-green pottery dates back to the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392 AD), and although this style of pottery is still made today, this piece is an original Goryeo teapot.

On the ferry to Jeju

On Tuesday, October 3rd, we set out early in the morning to catch our 7:00 bus to Gwang ju. From there, we caught another bus to Mokpo, and in Mokpo we caught a ferry to Jeju at around 2:00 in the afternoon. The ferry ride was surprisingly calm, despite the warnings I read about in the Lonely Planet!

Danny First?

Dan and I saw this shirt at the market yesterday and decided it was just too funny to pass by. I'm not sure, though, what I think about it! :P

Baby Basil Plants

Even though I had to leave my garden in Edmonton before I could harvest all those tomatoes, beans, potatoes, and carrots, I still had the urge to plant something here in Korea. Stephanie gave me her seeds before she left for Minnesota, and I planted some basil a little over a week ago. Here are my little plants, poking their heads up out of the soil!

MMMmmmmm! Yummy...

We all took the oportunity to have a truly Korean experience...we bought a cup full of peondegi (silkworm larvae!) and each tried at least one. They weren't too bad! Crunchy, earthy, sort of straw flavoured...

Seoraksan National Park

Shinhungsa Temple

The Four Guardians

These are the “Four Guardians”: the four awesome protectors of the temple. They are found at many (perhaps all?) Korean Buddhist temples. We saw them at Chiakson, and then again here at Sorakson. They are apparently of Hindu origin. The guardian of the north, Tamun Ch'onwang, holds a pagoda, which in this context symbolizes death. Chonjang Ch'onwang (the one with the sword) is the guardian of the southern quarter. Chikuk Ch'onwang guards the east. The strings his lute control wind, thunder, hail and other weather phenomena. The guardian of the west, Kwangmok Ch'onwang, holds a dragon in one hand and a jewel (or fire?) in the other.