From Burma we flew to Penang, an island just off the North Western coast of Malaysia, to meet David and Duck. we devoured the delicacies on hand there for a couple of days before busing up to Thailand. Compared with the poverty and difficulty of travel in Myanmar, Thailand seemed a land of luxury and easy living. We spent nearly 2 weeks on the beaches of the South and a week in the mountains of the North. At the end of our trip we came back to Bangkok for the 4th time, but it was the first time we'd had a chance to explore it.
Showing posts with label cliffs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cliffs. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The perfect rock ledge
This past Tuesday we went over to Dongnae to see David and Duck for the first time since Duck's birthday. It was high time, and we were on a mission. We would walk towards Guemjeongsan (mountain) from David and Duck's place til we found a trail, which we would hike up until we found the perfect rock ledge for our kimbap and soju picnic. This plan went swimmingly. It was a hike up the roads heading towards the mountain, but as soon as we hit dirt we knew we were in luck. These little guys guarded the way.
There was even a map that we puzzled over for a bit.
But we didn't much need it since the only way to go was up. And up we went. Along the way we found many offerings such as the one below. Soju for the ancestors or forest spirits, depending on whether the offerer believes in Confucianism or shamanism.
At some points we lost the trail and used the river bed.
Behind one rock we found this colorful figure on top of a tiger.
Part way up we came across a road and what looked like the entrance to a temple. A Korean couple on the road asked us where we had come from as we scrambled up out of the river bed. Then they pointed us on to the temple, Okbulsa.
At the base we found this waterwheel and pine.
Up some more to find some of the shrubs blooming already and more temple paraphernalia.
This temple turned out to have their own rock carving of Buddha.
But this wooden piece was my favorite sculpture there.
The view from Okbulsa was lovely.
Some of the buildings were an interesting mix of western and Korean architecture. But we still wanted to go higher and find that perfect rock ledge for our picnic (no soju on temple grounds). So we were off again. We found another site that seemed related to the temple, but there was an old woman there who ran us off and pointed out a trail going up up up. It wasn't well maintained, but it was empty. An empty trail is a rare and precious thing in Busan and probably all of Korea. Most trails are extremely wide and packed with technicolored Koreans in the trendiest new hiking gear, complete with two poles and packs for 1 hour, graded trail treks. It was a wonderful surprise to find a solitary hike. It was steep, but it wasn't far, and we managed to see a quail or pheasant and a hawk or falcon (not too familiar with Asia's birds). All this in a city of 4 million. And we did finally find that perfect ledge where we had our picnic after all.
When we finally tore ourselves away we found this guy on the way down. He's the Korean incarnation of Buddha. He's always portrayed as this sort of fierce, bearded protector who will ward of evil spirits. Not quite the Buddha I learned about in the States, but this was the first sculpture image we'd seen in that likeness. He's more common in prints and calendars.
Unrelated to the mountaineering, yesterday all 4 of us went to the Bexco conference center for a conference Brian's school had told him about. We knew it was for the opening of an English language radio station, but David heard there'd be a "famous buffet" from his coteacher, Brian's teacher said it would be "almost festival", and Duck's teacher just told her she should go. So we were excited but didn't know what to expect. It was an opening to the radio station, but it was a fancy affair and they gave us a gift bag (contained a portable radio) and the mayor of Busan was there and everyone assumed we were part of the radio organization. When they found out we weren't they all wanted to know what we were doing there. Oops. Our explanations worked, but everyone had that look in their eyes like you just came for the free radio didn't you. I'm glad about the radio station, but don't kid yourselves radio people, a portable radio the size of a walkman is not desirable even if it's free. Now, if their eyes had accused us of this famous buffet having brought us... but there was no buffet. It was a strange hour with dancers and a fog machine and firecracker confetti, but the fruit tray on each table was delicious and we got offers to contribute to the station. It's wonderful how speaking English has suddenly qualified us for jobs that we're absolutely unqualified for.
Another side note, Brian's been refurbishing the blog and he's moved the Appalachian Trail posts to a new blog you can find at http://www.atsummer08.blogspot.com/. He's added some new pictures and posts and will be adding for a while til we get all our favorites up. Also, he's made another at http://www.canyouenglish.com/ where David, Duck, Shannon, Ryan, Brian and I will be cataloging the great konglish signs and other printing that we find. There are links to both of these blogs on the left hand of this blog under the heading Our other blogs.
There was even a map that we puzzled over for a bit.
But we didn't much need it since the only way to go was up. And up we went. Along the way we found many offerings such as the one below. Soju for the ancestors or forest spirits, depending on whether the offerer believes in Confucianism or shamanism.
At some points we lost the trail and used the river bed.
Behind one rock we found this colorful figure on top of a tiger.
Part way up we came across a road and what looked like the entrance to a temple. A Korean couple on the road asked us where we had come from as we scrambled up out of the river bed. Then they pointed us on to the temple, Okbulsa.
At the base we found this waterwheel and pine.
Up some more to find some of the shrubs blooming already and more temple paraphernalia.
This temple turned out to have their own rock carving of Buddha.
But this wooden piece was my favorite sculpture there.
The view from Okbulsa was lovely.
Some of the buildings were an interesting mix of western and Korean architecture. But we still wanted to go higher and find that perfect rock ledge for our picnic (no soju on temple grounds). So we were off again. We found another site that seemed related to the temple, but there was an old woman there who ran us off and pointed out a trail going up up up. It wasn't well maintained, but it was empty. An empty trail is a rare and precious thing in Busan and probably all of Korea. Most trails are extremely wide and packed with technicolored Koreans in the trendiest new hiking gear, complete with two poles and packs for 1 hour, graded trail treks. It was a wonderful surprise to find a solitary hike. It was steep, but it wasn't far, and we managed to see a quail or pheasant and a hawk or falcon (not too familiar with Asia's birds). All this in a city of 4 million. And we did finally find that perfect ledge where we had our picnic after all.
When we finally tore ourselves away we found this guy on the way down. He's the Korean incarnation of Buddha. He's always portrayed as this sort of fierce, bearded protector who will ward of evil spirits. Not quite the Buddha I learned about in the States, but this was the first sculpture image we'd seen in that likeness. He's more common in prints and calendars.
Unrelated to the mountaineering, yesterday all 4 of us went to the Bexco conference center for a conference Brian's school had told him about. We knew it was for the opening of an English language radio station, but David heard there'd be a "famous buffet" from his coteacher, Brian's teacher said it would be "almost festival", and Duck's teacher just told her she should go. So we were excited but didn't know what to expect. It was an opening to the radio station, but it was a fancy affair and they gave us a gift bag (contained a portable radio) and the mayor of Busan was there and everyone assumed we were part of the radio organization. When they found out we weren't they all wanted to know what we were doing there. Oops. Our explanations worked, but everyone had that look in their eyes like you just came for the free radio didn't you. I'm glad about the radio station, but don't kid yourselves radio people, a portable radio the size of a walkman is not desirable even if it's free. Now, if their eyes had accused us of this famous buffet having brought us... but there was no buffet. It was a strange hour with dancers and a fog machine and firecracker confetti, but the fruit tray on each table was delicious and we got offers to contribute to the station. It's wonderful how speaking English has suddenly qualified us for jobs that we're absolutely unqualified for.
Another side note, Brian's been refurbishing the blog and he's moved the Appalachian Trail posts to a new blog you can find at http://www.atsummer08.blogspot.com/. He's added some new pictures and posts and will be adding for a while til we get all our favorites up. Also, he's made another at http://www.canyouenglish.com/ where David, Duck, Shannon, Ryan, Brian and I will be cataloging the great konglish signs and other printing that we find. There are links to both of these blogs on the left hand of this blog under the heading Our other blogs.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Best Cliffs - McAfees Knob/Tinker Cliffs
We've been told by many that McAfees Knob is the most photographed place on the entire AT mainly becuase of the cliffs that jut out over the valley below with a vertical drop underneath. It is located just north of Catawba Virginia and is frequented by many dayhikers, but luckily it wasn't crowded at all when we were there early on a sunday morning. We passed Tinker Cliffs the same day as McAffes Knob and they were equally amazing. Tinker Cliffs are a little more remote and afford slightly better views, but lack the picturesque rocks of McAfees so its hard to pick a favorite.
The trail followed along the edge of Tinker Cliffs providing breathtaking views along this quarter mile long stretch
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