Bukhansan postcards

The 4 photos below are a product of Clare's photographic genius). Believe it or not but these hikers have no ropes and no special equipment except perhaps good hiking shoes. Notice the guy in th lower right corner casually walking down. I admire their courage but at the same time find it quite foolish. One wrong step, one little mistake is all it takes...There are signs posted on this mountain that list the number of people killed or seriously injured while climbing.

This picture is a mini-representation of hiking in Korea which entails (in most cases) climbing up steep quite dangerous rocks right in the city while enjoying beautiful vistas. But more than anything else it means encountering intrepid, oftentimes reckless hikers. This one is not worried about the good grip on the rock (perhaps he has rough calloused soles?).

How to glam it up on the mountain? Easy: get yourself big Escada-esque sunglasses, paint your fingernails in an outrageous colour and get a good light and a good photographer.

Not posing, (can you tell?). Papparazza Clare clicked me in against the backdrop of yellow flowers named "aegi dong" in Korean ("baby shit)." Aegi dong is also the name of our leader Chang-dae's little theatrical company geared towards kids. He was very surprised at our surprise over the name. According to him, 'aegi dong' has very positive connotations in Korea. Korean parenst love checking their babies' poo on daily basis, bringing a soiled diaper close to their adoring noses and sniffing, insisting that the stuff smells good. Be that as it may... Another indispensable piece of information concerning this pretty flower with a name that could stand a lot of improvement: "baby shits" are harmless to humans but could be fatal to cows. Dear cows, stay away - eat daisies, or something...

Today, May 15th, is Buddha's Birthday. It's a big holiday in Korea, more important and more traditionally ingrained in Korean culture than Christmas. This is a scene from a temple called Doseonsa, on the eastern slope of Bukhansan, practically at the bottom of the mountain. When we finishd our hike, we decided to visit the temple and see all the beautiufl lanterns hung there. We witnessed a strange site: right in front of the temple where people were piously praying, a stage was set up; a loud and lewd MC made people laugh with jokes that seemed to be rather obscene, judging from his body langauge. This scene attested to the true nature of Korea, a country that is at the same time deeply spiritual, disturbingly materialistic, and intrinsically shamanistic. "Such earthy people," Clare seems to sum it up the best.

Flowers for Buddha.  

Rubbing Buddha's big belly can bring good luck.  

On Baekundae, Bukhansan's highest peak, 863m. Georges was with me in this picture but he cut himself out saying: "you look much better without me. I was really tired." I insisted that he should send me the original photo. He did, and I posted it on our hiking website. "Frankly speaking" (to use my students' most overused and misused phrase), I happen to agree - I like this photo much more without him. Ooops!

The part of our hiking party who decided not to go to the peak. This is our favourite resting place, just a bit below Baekundae.

B. (me) between the Boys: Sooyoung on the left and Youngrock on the right. The Korean flag (Taegukki) in the upper right corner adorns the highest mountain peak in the Seoul area, Baekundae on Mt. Bukan (Bukansan). Douglas, Georges, the "boys" and I decided to go to the top.

B., Boys and blue nails. Resting before going down to join the others. Youngrock said: "Why? Why such nails? I hate it." Oh, well, de gustibus non desputant [est] - I knew I'd get to use my high-school Latin some day.

Surrounded by unknown ajoshis. I have no idea where the rest of my club members were at this moment. Notice the ajoshi in blue on the right - same posture as me.

Debbie and Stuart beautifully framed.