Island Hopping in Ganghwa-do (Day Two)

(We signed this slate at the temple we visited on the Sunday. Maybe that's a little cheesy, but it was with good intentions, and, well, you just never know. Looks very bland between Korean and Chinese writing of course!)

Sunday. Where was I? Oh yes, the latest "Love Motel". This place was the absolute dog's bollocks. Pulling into Oepo-Ri in the dark did not make finding accomodation difficult, as the town consists of about 3 roads, and a garish neon firework sign announced the proximity of the Spark Motel. For 35,000W (about £18) we had the best room ever. Extremely modern and comfortable, this room incorporated a huge flat screen TV, DVD player, central control panel for all lights and heating, air conditioning (actually required to combat the heating which we couldn't get off), a plush bathroom, a toilet with a control panel for vibration, heat and spray (nice!), a fridge with OJ inside, tea/coffee, and a variety of toiletries. Also, downstairs was a fair selection of DVD's which were free to borrow. All of this, and for 5000W more, we also could have had a PC and internet. Genius.

I expected a yeogwan this far into the sticks to be a cockroach infested hole. The only things to remind you that this was primarily a haven for cheating spouses, was the complementary "love-making" goody-bag, and a sizeable percentage of the DVD's being porn. Also, the owner seemed a fine, friendly man on the exterior, but his thick glasses, sweatiness and unkempt eccentric hair betrayed the fact that he revelled being on the periphary of sordidness and sleaze. He probably had peep-holes everywhere and committed unspeakable acts of self-love with red pepper paste.

In the morning, a look out the window rewarded us with a nice sunrise over the sea and mountains. We bid our potential pervert friend a fond farewell, and promised to use his hotel again in the unlikely event we should pass through Oepo-ri in the future. I've never been on a ferry before! So the 15 minute ferry ride across to the important temple Bomun-sa [Treasure-Gate Temple] on Seokmo-do [Stone Mother Island] (just west of Ganghwa-do Island) was fairly exciting. This temple is one of Korea's 8 special shrines for the Bodhisattva of Compassion, due to a large carving of him on the “Eyebrow Cliff” above it. But enough of that, you got your Buddhist lesson for the month in the last post....





The ferry docked at Seokpo-ri, which is literally a one street town consisting of a procession of raw fish restaurants. A short and bumpy bus ride later, we arrived at the small village beneath Bomun-sa, which was also, fairly predictably, abundant with anything and everything that could be plucked from the surrounding waters.


Of all the fishwives noisily selling their squirmy wares, the lady below was our firm favourite. I sampled some of her twigim (deep fried seafood, like japanese tempura, crap really), and we had some banter with her in Korean. We told her we knew how to speak only a little Korean (yomankum - this much (a small amount)), and with unbridled delight she gripped the tip of her finger and told us the amount of English she knew was also "Yooooooooooomankuuuuum!", in a jolly, insane screech. She was brilliant, and worthy of a photo. Look at my hair by the way! A bloody afro by my standards.


A few stalls had bucketloads of live crabs fresh from the sea. I'd been wanting to try crab properly for a while, but was kind of hoping more for the cooked variety. Certainly not the alive and nipping kind. Undeterred, I let the crab man rip a pincer off and tried not to wince too openly as I coaxed the gelatinous mush from it's shell. Didn't taste too bad, but I wasn't hungrily wolfing it down like the Koreans.



Below is the rather small and unassuming front gate to Bomun-sa. Everyone who hiked up was munching on some form of free sea creature, I suppose in an effort to secure their custom after they made their descent. The climb to the temple was extremely steep and strenuous, and I firmly believe I indeed attained enlightenment to the tune of about half a stone. Here's some pictures.

(A poor substitute for Star Wars or Action Force figures when you're that age. I'd even settle for M.A.S.K. Buddhas have no movable limbs let alone interchangeable weapons.)

At Bomun-sa, their is a natural grotto which was formed when a huge rock fell from the mountain high above. We were very lucky to arrive just in time for a large prayer, and spent several minutes inside this dimly lit cave, caught up in this interesting and intimate occasion. I've put on a picture as well as the video, in case these youtube links mess up. It's a weird dilemma witnessing these moments, as we are very curious about the Korean culture, but don't want to step over the mark and appear like visitors at some spiritual zoo. Nobody seems to care about the camera, but I still feel a little uncomfortable sometimes, like a religious voyeur.

The other attraction here, was the carving at the top of the mountain. But for once, we couldn't be arsed, as it was fairly busy (quite surprising given the relative remoteness of the temple, but indicative of it's importance), and was a boring climb up stone steps. I love my mountains, but I prefer not to do crowds or boring steps.






At around 2pm, we began our journey back into Seoul. I really enjoyed our visit to Ganghwa-do, it definitely had it's own vibe to it. And, with it being quite rural, was a hotbed for weird and wacky characters. Waiting for the bus home, we even saw the blind leading the blind, literally. I was torn between sympathy for the sightless and the joy of seeing a live proverb. Is that a proverb? Or just an expression? Either way, it seems typical of Ganghwa-do, and I mean that in the best possible way. I forgot to check, but it wouldn't surprise me if the water went down the drain the wrong way, and the backwards talking midget from Twin Peaks was town mayor.

Back in Seoul, we pulled up alongside some soldiers, who did their best to give a "cool" pose. Did you know that basically all Koreans are required to serve in the army after school? I can't remember the exact details, as the only time we've spoken to Koreans about it is when guttered. But it's a very harsh law anyway. I now feel very sorry for all the flamboyantly coiffured young guys walking down the street in their pink shirts and grey cardigans with matching "man-bags". They're doomed surely.