Gatbawi

We had a mystical experience today. It was experiencing the kindness of total strangers over and over again. First there was the woman from the tourist information center who gave us a discount on our Daegu City Tour Bus ticket because we missed the bus to Andong, but from there it only continued.

We got on the bus and decided we would get off at the 5th stop - Gatbawi. From there, there was a 2-hour round-trip hike up a mountain to see a large stone Buddha with a rock on his head. There were restaurants at the stop and we figured we could hike, eat and then get on the bus to go to another place.

We arrived at the stop at about 10:35. We started walking and it was a cool morning. The air was nice and fresh. There were only Koreans walking up with us. Most of them were in hiking gear - hiking boots, pants, with backpacks and the women wore visors. Many people had hiking sticks. Some people were wearing gloves, face masks, and bandanas around their necks. We were not dressed for the occassion. I had on shorts and sneakers as did Sonja.

The initial climb was pretty easy. A fair incline on pavement. Not too bad. Soon, the incline got steeper. We would stop every now and then to rest. Fortunately there were benches we could sit on.

At one point we stopped and got Pocari Sweat - a great drink for when you sweat a lot. Even though it was cool and we had only been walking for 15-20 minutes, we were drenched with sweat.

We trudged on. The incline became steeper. We'd stop for a few minutes and move on.

We came to a large temple complex. We walked around and took a few pictures. It was very beautiful. The temple was multi-colored and the surrounding mountains were green and lush. There was a stream flowing nearby and we could see mountain ranges far off.

From there we continued on. The pavement turned into dirt and the dirt turned into rocks and then stairs. The climb started to get more difficult.

We went up and found a place to rest. No more benches now. There was a young Korean couple standing in the spot where we stopped to rest. The looked delighted to see us. Sonja asked them if they spoke English. They did. We chatted with them a bit and then they asked if they could take a picture with us. They were really sweet. As they left the girl gave Sonja a bottle of vitamin water. The giving had begun.

We trudged upward. It was really getting hard now. I was soaking wet. Sonja was breathing heavily. I was thinking I couldn't get all the way to the top but I was determined to make it. I was hoping neither one of us would have an accident or heart attack. It seemed highly possible that either scenario could occur.

We'd stop every now and then to rest. At one stop there were a lot of people sitting around. We were really close to the top now. There was a guy selling corn and drinks. He had some cakes of something that looked like tofu. Sonja was sitting next to him. I pulled out my fan and started fanning myself. The woman sitting next to me said something in Korean. Her friends started laughing. When Sonja spoke to the guy selling corn, he told her he had Korean candy. The woman next to me said something and everyone sitting there started to laugh. They were all laughing at us. I was ready to slug her, but she was the only person like that we encountered. Everyone else was super sweet and kind.

Finally we got to the top. It was beautiful and well worth the climb. The statue was exquisite and the view was spectacular. On top of it, there were hundreds of people prostrating themselves and praying and a chant being broadcast over speakers. It was really magical.

We ran into the guy who we had met earlier at the bus stop in Daegu. He thanked Sonja for coming to Korea to teach teachers (I was in the bathroom at the time). When I returned from the bathroom, Sonja was surrounded by a bunch of men - the older guy we met at the bus stop and a bunch of younger guys all listening intently to her conversation with our friend from the bus stop.

We took some photos and started to climb down. We though it would be easier and it was, but the stress on our knees and ankles was worse. We stopped at a little area that had benches to rest. A Korean guy was there and there were a few young girls. The Korean guy was decked out in profesional hiking gear. He had a plastic container filled with nectarines. Without hesitation, he offered us each a nectarine. We had hardly finished that and he pulled out a bag of corn and offered us half an ear of corn. When we were finished that he tried to give us another nectarine. He said he came from Seoul to do this hike. He was really sweet and generous.

Walking down I felt so much better. I empathized with everyone who was huffing and puffing and trying to make their way up. People smiled at us, some said hello in English, some looked at us curiously but in a friendly way. If I said hello in Korean, they always responded.

It was a really wonderful experience. We were really blown away by the kindness of these people to whom we must have looked so strange - two sweaty foreigners dressed inappropriately, clumsily making their way down this incredible mountain! Yet, people continued to say hello, ask us where we were from and wish us a good trip. I have never had an experience like that in my life and I have traveled a lot!

We stopped at a restaurant for lunch when we finally made it to the bottom. It was okay. We had tofu with kim chi and mung bean pancakes. From there we headed back to the bus and went to Donghwasa Temple.

Donghwasa was beautiful as well, though it was a fairly new temple. We didn't walk very far because we were so tired, but we did stop at a little coffee shop. Sonja had coffee and I had a lemonade. As we were leaving the woman working there offered us a free iced coffee to go. We could not believe that once again someone was offering to give us something for free!

We got back on our bus and headed to some tomb park - Bulo-Dong Tomb park, on the edge of Daegu. It has hundreds of tombs that look like little hills. We only walked a little and stopped for some dumplings before we hopped in a taxi to come home.

The taxi driver was a trip, drove like a maniac and didn't seem to know where to go, but he got us home and our fare was 16,100 won. I gave him the 16,000 and when I tried to give him the 100 won, he refused it. Again, a little gesture made so much to us, coming from the land where everything has a price.

Oh, and the best part? When we were on the Bus heading back towards Daegu, the young woman who directed passengers on and off the bus got a phone call. I heard her say something about mei-gook, which I think means Americans. After she hung up she told us that the people from the tour to Andong called and told her to tell us that they spent two hours stuck in traffic on the way to Andong. She said there was so much traffic because many people went to Andong today.

She then ended by saying, "sometimes this happens - bad things happen and then something good happens."

That was sure the case for us.