Amnam Park, on the water in Busan: sheer cliffs with rock in stratified hues of bordeaux, death-mask grey, and all-the-blood-draining-from-your-face-in-fear white. Apropos to my first outdoor climbing experience, although I celebrated with Soju rather than that fine French red. I wonder if it is common to run through the scale of emotions I felt while clinging to that rock face. I felt enthralled, nervous, terrified, ecstatic, victorious, angry, frustrated, failure, amazement, jealousy, weak, strong, pain, fatigue. The rock seems gigantic and sheer in my memory, and yet small and inconsequential at the same moment. At the time I felt nothing but my physical grip and mental blocks. Now, I am amazed that I was able to put my toe on a small ledge and hold another with fingertips, and remain---attached to that cliff face. Of course, if I compare myself to those wonderful, talented, strong souls I accompanied, my feat is nothing. But without comparison, it is of the grandest feats accomplished. In reminiscence, climbing that cliff wall was akin to sailing across the Atlantic, absolutely no land in sight, and if I were to slip off the deck... It is a feeling of awe, not of conquering; it is a feeling of oneness, not of overcoming; it is a feeling of respect, not fear (although I was very fearful of falling). And at the core of motivation to move upward upon this rock, and within my deepest Self; this climb is a battle with limitations physical and mental. That is the hardest to face: although I could overcome many physical limits of strength, agility, and knowledge, I could not overcome my own fear. I could not move beyond that one step, that one reach, and this is what drives me on to try again. Because I know I can, and I am determined to, overcome this silly, irrational fear of heights I acquired a decade back. Because I am determined to become stronger and accomplished at this sport of rock climbing. I am determined to squash with violence that meek voice inside that says "You can't do this, you are too afraid, not fit enough, not young enough..." etc. The voice is only a whisper, and I will quell that self-defeating intimation with a roar of: "MORE SOJU PLEASE!" AH HAHA HAHA AH HAHA!
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Gwangalli Beach is about 2 miles from Haeundae Beach, where our hotel was located. We ate at Sharky's, which if it was the last place on earth to get supposed Mexican Food, might be considered "good"; or if you are from the northern US, where you can't get authentic and delicious Mexican or even Tex Mex so you don't know what "good Mexican food actually means, it might be considered good; or if you're starving and haven't had Mexican food in years, and so have taste bud amnesia; it might be considered good. Or if you like margaritas made with something resembling lime green koolaid....ok, enough of that. You get my point. If you know authentic Mexican, prepare to be disappointed in the food. However! It was a fun scene, sports bar-like, with blaring TVs broadcasting screaming football coaches, and a large expat crowd. The bartender was US or Canadian, and he was pretty awesome, but once it took 15 minutes to get a small plate of chips and salsa (and I mean for $12, it was very small - a plate, not a basket)- 15 minutes after the drinks arrived, that is-- we knew it would be less than thrilling. But we were having fun and enjoying the bustle and newness of Busan! This was the most expensive meal I've had in Korea, costing nearly $80 for two entrees, app, and 4 margaritas (you had to have more than one margarita to hide the taste of the food ha ha). Enough griping :-)) It was fun! The view of Suyeongman Bay was spectacular, especially with the bridge light show that occurred every half hour or so! Since it was Lunar New Year, kids and adults were setting off Roman Candles over the water and lighting candle lanterns that blue over the waves (I tried to ignore the pollution effect). Videos below of the beach and bridge. We ended the night at the Happy Monk Bar, for a surprisingly nice glass of house wine and wonderful service (not surprising!). It is customary in Korea (at least this southern area) to buy an entire bottle of wine, so it is rare to be able to find a place selling by the glass. Most people usually buy entire bottles of liquor too!
Lara and I spent a fab 3 days in Busan! We had many interesting meals: traditional Korean dinner, street food, weird brown eggs, and bad "Mexican"! I drug Lara kicking and screaming through Shinsegae, the largest mall in the world, we visited the amazing Yonggungsa Temple near the outskirts of the city, I did Natarajasana everywhere I could, and we stayed at an awesome "Love Motel", 4 stars by US standards, for $73 per night! We were swept along with the tide of mainly Korean tourists at Haeundae Beach, watching families play traditional New Year's games in the sand, in traditional costume. Heck we even got to witness a beach volleyball game with many of the men in butt-free jockeys--(one of my fav sights on the trip he he! We luxuriated in the boiling saunas and whirlpools of Vesta Spa, and marveled at the variegated architecture of the city. We starved, we overate, we laughed loud and whined a little. It was a great weekend with lots of memories captured below!
Words can offer only a weak description of the physical, mental, and spiritual sensations experienced at the Jjimjilbang, or Korean bathhouse, (some facilities have westernized the name to "Spa"). Relaxation, rejuvenation, restoration, spotlessly clean (both the facilities and your body), renewal, unabashed nudity, connected with one's own body, acceptance, ritual, life, are some of the words that are apt.
There is luxury in utilizing a full 2 hours to make oneself clean and literally, renewed (made new again). For at the end of your visit, you feel as though you have been made again; a freshly formed, revived person. To begin, you sit--yes, sit-- in front of your chosen mirror and shower head/faucet. This is usually alongside several other women in various states of ablutions. A large round mirror allows you to look at your body, and really see it, beyond physical form hopefully, appreciating the gift of life and health you possess (or hope to). Perhaps it is simpler than that, and the reflection is there simply to insure you have rinsed all the soap and day's residue of stress away? Then you sit and wash your body clean in preparation to enter the reviving waters with all the other women partaking of same, usually 30-50 other women, depending on time of day or night. Because everyone is scrubbed so furiously clean, and makeup removed, you can be confident in the cleanliness of the waters and facilities. My own personal ritual is to wash my body clean, remove my make-up, and then give my scalp and hair a coating of sesame oil infused with essential essences of lavender and jasmine (I make this concoction myself) and massage the nourishment into my scalp and hair, and then face. I find that hours in hot water, followed by cold salt water, and hot again, tend to dry my hair: the oil protects and strengthens. The scalp massage? It just feels so damn good! My personal starting point is the whirlpool bath, beneath the soft glow of kaleidoscopic ceiling lights. This very, very hot water bubbles away any residual thoughts of my day, thereby washing my mind clean and bringing me fully present to the sensations of how my body feels, and how the heat; the wet, eases my body and mind. Next, I move into the hottest sauna, first dowsing myself with torturously ice-cold water in preparation to spend 20-30 minutes inside 100+ degrees. On the floor of the sauna, I find the heat bearable; opening and loosening the remaining knots in my mind. My body is at ease almost immediately. I lie supine and sink into the stone floor in a deep relaxation pose, and focus my mind on affirmations of health and body love, as I feel the longevity and heath of my body increasing with each passing minute. Here, I truly feel eternal, knowing that youth is in my mind, and as long as it is, my body has no choice but to follow. Here, lying on the hot stone floor, the distant hum of the heater my only companion, I undo all the negative messages of the world and my ego. Here, I visualize everything I desire in life, and see my future travels unfolding; my health remaining. Here, I see myself at age 90, running and doing cartwheels. Here I see that my death will be at a time of my choosing, when I lie asleep peacefully and am done with this body and its life. Here, I am in touch with my inner most Being, and feel my eternal nature. Yes, it is a meditation of sorts, though more of a visualization and relaxation exercise. I leave my metaphysical experiences in the sauna and begrudgingly submerge myself as quickly as possible in the saline polar bear pool for a few laps. At first, it is horrifying to feel icy water on my skin, yet, as I swim my body realizes the invigoration, the warmth inside from the sauna and whirlpool, and I relax into the water, swimming until I am breathless. Thank goddess I can get out and return to the sauna or the lukewarm pool with its seriously strong jets that pound my muscles with streams of water, requiring further submission, release, and restoration. Depending on time and energy, I might enjoy another round of sauna time, laps in the arctic pool, and another session in the hot tub. My time at the bathhouse nears its end as I return to my bathing spot, and lather up and scrub down with a scratchy loofah. At this point, you are supposed to take off all the dead skin that all the soaking time has brought to the surface. The process is the same for other women: bathe, soak, sauna, scrub down, brush teeth, dry, dress, and return to the world. I enjoy watching the women with their children, scrubbing and scrubbing them. Or observing the various rituals other women follow, so that I gain new ideas for myself. One woman brought in freshly crushed cucumber and smeared it all over her face and neck. Another pair are vigorously scrubbing each other's backs. One applies a deep brown coffee-like scrub to her body. Again, it is encouraging to be in the company of so many other women, all of us naked, but without judgement, doing our own thing. It is the opposite experience in America, where we women are competitive enemies of each other, judging who is thinner and prettier. Am I naive? Perhaps, but it still feels different to me here in Korea. As I leave, I feel relaxed but refreshed. I am not fatigued, but I am tired at the end of the day, and unwound to the point that drowsiness soon follows and sleep is easy and welcomed. aaaaaaah! For those of you coming to live in Korea, or just visit, this is one experience I laud as time well-spent in life, as well as on a short vaca! ~Cheers! Gina "I have deliberately chosen the uncertain path whenever I had the choice . . . A more important freedom was that which made it possible to travel," ~Emily Hahn
... the Mountain!
Settle, peeps! Photos from my hike Saturday... I swear the sign phonetically sounds like "Jason Bourne". (whoops) Captions coming! ...Well, in the Jjimjilbang, at any rate! "What the heck" you ask, "is a Jjimjilbang? And are you sure that's spelled correctly???" Ha! Contrast luxury with a common, everyday occurrence, and you have a Jjimjilbang! Ritualistic and ingrained in the culture is the partaking of the healing waters, hot and cold, saunas, and massage of the Public Bath Houses of Korea! This is not for one who shies from nudity, or finds it odd to be in a roomful of naked women (well, I am a woman, so I was only allowed in the female area, but I'm working up a plan... hehehe...kidding peeps!) in various stages of relaxing, bathing, showering, swimming, baking in the sauna, freezing in the cold pool, resting in a marble chair in one of three hot pools, chattering, watching Korean soap operas, and all the things girls do. Just Naked. It was awesome! And it cost only $6!!! The J.J. (I will refer to the JJimjilbang from here on as JJ, it's just easier!) Jeong took me to Friday night after class includes 4 floors of an office style building, and is the newest and nicest in Tongyeong. First, you get a key for the shoe locker at the counter. Remember, you have to take off your shoes when entering most places in Korea! Once your shoes are locked in the shoe locker, you return to the counter and pay for the visit and trade your shoe key for your locker key. There are a few options from which you can choose: the bath house, additional private body treatment (massage/skin buffing/shampoo, etc.), JJ, and exercise room. Just like a gym in the States, you can pay by the visit, or monthly, or class pass option. So for $6 each we visited the "public bath" portion. The body treatment costs only an additional $25 for one hour! We took the elevator to the second floor, where the women's locker room, showers, and bath house are located. My eyes were instantly drawn to the large design on the marble elevator floor, inlaid with brass, multi-colored stones, and mother of pearl, arranged in a circular decoration. The locker room was typical of nicer private health clubs in the States: well-lit, expansive, hair dryers, vanity mirrors, and the like. As with all the locks in Korea, the lockers had electronic locks, so you carry a key on your wrist. There is a small snack stand in the lokcer room, where assorted women are standing in line, sans dress, buying juice, snacks, special waters, etc. They also offer toiletries in case you forgot some of your own. Bathing is an art, a ritual, here. There is a standard of undress and behavior and procedure. The first time I went, I was with Jeong, but I ventured in on my own last night ( Friday, Dec. 20). After you disrobe and lock up belongings, you walk through the heavy glass doors into the main bath area. In the center are three large tubs, of differing degrees of heated water, very very hot, hot, and mildy hot. This large square tri-section is rimmed in marble, with a large center square column that divides the three, leading your eyes up to a circular design of multicolored, changing lights. With your legs folded underneath, you can comfortable sit on the bottom with your neck and head above water (2 1/2 feet or so deep?). There are also ledges along the wall in the pool, for sitting. When it gets too warm, or if they are chatting furiously with friends, many women sit out of the water, on the cool marble ledge that forms the edge of each pool. There is a sense of respect, disinterest, lack of competitiveness here. Or perhaps Koreans are just okay with nudity and understand it's natural. We all have vaginas and breasts so what's to look at. Everyone is comfortable and at ease with their bodies ( or so it appears from outside). There doesn't seem to be staring or competitive sideways glances to see who is skinnier than who, etc. It's a given that it is impolite to stare, and yet you look at each other and greet, and your eyes pass along another's body as though it is another fixture of the baths. This is a remarkable refreshing and comforting experience for someone coming from a puritanical country where nudity is still seen as "sinful" or socially unacceptable, and the female body is still objectified by men. It is an absolutely relaxing, new, and freeing experience to walk around and lounge in completely nude outside the boundaries of my own house! Anyway, so you'll see many women sitting in various positions on the ledges of the pools engaged in vibrant discussion, or taking respite from the hot water. As I mentioned, there are lights above the three pools, in a swirling pattern, that change color, and it is immensely satisfying to lie back in the medium-hot pool, which has dolphin fountains and bubbling water, and lazily watch the muted light show above, as the colors melt into each other, pink, green, red, blues. The hot-hot-pool is a little too hot for me, but the same size as the medium-hot. "Size" meaning being large enough for 10+ women to sit comfortably spaced well away form each other--like 4-5eight person hot tubs put together maybe (?). Then to the rear is the less-hot tub, with marble "seats" built in along the wall: large armchairs made of marble and hard as such. The three giant "hot tubs" are the focal point of the room as you enter, with a whirlpool bath and body exfoliating machine to the left, showers and bathing areas to the right, and to the rear of this huge room are the wet and dry saunas and the two cold tubs (and I mean COLD people!) The private massage rooms are directly left of the entry door. Just how clean can you get? Well, you'd be amazed that it takes several hours and two good scrubbings to qualify as fully bathed and finished. That's two hours if you're in a hurry! And following is what you do! Photos of our visit to the Tongyeong's cable cars up to Mount Mireuksan; sights seen from the mountaintop! Mrs. Jeong and her husband, Mr. Park, took me sightseeing for the day! What a spectacular day! I had forgotten how much fun being a tourist can be! We south drove to Tongyeong on Saturday; I couldn't believe all the traffic! Everyone was a gadabout: shopping, hiking, going to market... For a small city, which is considered a "town" in Korea, of 140, 00, it seemed like everyone was out that day! Koreans work hard: all day and sometimes or usually 6 days a week, so the weekends are for FUN FUN FUN! You may recall I was referring to the original part of the city as "old Tongyeong"; well this is incorrect. It is simply called Tongyeong (TY from now on). I live in the newest buildup, which is Jungnim, simply a sort of a self-contained suburb. 10 years ago, it was all under water! The Koreans industriously and speedily filled in this area and built a mini-city within 3 years. And not shabbily done either! The building construction is top-notch, nothing cheap that will fall down or rot in 25 years like in the States. Jungnim is only a mile or so from the central area of TY. Following a serpentine route through the city, we cross one of two bridges over Seohoman Bay (we could have also taken the undersea tunnel!) and arrive at the Mireukdo Tourism Area, to ride the Hallyeosudo Landscape Cable Cars, which travel to the summit of Mt. Mireuksan |
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