Dave, Andrew and I had a good weekend break on a northwestern coastal island called Ganghwado.According to the Lonely Planet guide, we bused from Sinchon Stn in Seoul to the Ganghwaeup bus terminal. From there we hitched a ride with a Pastor's daughter to their farm/church property, a Methodist Church. We enjoyed some watermelon in the shade and they lifted us to Oepo-ri, a small coastal village on the western part of the island. The ferry took us to Songmodo Island in 10 minutes. The short ferry ride was fun, it cost KRW 1,800 r/trip, or about $2.00. We took a bus directly to Bomunsa Buddhist Temple and hiked to the Buddha statue carved into the rock cliff. It was really humid, but we rested near the top at the foot of the Buddha before returning to the Temple grounds where Koreans were sitting around collectively. Earlier, we had been asked to leave the temple, when I asked a burly young monk if we could sleep at the temple. We had been told by the Methodist family and the ticket clerk at the shuttle bus terminal on SOngmodo, that it was possible. So, I looked for an elder monk, handed him my cellphone to speak to my wife. She explained in Korean that we were English Teachers and needed a place to stay for the night. He spoke mild English and was smiling from ear-to-ear, he was welcoming and wanted to do anything to help us. It was afterdark, we were tired and wanted to rest. He showed us to our dormroom, and where we could wash up (no showers, but there are large plastic bowls and scoops and soap, bring a towel...) They opened the dining hall for us, and prepared a full-course Korean meal, rice and many different types of Kimchi, very delicious and generous! The dorm room smelled like a mosquito coil, and was full of mosquitos. It was breezy outside and we could see alot of stars around 1am. The three of us went outside, and decided to sleep next to one of the temples. I spotted a corner spot next to a temple and parking lot. Dave and I decided to sleep there, Andrew opted for inside the dormitory. We awoke at 5am to loud Korean drums, and brass gongs going off inside the buildings next to us, and above in the open pagota on the cliff. I had wet-toilet paper earplugs in, I didn't hear it over the murmur of the water fountain spring also on our right. The drumming went on for awhile, then the gongs, finally we went back to sleep. There were mosquitos out there, since we had no repellant, donations were happily accepted. ^^++ It was a great adventure for a night. In the morning, breakfast was being served already in the cafeteria, we ate and hiked back to the lower lot to catch the bus to the ferry terminal. An inexpensive get-away, we left donations for the monks and I turned the prayer wheel with the older monk that befriended us before we left. Good times...
