Gatbawi

I arrived back from Manila on Thursday night and, after getting a bus to Daegu I got home around 2 and to bed by 330. Needless to say I wasn't moving before 10. Mike was coming down around noon and so I did het out and get banking before meeting up. We mostly spent the day at Wolgwang lake park catching up.

Saturday Darren came down and the three of us headed for Gatbawi. Gatbawi is the one tourist thing that I have not done in Daegu and, despite weather than made Manila feel cool, we decided to head eat and go up it. We headed out to DongDaegu station and hopped on the 401 headed east to Gatbawi (갓바위). Gatbawi is a stone Buddha carved in the 9th century. It is said to have healing properties, and I guess if you consider how many calories you burn getting to it that is kinda true. The hike is very vertical and, while not long, is taxing in ideal conditions, let alone in that heat. We slowly made our way up. On the way we met a monk named Ja Jae who had been born a Christian, moved to California and found Buddhism, and had recently moved back to Korea. Interesting story and was great to talk to. We finally made it to the top and it was worth the slog.

Buddha

again

Palgongsan shots

With this done I also feel that I have well and truly done everything in Daegu, and with only one or two exceptions everything in Korea. There are the Boseong tea fields and I have never hiked Seoraksan, which is considered a major tourist attraction in Korea. That being said I have hiked 20 other mountains here, all of which offer beautiful views and great exercise. I would like to do Boseong before I go but it isn't a must for me. If it was that important to me I would have found time to do it in the last six years. Gatbawi was a bit of a must for no other reason than it is a great bit of history and it is in Daegu. It is a great reminder that Korea is actually an old country, something that, as I have said before, is very easy to forget amid all the modernity the country is so famous for.