In which I climb up one side of a mountain and down the other, get somewhat lost, and throw out my knee

Mount Palgong (Palgongsan – san means mountain), where I have been several times of late, is a large mountainous park north of Daegu where many temples and hiking trails are located. One of the most well known attractions on Mt. Palgong is Gatbawi: a giant stone Buddha atop one of the peaks, with a large stone “hat” on his head. This Buddha is said to date from 638AD, and it is also said to grant one wish per person. According to some sites, this Buddha is a “medicinal Buddha” and as such, people have been known to travel to Mt. Palgong from all across Korea in order to pray for sickly loved ones. And did I mention that it’s located atop one of the peaks? Yeah.

Back in 2004, my coworkers and I spent one weekend exploring Mt. Palgong, and at one point we had decided to make our way up to Gatbawi. We drove to the tourist village at the base of the mountain, and began our hike. We hiked up a steep path to a small temple named Bukjijangsa, where we took a lot of photographs and where we discovered a steep stone staircase leading up the mountain from Bukjijangsa. The staircase was labeled Gatbawi. We took a long look at the steep staircase and decided that perhaps we should try to find a more accessible Buddha.

Since returning to Daegu, I’ve thought about the Gatbawi Buddha, and have seriously considered hiking up to it several times. Unfortunately, my attempts at making it up to the Buddha with the hat were thwarted by both my intrinsic laziness and by misinformation. Early on, I checked the information in my Lonely Planet and on several websites, and learned how to get my lazy self up to the Gatbawi tourist village without a car. About three weekends ago or so I finally decided to go for it. According to my information, I was supposed to go to Dongdaegu Station and catch bus #104. Perhaps this information used to be correct; it is plastered on several websites, not to mention being printed within my Lonely Planet. Anyhow, I took the subway down to Dongdaegu Station, and made my way to the Dongdaegu Station bus stop... where I noticed that of the many bus lines posted at the stop, #104 was not one of them. I waited around for 30 minutes, just to be sure: nothing. I then walked to the four closest bus stops in a square around the station – none of them listed #104 either. So I went home.

Last weekend, as I rode bus #101 up to Pagyesa, I realized that the #101 was behind a bus #401 bearing the label “Gatbawi” – information jackpot. On that trip, I not only learned where I could catch the #101 without having to trek all the way downtown, I also learned where I could catch the #401. I thought that perhaps I might try to make for Gatbawi yet again this weekend. Of course, I also thought that perhaps I might spend the weekend in bed with a good book. You never can tell with me.

Last night, I came home from work and checked my email, where I read a very distressing message from my mother: A close family friend had had a heart attack and was hospitalized and not doing well. Sudden, unexpected illness of a loved-one is something that makes us all feel helpless... and well, there’s not much I can do to help either Frank or my mom from over here in South Korea. Then it occurred to me that I could climb the mountain and ask the Gatbawi Buddha to restore his health. So that’s what I did today.

I got up early and took the subway to Ayanggyo (location of the Dream Gate), and from there took the #401 up the Gatbawi tourist village on Palgong Mountain… accompanied by what felt like half the population of Daegu. When I boarded the bus it was packed solid with people, most of whom were dressed to go hiking. I ended up in the front of the bus on the platform with the cash box, pressed against the windshield, performing bizarre acts of contortion every time to door opened to admit even more Korean sardines. I figured that given the combination the wild antics of the driver (we ran three red-lights along the way), the blasting heater on the bus, the crowd and lack of ventilation and my tendency to get motion sick in overheated, poorly ventilated vehicles on mountains, I was better off pressed against the windshield, enjoying the view and hoping we didn’t crash.

We reached the tourist village, where everyone disembarked, and joined the crowds of people who had either driven or taken other buses up Palgongsan in order to go hiking. Then I began my ascent.

It didn't start off very steep, although the peak was my destination!


Early on, I passed this cat.
Every Buddhist "facility" I visit seems to be home to one or more cats,
all of which look well fed and healthy.

The path didn’t start out too steep, although it certainly increased in gradient quickly enough. By the time I got to the first temple, Bukjijangsa, I was pretty tired… although not too tired to take some pictures.

Approaching Bukjijangsa


Inside one of the Bukjijangsa shrines


Bukjijangsa


Inside Bukjijangsa


Inside one of the Bukjijangsa shrines


This is a macro shot; this guy was only a few inches tall.

After fully exploring Bukjijangsa (and catching my breath!) I tackled the stairs upward towards Gatbawi. It was steep and slow-going. It was quite disconcerting to note that most of the people on the staircase from hell with me were older than me – many substantially older, and many of them sailing past me.

Near the bottom of the stairs


About halfway up


Looking down!

Along the way I met some Korean college guys (studying radiology) who kept telling me things like “Cheer up, you’re almost there! You can do it!”

This picture was their idea.
I thought it was a great chance to rest a bit.

By the time I reached the top I was exhausted, drenched in sweat, and my legs were shaking so much that I was having to hold on to the railing to keep from falling. But the view from the top was spectacular, and definitely worth it.

Take a look at the view!


More view...


And yet another fat, healthy cat.
How it got up here, I've no idea.

Then I arrived at the Gatbawi Buddha. The whole area was packed with people who had climbed up in order to pray before this statue.

Look at the crowd!


This is the guy we were all there to see.


Up close

After taking numerous pictures and making my wish that Frank’s health be restored, it was time to move on. I had come to the realization that I was A) drenched in sweat and B) it was cold and windy. (It had been about 55F at the base of the mountain; I’m not sure what the temperature was at the peak.) If A and B, then C = Jane is cold. While hiking back down was sure to warm me up, I didn’t feel much like retracing my steps back down the stairs I had just ascended. I had read that there were two ways up to Gatbawi from Bukjijangsa, so I had simply planned on taking the other way back down. This plan was thwarted a bit by the discovery that in addition to the stairway I had traversed, there were two other downward-sloping stairs. So I picked one. It didn’t lead back to Bukjijangsa.

Where did it lead? Well, first it took me through a small temple (although bigger than Bukjijangsa) packed with worshippers, called Gwanamsa.

There was this weird little cavern of little Buddhas


Gwanamsa


One of the shrines at Gwanamsa


Worshippers at Gwanamsa

Then the path turned and led me down the other side of the mountain, along a much newer (and as such, a much nicer), although equally as steep staircase to a road, a parking lot, and yet another temple. In the parking lot, there was a bus stop. According to the sign, it was serviced by only one bus, the #311 (which I’d never heard of) although I figured that at the very least it would get me to somewhere where I could catch a taxi back home. My knees and ankles had begun hurting during the last leg of my descent, and I didn’t think there was much of a chance that I could make it back up and over the mountain to the Gatbawi tourist village to catch the #401. According to the sign at the bus stop, I had 45 minutes to kill before the next bus came. I figured that was the perfect amount of time to explore the Boeunsa temple located just north of the parking lot.

That peak in the center - that's where I was!


I liked this shot.


Boeunsa (note the satellite dish!)


The temple paintings might not have been old,
but they were definitely beautiful


Here's another


A shrine in Boeunsa

The #311 bus came right on time… but it was not one of the familiar looking Daegu city buses. I got on anyway. We traveled the rest of the way down the backside of the mountain, and began to head southeast. The trip lasted about 45 minutes, during which we went through several intersections with signs reading Daegu, right; someplace-I’d-never-heard-of, left. And each time, we turned left. I figured that there were enough people on the bus with me that we had to be going somewhere of decent size, and that any place of decent size would have buses running between it and Daegu. I tried not to worry too much, and sat back to enjoy the trip. Finally we reached a point where everyone on the bus disembarked, so I figured it was a good time to get off as well. I got off and discovered first, that I had no idea where I was, and second, my right knee was in terrible pain. (This has happened twice before – the first after walking several miles in brand new heeled boots, and the second after duck-walking across a frozen lake and then climbing up a near-vertical cliff. I guess we can add mountain-sized staircase as yet another thing I shouldn’t submit my knees to. Why was it I hadn’t worn my knee brace? Ugh.) Anyway, I was standing on the sidewalk wondering if I had enough money for a taxi to Daegu from wherever the hell I was… when up popped a Daegu City Bus! Apparently I was out at the very end of the line, the very eastern outskirts of the city (or possibly a suburb?) – either way, I rode the bus for about half an hour before arriving at the Ansim subway station (the furthest east the Daegu subway goes), and after hobbling down the stairs to the station, I was able to catch the subway home.