Gatbawi
October 15, 2006
A plaque near Gatbawi
Tomorrow is my 38th birthday and I wanted to do
something special today. I climbed a mountain with my Korean
Hwang family (Jin, Yong Won, and Eric) and 2 other friends (Lulu and
Sarah). The something special I did for my birthday last year
was walk to Popeye's and eat greasy fried chicken. I still
love Popeye's greasy fried chicken, but since I've lost 25 pounds,
I've been trying to eat more healthy. I can't even believe
that I successfully climbed this mountain of pain. Compared to
last year, I was beat after walking back and forth to Popeye's!
I've read and seen many pictures about a stone
Buddha with a hat on top of a mountain (Gwanbong Peak which is the
East end of the Palgongsan mountain ridges). It's called
"Gatbawi." Gat means hat in Korean and bawi means stone.
It was A LOT more of a treacherous climb than I had anticipated and
I currently can't feel 3/4 of my body. But I suspect after a
few years of rest while I wait for my nerve endings to heal in my
legs, feet, and toes, I'll feel like my ole invalid self again.
It's tradition for Korean people to make the trek
up the mountain and pray at the feet of the Buddha and to make a
wish. Apparently, these wishes come true for most. I
brought my hands together and bowed to the Buddha and made a pretty
simple wish..."to be happy."
Afterwards, we went to Outback Steakhouse for a
yummy birthday steak. Thankfully, I didn't use my hands and
arms much to climb the mountain, so even though my lower extremities
have lost the ability to move or feel air, I was still able to cut
and eat my steak. If I die tonight from too much exercise and
don't wake up tomorrow morning...please bury all my money with
me...all $2.06 of it!
The drive with Lulu and Sarah
The death climb begins!
850m high above sea level
The climb down
The drive home and Outback
What I learned
today about Korea: 1) My friends got me a Mont Blanc pen
for my birthday. I'm high class now baby!
