Places Explored : Buddhist Temple, Dong Gu Area

Buddhist Temple - Dong Gu Area

As I'm writing this, I'm listening to, and getting completely immersed in the voice of Charice Pempengco, the legendary singing dynamo of a girl from the Philippines. Well, I did stumble upon her sometime back on YouTube, and that's it....! I was hooked to the very bits...Man, what a voice that is!

 Well, we've got to thank her fan who posted her sensational tv show on YouTube AND Ellen Degeneres for discovering this young dynamite of a talent, and giving her the opportunity to make that mark in the US. Well, I'm really not surprised that she always has, and always will, bring down the house and move hearts...This is, for you, and trust me, as Ellen Degeneres says, 'you are gonna be blown away!' HOW does she do it?....


     (courtesy of YouTube)

Now, THAT was something, wasn't it? :) For a 16 year old girl...My, my oh my.....

Okay.....back to this Buddhist Temple. Well, there are absolutely NO Hindu Temples here in Ulsan. Zilch. None. The nearest would be the Buddhist Temple. So my friends, Sasya and Piya, called me the day before a worldwide Hindu celebration and say "shall we go to a Buddhist Temple? We know one that's close by and we can take the cab there." They sounded pretty confident, hence, I agreed. I, for one, had no idea on how to explain to the cab driver nor get there. Left it to the gals.

It turned out to be a quite a hilarious trip after all.:)

Well, let's just put it this way. They 'thought' they knew the place, and when the taxi started going uphill a secluded place, everyone of us panicked. Well, you know what happens when women panic. We get all excited and dramatic, voices high pitched, saying 'stop, stop'. God, I wish I'd recorded that moment on a video cam or something. tsk tsk tsk...

To cut the long story short, we finally managed to get the message across to the cab driver, by the way, and sighed in relief when she said "ne, ne"....(yes, yes in Korean language). And...there we were, right at the entrance of the temple.

that's piya, by the way...

Temple entrance....

It was a wonderful feeling inside the temple; very peaceful, calm, pristine...A feeling that calmed your nerves....We sat at at the main sanctum for a bit; then walked up some stairs to another secluded Buddhist altar. Well, honestly, the energy inside felt scintillating and calming at the same instance; one felt as if time's frozen in eternity....

We had a wonderful time at the temple. Unfortunately, I can't quite remember the name of the temple, or the exact location of it. Then again, if it really is your calling, you'll find the temple....

Places Explored : Dewangam Park

Dewangam Park, Ulsan

Oh wow, it's been ages (if you consider 4 months in that category, of course) since I visited Dewangam Park, and I'm finally getting around to writing about it! 

Well, that was the first place my husband took me upon me arriving here at this coastal city. If I recall, I think it was the very second day I set foot on this land. I suppose he didn't want to waste too much time, or perhaps just intended to keep me excited about visiting a place for the next week that came by:) Either way, it was all good.

The whole experience of travelling by bus and walking, was, and still is, exciting and exhilarating to me. For one reason : safety, safety and safety. People, both in Malaysia, AND Korea, have asked me what I like most about Korea, and my answer has always been the same: "safety and the feeling of being secure". Again, this is entirely my opinion; for sure, there'd be many who'd disagree with me. But the truth, and the painful truth remains: Korea seems much safer than Malaysia is. Women can walk around freely without worrying about someone snatching their purses or necklaces, threatening with knives, and such. Malaysia is a beautiful country, and I love it to the very bits. Unfortunately, the crime rates are increasing exponentially these days, or so says my mom. Oh well.....

Anyway, back to Dewangam Park. Yes, we took bus number 104 from the ever famous Gotbawi bus junction (almost like my second home here in Ulsan), and got off at the DAISO store in the district of Dong Gu. Well, in reality, you can take buses 104, 106, 401, 133 or 127 from Gotbawi bus junction, heading towards old downtown (Seongnamdong) or new downtown (Samsandong). Once you get off at DAISO, walk towards Ilsan beach and turn right. You'll soon reach the steps that lead to Dewangam Park.

The road that leads to Dewangam Park....

Just to give you a better picture in case you decide to come to Ulsan.....

What are they trying to say? Beer and food for shrimp, maybe? tsk tsk tsk...

The great thing about walking to Dewangam Park is the fact that you've got to walk pass the entire stretch of Ilsan Beach, which is a place most Ulsanites and foreigners hang out on weekends (or perhaps, even after a long day at work). So, the path is filled with bars, clubs, pubs and coffee houses. One can imagine how lively it would be at night. What say you? Is your imagination in sync with the photo of below? Yes? My oh my, you're quite a visionary, aren't you? :)

The stretch along Ilsan Beach......now how is that???

Well, the walk up the stairs didn't end there. We then had to walk through a forest cum park, which was really, the slopes around a hill. Not the best time to take pictures with you panting, and huffing your way along. Thank god the weather was great, it being the end of  spring and the dawn of summer and all...

That smile is a camouflage the huffing and puffing....:)....

And finally.....a picture of Mr.hubby, the man who's usually behind the camera lens........

But, you know what? All that huffing and puffing...It was well-worth it, I must tell ya! For, there, beneath our eyes, lay one of the most beautiful sights that I've seen in a long time; so utterly delightful it was almost surreal. The lens of the camera can never quite capture the tranquility and magnificence of what the eyes feasted upon. It was the the boundless blue sea, sparkling and glittering in the evening sun; ships, huge and small, bobbing peacefully, almost spelling out a long and hard day's work; the trees far far away, and most of all, the natural rock formation that had a legend of an old princess attached to it. No wonder Dewangam Park's been cited as 'one of the most scenic places in Ulsan'.

I'm not sure if the pictures below would do my explanation any credit at all, but I hope it does in some way. We'll let it speak for itself now, shall we?

The ships....."nun di jauh sana" as how it goes in the Malay language....

So......is he pondering about what the future beholds....or...looking for crabs?

Isn't that spectacular?

The trademark of Ulsan......the shipyard...one can never EVER miss that...

The ocean is enigmatic now, isn't it? Can't quite predict it....

Oh yea....at the peak of the rock formations, I found something rather interesting; lots and lots of 'rusty' padlocks entwined together. Upon inquiry, I found that these padlocks were a symbol of 'eternal love'. Lovers who came here believed if they locked two padlocks together, they'll be eternally together, inseparable....

And before we knew it, the sun had already gone down the horizon. As we headed back down the hill from Dewangam Park, I caught myself thinking about those locks. And I'll leave you here with my thoughts....Now, is there such a thing as 'eternal love'?....hmmm...point to ponder....

Padlocks of eternal love...

So.....when the padlocks turn rusty, does love turn rusty as well? hmm.....think about it....