Environmental Hangover Cure

And so it came to pass that on Sunday, after the marathon session the night before, saw me wake up with a bit of a hangover. I blame the Irish Car Bombs. All was well though, having very little to do until mid-morning apart from feed myself. Following this very lazy start J and I decided not to waste the whole day kicking around the house so we went to 강화도(Ganghwa Island) to visit the temple at 전등사 (Jeondungsa). After a slightly-more-difficult-than-it-should-have-been climb we pitched up amongst some beautiful old buildings. Fortunately we arrived at a time where it wasn't too busy, so we were able to gain most of the benefit of the serenity of the location. Although we were technically out of the hustle and bustle when we went to Heyri a couple of weeks ago this felt altogether different. It was really good to get out of the big city for a while, and also good to once again see a little bit more of the wider Korea.

The photo is my contribution to the small piles of stones near the temple entrance. Apparently if you manage to balance another stone on top of the other stones and make a wish, it will come true. I'm not a very superstitious person but I like stacking objects, so I thought I'd give it a go. One thing that did amuse me at the temple was the variety of small things you could do for good luck, from the rock game to throwing coins into a fountain to bowing ones' head to a particular Buddha. Perhaps if someone does all of the things available they need never worry about bad luck again.

When we got back we went to the local branch of Dino Meat Buffet, which unfortunately doesn't serve Dinosaur Meat but does basically allow you all-you-can-eat from what is essentially the counter at a butcher's. Great idea, though I have no idea how they make any money whatsoever from the business - the amount of meat on offer was staggering. Amusingly if you take more than you can eat they charge you a small penalty amount for being a greedy bastard, though we escaped the fine for some reason. Despite a light dose of the Meat Sweats afterwards it was a perfect dinner. It's always a bonus being with someone who isn't shy about large helpings of barbecue.