Buddha's Birthday

I get a day off work this week in celebration of Buddha's Birthday. I spent my afternoon in Insadong checking out festivities geared towards this celebration. I watched a parade, some sort of martial arts that was pretty hardcore (they were kicking eachother in the faces,) and ogled the many lanterns hanging around town. I haven't posted many pictures lately, so I thought I'd post some pics of Korea - she was very photogenic today...

The top pic is taken at a temple that I took photos of a while ago and posted. It's the same temple, but it looked much more festive today. These lanterns created a kind of ceiling between the temple grounds entrance and the actual temple. I thought they looked cool.

I like the second pic above a lot. This statue of Buddha is more like the Buddha you would see in a Disney movie and less like the Buddha that is usually represented in Asia. People were putting money in his hand and a woman was putting it in a slot that is just below the bottom of this photo. Someone must have thought Buddha also looked thirsty, hence the water bottle set at his feet.

So, I kept waiting for this girl to get out of the way before I took a picture of this lit Buddha-balloon landscape, but when she struck this contemplative pose, I felt she was the perfect addition to my picture. Her mom kept telling her to get out of the way too, but I think the picture is actually enhanced with her presence.

Above is a picture of the parade. These ladies were pretty in pink. The picture doesn't do them justice, but they were wearing more makeup than a clown at a Mary Kay party. They even painted on side-burns (which kind of weirded me out - I don't really get the signifigance of adding facial har to a feminine face.)

This last pic is actually the first pic I took today. I took the long train ride to Insadong from my place. For parts of the ride you are above ground - and it was hard for me to look at the skyline because the sun was shining so brightly. When I finally got to Insadong, the weather had taken a 180-degree turn - it was pouring. Fortunately for me, it didn't rain long. I started to walk towards Insadong after a stop-off at the bookstore (I bought the Lonely Planet guides to Belgium and Amsterdam) and I encountered one of the most beautiful rainbows I have ever seen. I think it was a solid combo of sunny skies, a lot of moisture in the air post-rain and one of the smoggiest atmospheres in the world that helped create this natural wonder. I took four different pictures and still don't feel like I fully captured the beauty of the rainbow (it was showing every color, like a fucking bag of skittles) but I did my best. If you look close, you can see the rainbow arcing over this pagoda.

If you're in the market for a new background to your desktop, may I suggest you enlarge the first photo and set it as your background. It will do wonders for your Karma...

I feel that if Buddha's birthday was celebrated in the States, I would celebrate a little differently, but for the time being, I'll take the day I had.

Much Love from Seoul, and happy birthday Buddha!