I am: Robot 4 Life

Right now, I am watching Robot wars. It's a Korean show called Super Robot Grand Prix. You won't be able to understand the site, but I linked it anyway. It's that incredible. There are nimble robots who are pwning huge heavy ones, and absolute monsters easily knocking down crazy insect-footed others. The "ring" is 2.2 metres wide and long, robots have to be between 20cm and 120cm, and there are specified ratios your robot has to be. Robots are also named. There was one called "Robot 4 Life". I thought it was apt. Robots for the utmost win.

I don't really remember where I left off. I am getting pretty tired, by now! How exhausting travelling is!! Only 10 days, or something Ludacris like that ch'all til we get back to the beat ch'all. Luda. Luda.

We spent the last day with the kids at the study room making moulds of our fingers with some Plaster of Paris and...other ingredients. Water, maybe? Anyway, it was pretty cool, and the fingers were way creepy. And while we waited for the things to set we played hangman and another word game, which I found way too fun for my age. And then we went to Gyungju World with two cousins! WOO! THEME PARK! Although tiny, it was pretty cool. There were a trillion kids there when we first got there, but towards the end of the afternoon the insane queues of tiny people with hands had left. We dotted around going to various rides, getting wet and cold from a water splashy rapid blow-up doughnut riding ride, I scared the shit out of Mintie by taking him on a GIANT CLAW THAT SPUN AND SWUNG, and then dared to go on the most 'extreme' ride of them allllllllllll. Mintie wouldn't come with me, so the cool cousin we lived with for the week came with. It was awesome. As my feet hung, we corkscrewed and looped at super speed. It was way better than the claw. We went twice. I also went back on the claw with her, which was just as scary the second time. Also, fairy floss was consumed. It was epic.

The next day was the last one in Pohang, so we finally went back to the temple we loved, that one called...Bulguksa! Just as incredible and beautiful as the last, the heavy grey sky slowly weeping it's tears, creating a dramatically different mood to the last time we saw it at sunset. Although it's not entirely original (most of it re-built in 1600s due to destroyations by the Japanese (as are most of Korea's material artefacts) in the late 1500s), the stairs leading up to it's main building are over 1200 years old. They look it too. It's gorgeous.
We then drove up a mountain near by, which on a less wet day we probably would have taken the old route 3.4km by foot from the temple, and went to an amazing Buddhist grotto. Seokguram is incredible. We were dropped off at the parking lot, and just us two walked the rest of the way in the thick mist and, at times, often pouring rains. It was way muddy. The grotto came upon us quicker than expected, a tiny Korean-style building off the side of the mountain. As we entered, it opened out like a tiny cave, into a small room, and then a circular room through another arch. Buddha's 10 disciples are carved on the walls around him, four gods that protect buddha in the archway, two guards either side of the arch, and other deities closest to us. Although the inner area is cut-off by glass to protect the site, the inner sanctum is still clearly used by monks. It has such an amazing atmosphere, the huge stone Buddha within is supposed to have reached Nirvana, and it so evidently is. It's so serene, the whole body is in the most relaxed pose; Buddha is clearly at peace with himself and the world. If I were to partake in organised religion, I think I would most likely choose Buddhism out of the big four. The western religions are "do this, to be this", whereas the eastern religions are more "be this, in order to do this"; it's so much more holistic, I think. Very cool.

Anyway, that's about it. We're back in Seoul. Ready to hit stuff up like palaces, Lotte World, and shopping before we go skiing in a couple of days. Sweet ass. I'm so up for it! Also: it's snowing quite a bit lately! Whhhhhheeeeeeeee!

XD