Buddha's Birthday Weekend

For this three day weekend I headed off solo in search of something beautiful and different. I succeeded. On the east coast of the country is a beautiful coastline of rocky outcroppings and sandy beaches. It would be a lovely place to vacation in the summer when the water warms up if you can get through the reported crowds and barbed wire that lines the beaches to keep the northerners out, (North Korean's that is).

The beaches have two big draws. The first in seaweed, which the locals collect and dry to supplement their fishing incomes (or maybe this is their income?). They collect it with this long pole, reaching out into the breaking surf for floating strands.



The second draw on this coastline comes from an ancient tale, also about seaweed. Once, long, long ago, a woman was out on an island collecting kelp. But, when it was time for her her fiance to pick her up in his boat, the waves were too great. Still on the shore, he watched a wave creash over the rock and his virgin love drowned.

After her death, the fish went away and there was no food for the village. Not sure what to do, the locals errected a large statue of a penis. Why? Well, why not. Today there is a penis park, which houses hundreds of penises, of all different types. It may seem odd, but the tour buses flock to this little village now, so even if the fishing hasn't gotten much better, there is no shortage of income.