The Outing

I took Danielle to a local Bulgogi restaurant and taught her how to eat it. Its a super fun time. First, you have to cook the beef on a little coal fired grill at your table. While we waited she tried soju for the first time. Pictured here, she is making a little taco out of the side dishes and the beef.

The Fish Market Part II

Danielle went to get Sam Nak Chi. It was better then the time I went with Ben...

The Visitor

Danielle got into Ulsan Thursday morning instead of Wednesday night as expected. She combatted numerous flight delays and had to spend the night in Tokyo. Finally she arrived and now we are off on our adventure. One of the first things we visited was the beach. Jejong beach is near Ulsan. We mistakenly decided to take the city bus there which took about 2 hours. Danielle visited a public bathroom that didnt have any toilet paper. Then we walked down the beach where her shoes filled with rocks. Then we went to the fishmarket. We had fun there to make up for the less than inspiring ordeal of getting there.

The Treat

There are not much of a reprieve from the seafood flavored treats that most Korea kids love. Usually chips in Korea are flavored with squid or fish. American kids or me would not go for these flavors but Koreans love them. I often see Bryan (age 9) chowing down on them. Pringles are one of the few treats I can enjoy here.

The Timer

Its a bit hard to see... Most intersections have a lit count down clock for the crosswalks in Korea. Its really nice, especially for a foreigner who is always walking somewhere and taking the bus.

The Sandwich

Western food is a rare treat in Korea. Sure, they have McDonalds and a few other restaurants but its not the real thing. At McDonalds they have Bulgogi burger and curry ketchup. Most of the other western chain restaurants also alter the menu to fit the culture. James showed me one place down by the beach near his house called Big Bite. He told me some long history about the place but the short and meaty part of the story is they are the only place that serves lunch meat in Ulsan. For 9,500W ($8.00) you get a subway style sandwich that is at least 16 inches long and stuffed full of meat. Shown here is a third of the sandwich I couldnt even finish. It was delicious, piled high with warm roast beef, lettuce (not cabbage like most places) mustard, mayo and dill pickles. Its a deal.

The Trash Cans

All over Korea a big push has been made to recycle. They are serious about it. Michael said if I put plastic in the trash they wont even pick up your blue trash bag if there is anything recycling in it. In America we have alot of trash cans all over our cities, but Korea has dotted their cities with recycling cans. We should follow suit.

The Haircut

I got a haircut at salon recently. I was nervous at first about it because I dont speak much Korean and on second thought, I should have learned some Korean haircut words like short or trim. The haircut turned out alright. I took a picture of what I wanted. They gave me a bit more euro trash hairstyle then the photo indicated but it was fine with me. The best part is they give you the full treatment. Cut, wash and style for only 10,000W ($9.00).

The High Rise

Most people in Korea either live in an apartment or on a farm. Renting or Leasing an apartment doesnt work like it does in the United States. Sure they have the typical lease agreement for foreigners but for the average Korean its a little different. To rent an apartment they require an enormous deposit, somewhere in the range of $200,000 USD. After this, the tenant just pays a small monthly rental fee while the owner of the apartment collects interest on the down payment or uses the money to invest in another building. Most of the apartments around me are atleast 30 stories tall and are grouped in little villages. Most of them are complete with their own post office and quicky marts. Koreans also measure apartment size in a different unit then we are used to. I first thought they measured them in square meters but they measure them in pyong. My apartment is 18 pyong so in western measurements its 640 sqft. I have a larger on in comparison to some of my less fortunate friends. One guy I know in Seoul has a 5 pyong apartment. Its cramped to say the lease.

The Fuzz

The police in Korea are rarely seen. Guns are illegal in the country so violent crimes are very low. All Korean men between who turn 18 must join the army or the police. I would think there would be more police just for that. The police I have seen look like boys, I cant imagine them stopping anything. Koreans dont have as many patrol cars like in the United States. Instead, most of them ride around in these tiny cars with speed cameras attached to the roof and on motorcycle. Yes, they are Harleys. Instead of having speed traps in Korea they have cameras that send you an automatic ticket. It sounds like a great idea, leave the boring jobs to machines right? Well, Korea has terrible driving habits because of it. Most cars have a GPS in them which updates the driver to which intersections have cameras and where the speed cameras are. If there is no camera at the intersection, many times cars just go right through. On the freeway, drivers speed recklessly until they come to a speed camera, slow down, and then speed back up afterwards.

The Race

I couldnt get a picture of one in action, but everyone in Korea hates the motorbikes. I would call them motorcycles but they dont have enough pedal in the metal to qualify. They motorbikes dont follow any of the posted traffic rules, they wave in and out of traffic, run red lights and pretty much do whatever they want. They follow pedestrian rules when it suites them and traffic rules when it suites them. Or when it suites them they follow none. The problem is, most people relay on them for their quick service of delievering food. Watching them in action is quite scary thought.

The Hairdo

Seeing older Korean women on the street is like entering a time warp. Koreans defiantly show their age through the hairdo. Women who are 40 or older (according to James) have the curly permed hair style. Women who are younger have their normal straight hair, often with blonde high lights. I prefer the straight hair to the permed. A lot of the older women are going bald because chemicals used to perm the hair are so harsh and they have to use alot of them. Asian hair is naturally very persistently straight. Its sad because the straight hair is very beautiful.

The Foliage

Gingko Biloba trees are everywhere in Ulsan. Gingkos are though to be descended from trees in the Pliocene are which was about 5 million years ago. As wikipedia comments, Gingko is one of the best examples of a living fossil. Why would you plant this relic? Gingkos are survivors, they can live with little water and are resistant to pollution. Some of the down falls of the Gingko are that they are a special type of plant called dioecious. This means that unlike normal plants which have both male and female reproductive parts in flowers, Gingkos are only one sex. Many cities who plant Ginkgos plant only the male trees because they dont produce the fruits like the female trees. The fruits are horribly stinky and often cover the sidewalks in Ulsan.

The Couples Date

Today is November 11th (11/11). Today is a special day for couples. Traditionally boyfriends and girlfriends give each other this candy as a show of affection. The candy in Korea is called Pepero but I heard its called pocky in the United States. The candy was on sale at the grocery store so I bought a box for myself. Its pretty tasty.

The Fools Gold

Korea, like the United States has their penny. This time the penny instead of being part of a dollar is actually ten korean dollars (won). From the looks of it, since there are new Korean pennies, the 10 won coin is here to stay. Its comical because the ten won coin is the only gold colored coin in Korea currency. In the United States we have "cents", that is parts of a full dollar. In Korea this is a strange concept seeing as the smallest paper bill in Korean is 1,000 (chun won). They also have 5,000 (oh chun won), 10,000 (mon won), recently introduced 50,000 (oh mon won) and the 100,000 (ship mon won) notes. Counting is complicated and does not follow the western style of thousands but I will have to save this discussion for a later day.

The Big Top

Soju tents are a circus in Korea. I know this one looks empty but its only because its 3 blocks long. On Saturday afternoons Korean businessmen in suits flock to these venues for some Korean Barbeque and Soju. I can barely get that dirty liquor in me but from the looks of their table a small group can clear a case. I learned pretty quickly that you to watch out not for teens or college students or even expatriates being the troubled drinkers, its old Korean men. Any day, any time, you can see this portion of society drunk. Im not talking about homeless men sitting on the side walk, in fact, I havent seen any like that. Its all men in suits.

The Uncreative

The other day in class we stumbled upon a picture of a clay pot. I asked the kids how would you make such a pot and they exclaimed, "A machine, Teacher!". I laughed and then asked them if they had ever made a clay pot in art class. They all looked at me with puzzeled looks. I think started to describe the four ways I learned how to make clay pots, wheel, pinch, coil and slab. Still more puzzeled looks... I moved on to the next topic but I asked Michael about it. Many times over the past few months being here I have been amazed at the kids knowledge but discouraged by their lack of creativity. As Michael describes it, Korean schools do not cherish creativity like American schools do. Many eastern artist go to art school in the west to learn to be creative and think outside the box. Where we clearly lack in discipline or pure knowledge we may make up for it in someway with creativity. If you asked a Korean student anything about the history of Asia they would certainly have an answer. If you asked them about why a painting is beautiful, you would get a blank look. I think we can both learn a lot from each other.

The Pool Hall

I dont know where billiards originated but I really dont picture Asia first in my mind. Still, pool is a huge sport here. I guarantee that no less then 100 pool halls are within 2 blocks of my house. Admittedly I live in a pretty populated area but I have seen 3 story buildings with all three stories occupied by pool halls. The best part is they are cheap, around 6,000W ($5.00)/hr. I have visited a few but I am perplexed by how these places make money, they always seem empty or have a few straggling soju hounds left in them.

The Popular Use

Korea is not in island, nearly though since its surrounded by three sides by water and one side by North Korea. Korean culture still leaks into the mainstream just a little. I was watching South Park last night and saw this on the screen. Its during the episode Chickenlover where one of the characters is discovered to not be able to read. The stop sign says "meongcheongi" (멍청이) which means "idiot". I just cant help but wonder why the creators of the show didnt use Chinese or Japanese. Those countries seem to be more well known outside of Asia.

The Magic Button

Most Korea restaurants have these magic buttons. If you press the button it somehow signals the waiter. I have no idea how it actually works but non-the-less its important to know what the button does. The first time I encountered the button I sat right down and pressed it. The waiter came right over, then Michael politely told him that I was a foreigner and had no idea what I was doing. If you want to summon the waiter the old fashion way just call out yeo-gi (여기) which means "over here". Its not rude in Korea to shout for the waiter like in the United States. Remember, Korea is a service country that doesnt tip and trust me, they run their asses off for you.

The Central Heat

Unlike in America, Korea houses do not have central air. Instead, they have in floor heating. I remember when I was in grade school my parents had a heated floor in their bathroom and thought it was really fancy. In Korea, every floor is heated. It just makes sense, What good is heating the air and blowing it around? In Korea they heat the floor and the heat rises. Its so much more energy efficient. The controls are pretty uniform but kinda strange to westerners. The controls control both the hot water in the house and the heating of the floor. I have no idea what some of these buttons do but I know the ones that control the floor and the hot water for the shower. I have to say, a heated floor is super nice.

The Forbidden Fruit

I was told that Redbull was illegal here but some dope of a foreign teacher. Shows what they know. On Halloween night I went to a bar where the special was Jager Bombs. I assumed they would be using, Baccus-D, the Korea substitute for Redbull. Instead, I was treated to the real thing and it only cost 4,000W($3.50) a can.

The Fashion Sense

South Korea is very fashion forward. They have all the typical brands here as well as some high fashion brands. They have North Face, Mountain Hardware, Burberry, Versace, Gap just to name a few. The sheets on my bed are even Versace. Many people take advantage of the variety of clothing choices but like most places, only a few can actually pull it off. Older Korean men definitely have a problem matching.

The Mailbox

The mailboxes in Korea are red. You dont have to put international mail in a special mailbox like in the United States. Put all the mail in the same box and it will get where its going. These red boxes are all over the place so you dont have to walk far to find one.

The Post

Sending mail in South Korea is pretty cheap. I havent sent any in-country mail but sending a letter home, at least right now (2009) is only 650W ($.50). In comparison, for my family to send me a letter it cost $.95. The post office is friendly but they dont have much grasp of the English language. Its understandable. One important thing to remember is to tell them "Me-gook" (미국) which means America or American person. Simply writing USA on the letter doesnt mean they know where to send it. Sometimes I forget that the language I take for granted is not the common tongue in Korea. Once, I had a little difficulty because international rates are more expensive then in-country rates. The Post Office also sells envelops and boxes of all sizes for very cheap. A normal letter size envelop cost 20W ($.02). I have been very satisfied with the service I have received at the Korean Post Office.

The Sneak Peak

Most of the consumer electronics used in the west are produced in the east. The new Chocolate touch cellphone was released here a few weeks ago but isnt set to be released in the US for 2 more weeks. Although I am too poor to buy it, it looks pretty sweet in the store window.

The Hyperbole

I went to Gyeongju to check out some of the historical sites there. I was told this area has the most historical sites in Korea. Although it may have the most historical sites many of them seemed... fake? For instance, this "historical site" is a recent mock up of an ancient temple. The whole experience seemed phony bologny. This is another example of Korean and Japanese cultural conflict. China has clearly been a power in the region for several thousand years but Korea and Japan fight about everything including who was around first. As a result, both countries try to trace their cultures back thousands of years. These "Temples" are the result of that tracing. If Korea can claim they found older ruins then Japan then they will win the upper hand.

The Local Crop

If you have lived in a box your whole life you might not know that rice is the main crop in South Korea. When you ride on the train you can see rice field stretching as far as the eye can see. Similar to the corn fields in Iowa. For everyone else, rice accounts for more then 90% of total grain production in South Korea, but it is not the main consumer of rice. Korea has become a little westernized so rice is not their main source of carbohydrates. They only consuming 5,000 metric tons a year. China and India lead the world wide rice consumption with 135,000 and 85,000 metric tons per year. Just saying...

The Train Station

Korean train stations are unassuming buildings, a far cry from the cathedral-esque train stations of Rome or Florence but none the less just as functional. In Korea, Station is "yook" (역). They are easy to navigate and have ticket counters usually with kinda English speaking people. Also, the announcements are in Korea and English both at the station and on the platform. Most of the signs are in Korea, English and Chinese so the train station is very foreigner friendly.

The Open Market

Its kinda hard to see in this photograph but in Korea there are food stalls everywhere. The best place to go for them is the open market which you can usually spot with the brightly colored umbrellas. These markets are usually a circus and full of both raw foods like fish, pork and prized beef as well as fruits and vegetables. Usually a labyrinth full of twists and turns, the market also has a very interesting smell to it. Most Korea dishes are flavored with some sort of stinky fish paste or another. There are many restaurants at the open markets. This market in particular is outside of the train station in Gyeongju. You can have your pick of many different types of food at the market. This time I found a dumpling store, they are kinda like pot stickers. Dumplings (만두 or mandoo) are a favorite in Korea and are usually super cheap. The food stall I visited gave me 15 dumplings with dipping sauce, a bowl of soup and a small pot of rice for only 2000W($1.50). Its a deal!

The New Year

Danielle is coming to Korea for Christmas and New Years. She booked us a hotel in Fukouka Japan for 2 nights over New Years. We are taking a ferry from Busan on December 30th at 10pm and arrive in Fukouka at 7:30am. We stay New Years Eve (December 31st) and New Years day night (January 1st) in Fukouka and then back to the ferry on January 2nd we are on a ferry at 10pm back to Busan. In Fukouka I have planned a visit to a spa and also hopefully a visit to the Fukouka Modern Art Museum which has some famous Salvador Dali and MC Escher works.

The Brew

Good beer is hard to come by in South Korea. Imported beer is expensive for obvious reasons. What I dont understand is why they import bad beer like Bud Ice. Bud Ice is a joke in the United States. In Korea, as you can see, it cost 2680W($2.00). Its no wonders that the rest of the world thinks US beer is a joke, they import the wrong ones. Native Korean beers are drinkable but not the best. The two main beers are Hite and Cass. They are both high gravity beers, meaning they have more then 5% alcohol by volume. They dont sell cases of beer because you have to pay a deposit on all the cans so instead Hite and Cass are marketed in 1600ml bottles which they call pitchers. The pitchers are roughtly half a gallon of beer and cost around 4500W($4.00).

The Cheese Selection

Cheese is hard to come by in Korea and good cheese is even harder. I went to a wine tasting a few days ago and they had some Brie. Other then the Brie the only thing I have had is Canadian singles (American Cheese). Canadian singles are not cheap either. The bottom left square is pointing out a "sale" on Canadian singles, 10 peices of cheese for 5,300W($4.50). The top right square is pointing out butter that is on sale, 2 sticks of butter for 6,700W($6.00). Deal or no deal?

The Medicine People

If you wanna go to a Pharmacy in Korea youll need to visit a "yak-guk"(약국). "Yak" means medicine and "guk" people, so its kinda like visiting a medicine man or shaman in africa. They have all sorts of normal pharmacy drugs at the Korea pharmacy but they also have what Michael calls "Chinese Medicine". James said that, like legend or tales has it, China uses all sorts of magical cure-alls and mystery pills made from who know what. Reminds me of Moxie or how Coca-cola used to be made with cocaine. Ill admit I have been taking a supplement that I first bought at the Family Mart down the street called Bacchus-D (박카스D). Someone told me that Bacchus-D was the substitute for Redbull (Redbull is illegal in Korea because it "leads to hysteria"). I have seen it at the bars, Bacchus-D, being served with Jager. Recently I found out that Bacchus-D is a vitamin drink from China. It still tastes good.

The Auto-ticketer

In Korail, like Eurail, has ticket vending machines. The personal ticket windows are open from when the first train leaves (3:15am) to when the last train leaves (11:59pm) in Ulsan but they dont always know English. I usually have to write in Korean where I want to go. The bonus to the ticket machines is that they have an English button so it speaks to you but the down side to the machines is that you have to pay via credit card.

The Honor Code

Korea always goes by the honor code. Everywhere there are honor code plaques suggesting to the general public things that most Americans wouldnt do. For instance, this sign which I found in Seoul on the subway. There are certain seats reserved for handicapped, pregnant, injured and new mothers. I know many places are handicapped accessible in the United States but alot of times there is alot of disrespect for these sort of things. People park in the handicapped spots at the mall because "Hey, handicapped people dont come to the mall that often." The general rule in Korea is dont sit in a seat unless you have too. I often see people standing on the bus to work while several seats are open.

The Charade

Living in Korea can sometimes be challenging, especially when it comes to communication. I do use a phrase book and translator on my iPod but alot of times it just gets lost. An easy example is the photo above of the definitions of "coat". Certainly if your at a store youre probably searching for clothing but say your trying to ask someone where a coat store is... If you pull out your translator and up pops 35 definitions of "coat" it might be hard to ask someone where a coat store is. Pantomiming is my most preferred way of communication, but that usually only works for objects. The best advice is to be patient. Koreans will follow you around for 20 min if they have to, they are usually very friendly and helpful.

The Co-Pilot

In Korea the roads are confusing, most roads dont have street signs. Its nice because I just show my address to the taxi driver and he takes me right there. James told me that the police dont set up speed traps like in the United States. Instead, they have speed cameras that clock you and take a picture of your license plates. As a result, in Korea everyone speeds wildly because the navigator has the location of the camera in them and alerts the driver to the location. Its not uncommon for me to be in a cab going 150kmh (95mph). When the navigator alerts the driver to a camera they slam on their brakes, go through the camera, and then speed right back up.

The Cheese Adventure

I went out looking for cheese the other day because I have been starving for it. Koreans do not do cheese except for a cheesy dog treat I have seen and Sagwa loves. I have seen Canadian Singles (American Cheese) on toast so I figured I could find it somewhere. I was kinda hopping that the cheese package said "Korean Cheese" but instead is just says vertical cheese (상하 체다). Koreans do not do cheese. At an American grocery store you can find atleast 20 different kinds of cheese. Here your lucky to find one and its not even real cheese made by an animal.

The Can Opener

Last week I was a little homesick so I decided I was going to make chili. Chili should be easy enough right? I went to a different grocery store this time where James told me they have a large western section. That grocery store is called Home Plus and apparently is an English outfit. After a good parade around the store with two service people trying to pantomime "beans" to them, the guy helping me out found them. The word "bean" when you put it into a translator comes out in Korean like rice or soy beans, like a grain, I think. It added to the confusion. I got the only beans they had, kidney beans, and loaded up my cart with the rest of the ingredients. I got; beans, onions, red, green and yellow peppers, jalapeno peppers, and a kilo of beef. They dont do ground beef in Korea and think its almost a mortal sin because their beef is very expensive and I have to admit, a lot better then American beef. I also looked for parmesan cheese but that was a hopeless endeavor. The only cheese in Korea is Canadian singles (American Cheese slices). Anyway, I decided to cook up the beef on Saturday night a few days later but when I went to open the cans I realized I didnt have a can opener. It was around 7pm when I started to cook so I ran around the corner to the Family Mart. They didnt have a can opener but said that maybe another Family Mart would. I tried 3 other Family Marts but none had one. I went to Hyundai department store and they only had a 71,000W can opener from Germany. I wanted chili but not for 70 bucks. I finally remembered a kitchen supply store that was in the neighborhood and ran straight there. My luck, they closed at 8pm, right when I got there. 8,000W for a can opener. SOLD. That chili was good too.

The Symbol

I have seen this symbol all over South Korea. Nazi affiliation? National Socialism? Not even close. The Yung Drung has a been a symbol of Buddhism before 500BC, thats even before the Romans took power in Italy. The Nazis just stole it. This isnt the exact swastika the Germans used but instead it is a mirror image. Meaning, it rotates the opposite way. In Buddhism, this symbol is synonymous with the Christian cross

The Vet

On Saturday, I took Sagwa to the veterinarian. The vet, Dr. Lee, was recommended to me by the pet shop that gave me the breeders name. I was a little nervous at first because Im in Korea but the vet spoke very good English. Sagwa got his second round of rabies shots so he should be good for importation to the United States in that respect. Some other tests have a 30 day expiration date so I have to get them right before I leave. Sagwa weighed in at 1.6kg (3lbs 1oz.) The vet did his thing and gave me a report, he said Sagwa is fat. Silly me, I was feeding him extra food because I thought he was too thin. Then he looked at me sternly and said, "Do you love your dog?" I answered, "Yes." Dr. Lee then scolded me for Sagwas dirty condition. His ears were dirty and I hadnt given Sagwa his weekly bath. Thank God I got his toe nails cut before we went to the vet or I would have gotten scolded for that too. The whole trip set me back 60,000W ($50) but it included a six month supply heart worm pills and the rabies shot.

The Show of Affection

In Korea its against the social norm to kiss or hold hands in public so instead to show that couples are together they dress alike. I think its cute but kinda funny. It just makes the girl look more masculine and less attractive. I would want my girl to look super hot so the other guys were jealous. None-the-less, this is the way Koreans say "She's off the market".

The Misnomer

Many times in Korea, companies or businesses try to include English on their products. I appreciate it but sometimes its more confusing then it is helpful. Here is one example of that; pepper flavored cucumbers. Really? cucumbers to me have no flavor what so ever. I wonder if they mean, mild peppers.

The Underground

Every big city in Korea is either in the process of building a subway (Ulsan) or has an extensive subway system already (Seoul). I know many large cities have subways like New York or Chicago but I think there should be a push in the US to get more public transportation. It seems silly to have so many cars on the road if we are all going to same places. The main draw back is that people might have to walk to the subway station... and you wonder why so many Americans are fat? Or, why so many Koreans are skinny?

The Promise (Part II)

Danielle booked her flight through Expedia a month or so ago. Everything was fine until a few days ago when they informed her that she would have to change one of her flights extending and already long layover in New York by 7 hours. She then called Delta to complain about the layover extension. The first time she called they said they couldnt do anything to help. She called back a second time and got her flight changed from Incheon airport near Seoul to Gumpo airport near Busan. This is easier for her since Busan is only a 40min train ride away from my home. The worst part is she has to come to Korea a few days early.

The Fish Market

In Ulsan they have a great fish market. Since we live on the ocean fish is no expensive commodity. In Seoul, fish is expensive. First, because the city is some ways from the sea and second, there are 12 million people in the city. Thats alot of mouths to feed. The fish market I visited is called Noryangjin, its a short walk from the Noryangjin subway stop. I did not eat fish from this market, Michael told me the fish here are old. I have to agree, many of the fish were dead or dying in the tanks. It was a sight to see non-the-less. The market stretched for what I would like to say was almost a mile.

The Islands

Dokdo is a set of islands off the east coast of Korea. Why is this tiny island so important, important enough to post a billboard, written in English and not Korean? Well, Japan and Korea are fighting over this island. Whatever country ends up owning the island will have economic power a certain radius from the shore of that island, effectively widening the territory controlled by that country. Who cares about the sea between Japan and Korea? People who know about a large natural gas pocket beneath the sea. The island is 87km off Koreas coast but 157km off Japans coast. Koreans also view this move by the Japanese government as another step in the long list of imperialist things Japan has done over the past 1000 years. Japan has short mans syndrome in Asia. They are continually trying to expand their territory. Wikipedia registers 6 territorial disputes from Japan. Japan has even gone as far as to rename the "Eastern Sea" the Japanese Sea. Maybe we should rename the Pacific Ocean, the Californian Sea.

The Stack

At the Buddhist temple I noticed several stones stacked all over the place. I took a few inquisitive pictures to find out later. After a little research I discovered that this is a recent practice started to bring good fortune to the stacker. Each stone represents a wish.

The Temple

On Saturday morning before I caught the KTX back to Ulsan, I went to a Buddhist temple called Bongeunsa. It was pretty interesting but a little strange at first. After a few minutes I realized that this place was no stranger then going to a Catholic Mass. A monk was singing in the back ground and ringing bells. In front of the main the temple, there is a large obelisk where many worshipers light incense and candles in honor of their ancestors. Inside the temple there are three main statues of Buddha with an alter in front where worshipers place offerings, from what I saw, rice and fruit. The ceiling is adorned with hundred or possibly thousands of prayers written on papers and attached to the ceiling. In the main courtyard there is an 80ft (maybe?) tall statue. It was a very cultural experience and I would recommend visiting one of these sort of places to anyone.