On the River

Woke up at nine, hopped on the bus, and went to McDonalds for breakfast (something I do fairly rarely). I walked back along the river, which is a nice place for a stroll. Several years ago, they installed a 20 Km. pedestrian strip for bikers and walkers, and from my apt. to downtown takes about 80 mins. The name of the river, by the way, is Mu-shim river (무심 in Korean, and 無心 in Chinese characters) which is a Buddhist term. It means literally No-Heart River, and refers to independence of mental activities apart from feelings, according to my Korean-English Buddhist dictionary, at any rate).

The strip is often packed, but was today surprisingly bare of walkers. (I didn't miss the people who walk in the bike lanes, or the children who wander about unthinkingly, or the people who stop their bikes directly in front of you... you get the idea.) A few bikes zipped by, but that was about it. I took some of the side paths so as to be closer to the river. While I wouldn't say the river is packed with wildlife (Korea is fairly sterile when it comes to animals), there were a lot of ducks floating about. Once in a while I'll see a snake... I came very close to running one over not too long ago, when it slithered across my path.

And what did I see next to the river? A whole thickets of pussy willows, which I've not seen in a dog's age. The first sure sign of spring!