The road to the monastery went on and on, getting smaller and smaller, till it eventually came to an abrupt forested end. "From here we walk" it was announced, and before long I found myself hiking up steep strewn boulders, past bamboo sprouts and oak forests. The path wound up the mountain, never far from the sounds of tumbling streams, which were the only noises breaking the silence of the valley. I quickly found the stresses and neon-induced insanity of Seoul, slipping away. It was a lovely hike; and it went on and on.

Eventually we neared our end, high up this lush mountain side, we could see a building through the trees. As we neared closer the wonder of the building came into view, a tiny 1400 year old monastery, set in an incredible position over a tiny babbling brook. Strangely juxtaposed into the experience was the sound of chanting from inside the buildings, and the gentle whirring monotony of a drinks vending machine improbably humming close to the path...

Warmly welcomed by a monk, we were ushered into his room, a wonderfully simple space, where we were promptly ribbed by him for bringing jasmine flowers as a gift, and not rice wine. Then the tea drinking ritual began in earnest. Sat around a kettle and low slung table, we drank green tea so pure that it actually tasted of the finest chocolate you can imagine. This was quickly followed by a Chinese green tea, this time bitter to start with a perfumed aftertaste. I was blown away; brought up in a strict Tetleys, milk and no sugar household, I had never experienced drinking tea with such purposefulness and subtle simplicity. As we drank, the monk listened to our whale tour motivations, and the stories of Greenpeace in the past. I told him that we were here to protect all the oceans not just whales, and he was most pleased to hear this, emphasising that all creatures must be protected. As he orchestrated the tea-drinking ritual, he said that not just oceans but mountains too need looking after, and that the mountains are as high as the oceans are deep. Soon we moved on, barley tea, then finally a sharper green tea to finish.

He is a lovely man this monk, exuding health, serenity and a youthful vitality. Towards the end of our tea drinking session he agreed to come and join us, and to accept our invitation to come to our welcoming ceremony in Ulsan. As we stumbled down the mountain in the dark, I reflected on the day, and thought that although we had still not found a workshop space for the team, we had won a good friend to come and support us in our campaign. So it was that far from the sea and high up a mist-enshrouded Korean mountain, we had found some spiritual support for our oceans campaign activities. I had fallen short of asking the monk to pray for the success of our voyage, but his smile said it all. As we arrive in Ulsan tomorrow for a VIP open boat, it will be his face beyond all those in the crowd, that will mean the most to me.

- Jim