After our great Thanksgiving day with co-workers and Kyung's family and our night in the "Sweet Motel", Kyung came to pick us up on Friday morning. She took us to her family friend and doctor and then we went to eat in a very nice Italian restaurant on the edge of the city. I thought I could see an airplane on the other side of the nearby lake. Kyung told me that the plane is very old and someone parked it there and turned it into a restaurant. It looked good.
Kyung knows that Rie and I like hiking in the mountains. She drove us to the nearby Palgong-san. Kyung thought that Rie and I should hike to the top to see the Buddha, but there did not seem to be time for that. Instead, we all hiked up for about 30 minutes to a small temple complex. Kyung is under 40 years old and follows the typical patterns of a person her age and means. By this I mean that she does not hike much, but she does like golf and designer clothes. I felt bad for her expensive shoes on the walk.
After another night in Daegu, Kyung drove us to the town of Gyeongju. I wanted to visit a Folk Village near there. Kyung drove us to the village of Yangdong. Yangdong is about 600 years old and many of the buildings are well over 200 years old. The Korean government subsidises the inhabitants and in return they maintain the appearance of their homes and gardens and leave portions of the village open for tourists.
We stopped for lunch in a small family-run place that did not seem to get much business. I think it was as much of a cultural experience for Kyung as it was for us. After lunch, Kyung went home and left us with the very capable English-speaking guide. She showed us around the ancient village and gave some good explanations. After the tour, our guide drove us to the main road and we caught a bus back to Gyeongju.
Gyeongju was the capital area for one of the three ancient Korean regional kingdoms. The Silla Empire ruled the area from 57 BCE through 668 CE. We visited the excellent Gyeongju National Museum. They had many artifacts from the nearby tombs and buildings. We saw many gold and iron objects, as well as glass and pottery. The museum could have used a bit more English explanation, but otherwise did a very impressive job of presenting its objects.
We spent Saturday night at another boring love motel near the Gyeongju bus terminal.
Sunday morning we walked to the Tumulus Park. There are ancient burial mounds all around the city, but a bunch of them are protected in the Tumulus Park. One of them, Cheonmachong (Heavenly Horse Tomb), was excavated and rebuilt as a small museum. We went in and saw where the king was buried, the objects he was buried with, and the way they built a small wooden building over the casket, covered it with rocks and soil and then planted grass.
Next, we walked to Cheomseongdae and saw one of the oldest structures in Korea - a Star Observation Tower. We finished off our tour of Geongju with a visit to Anapji. Anapji was a royal pond and garden.
After a short bus ride, we visited Bulguk-sa. Bulguk-sa is an old Buddhist Temple and a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. We looked at some impressive temples and Buddhas and then took a taxi up to the top of the mountain. After paying yet another small entrance fee, we walked along a mountain-top trail to Seokguram. Seokguram is one of the most impressive works of art in Korea (according to my guidebook). It certainly was worth the visit. High up in a cave, facing east towards the ocean, there is a large Buddha statue and a few other carvings.
At the end of a long day of sight-seeing, we took the train back to Haeundae beach in Pusan and are now spending our last night in a hotel. Tomorrow we move into our new place.
Kyung knows that Rie and I like hiking in the mountains. She drove us to the nearby Palgong-san. Kyung thought that Rie and I should hike to the top to see the Buddha, but there did not seem to be time for that. Instead, we all hiked up for about 30 minutes to a small temple complex. Kyung is under 40 years old and follows the typical patterns of a person her age and means. By this I mean that she does not hike much, but she does like golf and designer clothes. I felt bad for her expensive shoes on the walk.
After another night in Daegu, Kyung drove us to the town of Gyeongju. I wanted to visit a Folk Village near there. Kyung drove us to the village of Yangdong. Yangdong is about 600 years old and many of the buildings are well over 200 years old. The Korean government subsidises the inhabitants and in return they maintain the appearance of their homes and gardens and leave portions of the village open for tourists.
We stopped for lunch in a small family-run place that did not seem to get much business. I think it was as much of a cultural experience for Kyung as it was for us. After lunch, Kyung went home and left us with the very capable English-speaking guide. She showed us around the ancient village and gave some good explanations. After the tour, our guide drove us to the main road and we caught a bus back to Gyeongju.
Gyeongju was the capital area for one of the three ancient Korean regional kingdoms. The Silla Empire ruled the area from 57 BCE through 668 CE. We visited the excellent Gyeongju National Museum. They had many artifacts from the nearby tombs and buildings. We saw many gold and iron objects, as well as glass and pottery. The museum could have used a bit more English explanation, but otherwise did a very impressive job of presenting its objects.
We spent Saturday night at another boring love motel near the Gyeongju bus terminal.
Sunday morning we walked to the Tumulus Park. There are ancient burial mounds all around the city, but a bunch of them are protected in the Tumulus Park. One of them, Cheonmachong (Heavenly Horse Tomb), was excavated and rebuilt as a small museum. We went in and saw where the king was buried, the objects he was buried with, and the way they built a small wooden building over the casket, covered it with rocks and soil and then planted grass.
Next, we walked to Cheomseongdae and saw one of the oldest structures in Korea - a Star Observation Tower. We finished off our tour of Geongju with a visit to Anapji. Anapji was a royal pond and garden.After a short bus ride, we visited Bulguk-sa. Bulguk-sa is an old Buddhist Temple and a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. We looked at some impressive temples and Buddhas and then took a taxi up to the top of the mountain. After paying yet another small entrance fee, we walked along a mountain-top trail to Seokguram. Seokguram is one of the most impressive works of art in Korea (according to my guidebook). It certainly was worth the visit. High up in a cave, facing east towards the ocean, there is a large Buddha statue and a few other carvings.
At the end of a long day of sight-seeing, we took the train back to Haeundae beach in Pusan and are now spending our last night in a hotel. Tomorrow we move into our new place.
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