One looooooong day - Gyeongju (경주)

Whoa, I really haven't updated in a while. Hopefully, with school winding down, some vacation time, and the new year I'll have a whole new set of adventures in Korea to bring you. Much like the one I'm about to show you. Last Friday, my coteacher Sun-Young and I joined other English teachers from Masan and went on our way to Gyeongju. It's Korea's "ancient" city, so a pretty big deal. There was a lot of history that was packed into our heads during this day long trip.

We had a tour guide that was sort of gestapo-like in her determination to keep us completely on schedule. I think after a while a lot of us just wanted to roam free and explore whatever tickled our fancy. But we could not steer away from the path that was set before us.

First Stop!

Seokguram.

On the bus ride to the top of Mount Tohamsan I learned that whenever there are a lot of curves and bends in the road, most Koreans automatically say there are 99 bends. Although, I think there were way more than 99 bends.

Here's some cool traditional artwork we passed by on our way to see the grotto.Once we got to the top, this was the view. If you could see the past the mountains then you'd be looking at the Sea of Japan, or as Koreans like to call it the East Sea.

The main attraction at this site was the stone grotto that encased a huge statue of Buddha. According to our tour guide, it's the biggest statue of Buddha in Korea.

Yupp, that's it. We we're seperated from the going inside by the glass wall. At least we got to see it. Our tour guide had loads of information for us. I wish I had taken a notepad to jot down all the random facts. I do remember her telling us that there used to be a big diamond in the middle of Buddha's forehead, which has now been replaced by a crystal. Apparently, the Japanese took it. Our tour guide informed us that the Japanese took and destroyed a lot of things. No mention of the Mongols, though.

Alright our second stop.

Bulguksa Temple.

There's our tour guide on the left side of the picture. She always had her little mic in hand so that we didn't miss a sound wave of her voice.

This temple was burnt down during the Japanese invasion in the 1500s. Its been restored now with a few relics still missing. The two main stone pagodas that stand in the middle of the courtyard are the most prominent features of Bulguksa.

We were only able to see one of the pagodas. The other one was covered because it was under restoration. We got to see the simple Seokgatap pagoda. The other one is known as Dabotap. Seokgotap is known for its simplcity and balance. It stands directly across from the other pagoda that is more intricately designed. She said something about it representing man and woman. The simple one was supposed to represent man's simplicity and the intricate one is supposed to show how complex women are. Puuuuuuh-leeeeze! As we made our way through the rest of Bulguksa we came across these little stone pagodas on the ground. People place stones on top of other stones for each wish they make. Last time I tried to place a stone on a pagoda, I knocked it over. I was more careful this time as I made my one wish.

Here's another chill Buddha. His hand position is of great significance. It symbolizes his enlightenment and his teachings. The image of him grabbing on to his index finger, sort of like him teaching humanity about enlightenment so that they could escape suffering. Something like that.

Okay so I have no idea what the story with these creatures are. There was definitely a story. But I think at this point my stomach was growling, my body was tired, and all I really wanted was a nap. So I stopped listening. But they're pretty mean looking and colorful, cool huh?

What're we at, our third stop?

After lunch, we headed to Anapji.

Anapji is the name of the artificial pond that's a part of the Prince's palace. Nice place to stroll around. Again, I stopped listening after a while. Whatever historical facts our wonderful tour guide dropped on us, I pretty much missed out on. I did tune into the part about TV and cameras. Since, the place is pretty wide open a lot of Korean dramas set up and shoot their scenes here.

Don't leave yet! There's more. I wasn't kidding about how much they packed into one day.

Onto our next stop.

The ancient burial mounds aka The Royal Tomb Complex.

Here is the simple break down.

These mounds have once important figure heads of society buried in them. They were buried with their favorite possessions, their favorite servants, and sometimes their significant others.

They excavated only two of the mounds. We got to go inside one. Our tour guide said they've stopped excavating the remainder of the mounds because they want to make sure all the technology they have is up to date for digging up dead bodies. Also, digging up the dead is still very taboo in Korean society. They want respect their ancestors.

Our last stop was the Gyeongju National Museum.

Here's a bell.

It's not just any old bell, though.

We were told of a story about a baby being melted into a part of the bell and still screaming out for the mother. Although, later we were told the story is probably not true. I guess you can decide for yourself whether you want it to be or not. After the speech about the baby and the bell, we were finally let loose for an hour to go explore the museum. I visited two of the rooms and then shopped for a few trinkets at the gift shop.

We all piled back on the bus around 4:40 and headed off to dinner. The ride back from Gyeongju lasted about 2 hours. I was ready to pass out when I got home.