Gyeongju on a Long Weekend

On the weekend of May 3rd, I went to Gyeongju, the former capital of Korea during the Shilla Dynasty. Originally, I was going to go with a person who is very special to me, but things didn't work out and I ended up going on my own. But that's alright, I'm used to being alone and if there is something I know, I know how to travel alone. So I set out on a Friday night after work and took the bus from The Express Bus Terminal. It was a midnight bus and though I had heard that the trip would take 4 hours, it only took 3 and a half hours. Originally, I naively believed that I would stay up and watch the sun rise, but when I arrived in Gyeongju, I was dead tired and so set out to find a motel.

I walked around for a while, not having planned anything for this trip. There is a certain freedom in that. I finally found a guest house called Tae Yang Jang. It's very clean and quite cheap(30,000won). It was perfect. The owners were helpful and it is close to the bus station and quiet as well. I slept in really late, feeling a little guilty, but I had to remind myself to stop doing that to myself. I finally left the motel at 2:45p.m. and went exploring. I wanted to see the dance performance that is on Saturdays, but it started at 3p.m. and I didn't want to rush, so I gave it up. Instead I went to Gyerim Forest with a view on many ancient graves set under huge mounds. They are definitely conspicuous, but beautiful. The park was very peaceful and there were many gorgeous trees there. It felt good.
 There were many couples walking around together, it was a very romantic place and I smiled at them and their lazy mini-holiday. That was just right. Perfect weather, perfect wood, who wouldn't want that?


After Gyerim Forest, I went over to Anapji Pond, a pond that had been constructed in 674 by King Munmu during the Shilla Dynasty.
 The pond itself was quite beautiful, but the building around it was nothing special. I didn't stay very long. After the pond, I carried on to the Gyeongju National Museum. It is quite an impressive place, with many buildings dedicated to different things. At first I went to see what Lonely Planet called the Emile Bell. I don't understand why they called it that because it is not at all Korean sounding. Anyway, it is one of the most precious Korean National Treasures and I believe is the oldest bell in Korea.


Emile Bell

  I've seen many bells though and so this one doesn't stand out that much more, but there were some interesting carvings on the bell that the camera did not pick up very well. You'd have to be there. The pressing interest in the museum was what had been recovered from Anapji pond. Apparently during the Shilla period, many random things were thrown into Anapji pond, I guess like a kind of garbage can. In a way it's too bad, but in another way, I'm really glad they did that because it allowed scientists to discover these treasures when they drained the pond in the 1970's.

There were all kinds of random things in there, including porcelain cups and saucers, candle snuffers and jewelry.
 

Strange things to throw out, but what can you do? After visiting the Anapji building, I went to see the golden crowns. In the Shilla period, crowns were made out of almost pure gold and had a few different shapes, most particularly a style that resembled antlers. They discovered a very well preserved crown by accident. They wanted to do a test run on one tomb, to see how they could access it without destroying it. The tombs were constructed in such a way that they were supposed to cave in if anyone tried to go inside. While doing this test run on a tomb that they thought was insignificant, they discovered the bones of a king as well as his crown. It was a great discovery and it looked absolutely amazing!
 

You will have to go see it sometime. Another plus, for some reason, is that the museum was free. I'm not sure whether it was a fluke, but still, it was a really nice little treat.


After the museum I started to walk back to the motel, but I was hungry so I stopped at a restaurant and had dolsot bibimbap, bibimbap served hot. It was quite good. I think I was the only person eating there alone. People stared at the foreigner eating and reading alone at a table. Koreans do not like to travel alone. It's taboo. Everything must be done in twos or groups. If people have no one to go somewhere with (including the movie theater), they tend not to go at all. Women will go to movies with other women, but men will not generally go unless they have a girlfriend. They miss out on so much...it's kind of sad, really.

Anyway, back to the subject. I went to the bathroom and when I went to wash my hands, the soap was on the counter and there was a Coca-Cola cap stuck in it.
 I found that really strange, but then I realized that they used the metal from the cap to act as a receiver for a magnet. There was a holder above the soap where you could stick the soap and it suspended from the holder through the use of a magnet. Wow! I bet you Coca-Cola has no idea how inventive their products can be!

I walked back to the motel in a round-about way, not wanting to take the same path. I stopped at a convenience store to buy a few things and then set about trying to find the motel. What I hadn't realized was how incredibly difficult it was to find motels in this city! It was crazy! The streets have names, sometimes, but no one uses names to find anything here. You just kind of have to know. I tried to find it on my own and then ended up going around in circles for over an hour. By then, I decided to suck up my pride and ask someone. I had the motel's business card and started asking people how to get there. It took me another 30 minutes before I finally found it. It was really ironic. I have a really good sense of direction but Gyeongju really tested my confidence in that area.

I remember visiting Amsterdam several years ago. With the girls I traveled with I found a coffee shop that I really liked. I didn't retain the street name, nor did I remember the name of the shop. I just remembered that it was on a corner at the edge of a canal. If you've ever been to Amsterdam, you know that there are canals absolutely everywhere! About 8 months later, I returned to Amsterdam where I met up with a really cool friend, Walter. I wanted to show him the coffee shop I had been to so I took him on a little scavenger hunt for that one coffee shop. It took me about 30 minutes to find it, but I did find it and it was very cool. I was really impressed with my memory after 8 months, but here I was in Gyeongju and I couldn't find my motel less than 24 hours after arriving! It was an embarassingly funny situation. By the time I got back, my feet were killing me.

I went to bed and the next day forced myself to wake up earlier so that I could go to Bulguksa. My friend Steve had suggested that I hike up the mountain to see Seokguram Grotto over by Bulguksa. When I arrived at the bottom of the mountain after a 30-minute bus ride, I had lunch and set off to the tourist office. They informed me that the hike would take 1 hour. I cringed and she smiled. Koreans are expert hikers. People of all ages do it and they hike really quickly. It's quite embarassing for me because I remember lagging behind all the middle-aged people who hiked up Halla Mountain in Jeju Island a year earlier. It took me and Seung-Ah 4 1/2 hours to reach the top, but other Koreans did it in 3 hours. So when the woman told me it would take an hour, I was expecting a much longer trek. I was soaked in sweat as I hiked up the mountain, but it was quite peaceful and I had my MP3 player for company. I managed to keep a slow, but steady pace and to my surprise I reach the top of the mountain in 40 minutes! I've got some juice left in those muscles! When I got to the top, there was a Pagoda type building with a bell. I took a picture and then continued on to Seokguram Grotto. It was another 10 minutes, but the path was level, so it wasn't tiring. When I got there, there was a line a mile long.
 Luckily the line moved quickly and I was able to get to the grotto within 30 minutes. It's considered a world heritage site and I can honestly say that I agree. Once you get inside it's magical and mystical. Unfortunately you can't take pictures inside, so you'll have to settle for a description.

The stone Buddha is recessed and in the foreground, to the sides, are reliefs of different people, but guarding the Buddha are two statues who look like they can really do the job. Well-lit, the fierceness in their stance and expressions is easily seen. They are the Deva kings. The Buddha itself seemed to be made of marble (though it is stone). It is so smooth-looking and it glows as though from the inside out. Even with the bustle of people being herded through, I was able to stand back for a moment and inhale that glow. You need to be there to understand. I'm glad I did the hike.

I walked back down the mountain and then headed to Bulguksa Temple. Temples are like churches, they all look the same after a while unless something extraordinary sets it apart somehow. I guess that's what religious places tend to be like. But the pond at the entrance was really beautiful and I spent a moment there, admiring the view.
 The rest of the temple was like many other temples I've seen. Beautiful, of course, but nothing really different from what I had already seen.

When I got back to Gyeongju I thought I remembered the motel. I first decided to buy some Sansachune (a kind of Korean liquor; sweet). Afterwards, something came over me. A will I hadn't felt in a long time: fight. So, I decided to find my way back to the motel another way. The night before it had taken me about 1 1/2 hours. That night, it only took me 20 minutes! I'm was quite proud of myself, though I have to say that I was having some doubts as I went about trying to find it. I felt that there were many elements of deja vu working against me then. But it was an improvement!

The next day was Monday and I was leaving at 2:00p.m. I had some time to take a last look around so I left my bags at the motel and headed back over to the Gyerim Forest area. I finally went in to see Cheomsongdae Observatory.

It is the oldest observatory in Eastern Asia. On Saturday I didn't go in because I had seen a sign that said it cost 8,000won to enter and I found that ridiculously expensive so had decided not to go inside. But when I went back on Monday, I realized that the real price was only 500won. I'm glad I went back! While inside, I saw a man setting up a tripod to snap a shot of him and his family. I offered to take the picture for them, it would be easier that way, less time consuming; but he refused! You know, Koreans as strangers are not friendly at all and it kind of hurt because I was only trying to help! My students have told me before that Koreans are kind of afraid of people traveling alone, they find it strange. When I recounted that story to my high level students last week, the girls said it was because the man was with his wife and that she would have been upset with her husband if he had accepted my offer. I don't know if I believe that, but I just have to accept that I guess I'm not always appreciated. The male students thought that the man probably refused because he thought that I wouldn't take as nice a picture as the tripod automatic system would. Whatever...

I wanted to see the ruins of the castle Banwolseung, so I wandered over there after the observatory. The path had called to me on Saturday but I had prioritized other places. When I arrived there, there were no ruins left. The whole castle had been destroyed. The only thing left is an ice storage building which was pretty cool.

The forest area is pretty nice and quiet so I isolated myself and sat down for a while. It was a bit chilly under the shade of the trees so I didn't stay long.

After the ruins, I decided to walk through downtown for a while, check it out at my own pace. On my way back, I was taking some shots of the trees in bloom when a car stopped and asked me for directions to Chomseongdae Observatory. When I turned around, they realized that I was a foreigner and kind of gave up, but I gave them directions in my broken Korean anyway and they thanked me in English. It felt good to help out. It kind of canceled out the rejection to my offer earlier that morning.

As I headed back to the motel, I finally stumbled upon Daerumuun (Tumuli Park)!
 This was indicated on the very attractive but poorly made tourist maps of the city, but I had not been able to find them anywhere! I paid for the entrance fee and it was quite an impressively large park. I wandered through it and took lots of pictures of trees. The trees in this country are fabulous. I'd love to make a photobook just on the trees I've taken pictures of in the past 10 years. It would be so much fun! I exited the park at the far end of the park and realized that the exit gave out on Gyerim Forest! It had been there in front of my face the whole time, but I hadn't see it! These are the things I love about traveling...the little surprises and discoveries.

All in all, a very successful trip. This past weekend, I went to Andong, but that's another tale. Soon to come!