Gyeongju 경주 Trip - Part 3

Day 3 - Mistake Day!

03.03.2012 - 경주 [Gyeongju]

( An old couple, nestled inside their store in 성동시 장 )

East Sea

The following morning, we woke up, checked out, and split up. Drew headed back to Suwon to meet Lina. JC & Katrina headed into Gyeongju to see some sites. Chelsea and myself went out to the sea to see the Tomb of King Munmu [문무대왕]. We never actually saw his tomb, but the fact that it is an underwater tomb, we kind of did. He really wanted his ashes to be spread in the East Sea, so he could become the Dragon of the East Sea and forever protect his beloved country from Japan. So, in a way, the entire East Sea is his tomb. First, we took pictures of fishing boats and starfish. Then, while planning to walk out to a lighthouse, we managed to fined a strange staircase made out of tires. This led us too a very nice view of the coast. 

We got pretty lost trying to figure out where Munmu's tomb was, but eventually got directions up the coast to our destination. We decided to stop off for a little coffee. It was another 다방, so we were the youngsters amongst a number of old folk. As soon as we ordered, I realized that neither of us had cash. A dabang is the kind of place where people only pay with cards, so the worry sunk in a bit. We finished our coffees and asked if they took cards, and it wasn't surprising to find out they didn't. I got directions to a local mart with an ATM. After a ton of effort, I broke the ATM. I left Chelsea sitting at the cafe with the oldies for at least an hour. When I returned, a really kind old woman offered Chelsea a ride to the next town over to a bank. She was super sweet, but while I was waiting, one of the owners of the cafe made the situation a little interesting. She looked at me as though I were a lost little boy. She came over to me to offer a free cup of coffee, then she stroked my beard and gave me this look as to say, "Oh, you poor thing. Let me take care of you." It was touching and strange at the same time... Chelsea showed up and we made our way towards Munmu's tomb. We never actually made it, but it was still a nice walk and an interesting story.

( Starfish )

( Boats )

( More Boats )

( Chelsea )

( Chelsea with a lighthouse )

( Fisherman )

( Another boat )

( Tire Stairs )

( Chelsea, again )

( Chelsea & The Sea )

( Myself & The Sea )

( Buildings )

( This turtle statue was next to a burial mound. )

( We walked down this nice tree-covered street for awhile. )

( Beach Bench )

( Chelsea standing in King Munmu )

( Seaside Street )

경주 성동시장 -Gyeongju Market AGAIN

Before leaving town, Chelsea and I really wanted to eat at the market. There was a great little eating area in the middle of this market; they served 쌈밥 (ssambab), a famous dish for the area. It's simply tons of appetizers (반찬) with rice and fish. We ate and were merry. After this, we met with JC and Katrina and made our way home.

( My Plate )

( Some options )

( An old lady that works at one of the eateries )

( A fisheye view of the spread )

Trip Home

This was a big mess. We were supposed to take a slow train west towards Dong-daegu, where we were supposed to catch a KTX back to Suwon. We were supposed to be home by 11pm. It was going to be smooth sailing, but it didn't work that way. We managed to get on a slow train going in the opposite direction in Gyeongju. After about a little over an hour, we stopped at a train stop and I look out the window noticing a map of 울산 (Ulsan). I asked, "Isn't Ulsan close to Busan?" At this point, we realized that we had gone the wrong way. We couldn't get to Dong-daegu in time to catch a KTX back to Suwon, so we took the slowest trains possible home. We arrived in Suwon around 4am. No matter how you look at it, we still made it home, and it was still a good trip.

( Chelsea reading )

( 울산 from the window )

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Gyeongju 경주 Trip - Part 2

Day 2
03/02/2012 @  경주 [Gyeongju]

( Octopuses at 경두 성동시장 )

경주 성동시장 -Gyeongju Market 
03.02.2012 - 경주 [Gyeongju]

We started the morning by heading into Gyeongju to find our ways to the Gyeongju National Museum. Chelsea and I became side-tracked and went to a really neat ally market. The rest of the group pressed on to the planned destination, but Chelsea and opted to meet up with them later. It was a pleasant find.

( It was early, and this woman provided us with caffeine. )

( Look at all these seeds and such for sale! )

( The Market )

( Pretending to buy some fish )

국립경주박물관 Gyeongju National Museum

After poking around the market, we went on a nice little walk down to the museum. Chelsea and I stopped at a 다방 (cafe for old people who sit around and smoke) for a nice cup of coffee. The decor was strange, but the people were friendly. After this, we finished our walk out to the museum. It was a decent museum, but all this considered, I'm not really a big fan of museums. Meh. Saw some neat things.

( Old-school Korean Flag )

( The Gyeongju Boy )

( The Gyeongju Girl )

( A pagoda in the courtyard )

( 안압지 Anapji model )

Golf [the drinking game]

It was a rainy day, and it wasn't pleasant to walk around seeing the sights. JC posed a wonderful idea: play a game. I explained the rules to a game that his dad had taught him. It was quite simple. You set a par for each establishment, and when you get a beer, every drink of beer is a stroke. We set a par four for every establishment. This meant that if you drank you beer in four drink, you got par; three: birdie ; two: eagle; one: obvious. We played a nine-hole round and had a good time. I won; JC:  second; Chelsea: third; Katrina: fourth; Drew: last. I was really fun.

( Bud, at a mart )

( Cass, at the Asian Market. They had pool! )

I think that it was around hole 7 when JC changed the rules a bit. We had a game that we would play to decide if we would go or do anything. The group of five would choose to throw either one finger or two. Whichever number was prominent was the decision maker. We were at a really terrible HOF with the worst waitress and drink selection (one Budweisers, one Gin and Tonic, one draft beer, 4 Cafris, and many Black Stouts) ever. Out of nowhere, JC asked for a vote. He said that he wouldn't tell us the rule unless the majority of us wanted it. Inevitably, the majority wanted the new rule. He said that the last one to reach Pizza Hut would receive a two stroke penalty. He dropped his money and ran out the door. Of course, nobody even questioned the rule, and everybody was in a mad rush to get out the door having paid. Drew was out next, but he went the wrong way. I blocked out Katrina and Chelsea and managed to make it out the door next. I turn left and the two girls where close behind me, but Drew managed to pass them, even though he was trailing from his mistake. I arrive Pizza Hut, which wasn't too far down, then Drew, then Chelsea. JC beat us all, obviously. We all wanted to know where Katrina was, but she had called JC and received bad advice. She trying to run down an ally and jump a fence. This resulted in a lost wallet, which was later retrieved. Was that confusing? I hope so, because it was very confusing for all of us too. I'm not even going to proofread this paragraph.

( Katrina, hole 8, Pizza Hut )

( Chelsea, hole 8, Pizza Hut )

( Katrina's glasses in the chicken bone bucket )

We finished hole 9 on the bus home. We were picked up, went back to JY pension, watch Iron Man 2, and went to bed. BEST SLEEP EVER!

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Gyeongju 경주 Trip - Part 1

( 불국사 Bulguksa )

Day 1 
3/1/2012 @ KTX & 경주

We were given a four day weekend for Independence Movement Day. It fell pleasantly on a Thursday, so they gave us the following friday off, thus creating a FOUR DAY WEEKEND. JC, Katrina, Drew, Chelsea and I planned a little excursion to Gyeongju. We actually did very little planning and just bought tickets. We worked out all the details once we got there.

( Chelsea on the KTX )

( Katrina & JC on the KTX )

( Drew, drinking a "secret" rum & coke )

[worst rum ever]

( YAY! We made it! )

When we arrived at the train station in Gyeongju, we swung by a tourist information stand, where they helped up make a reservation for a pension. We actually ended up finding an extremely great one, called JY Pension. It was very pleasant, and on top of the high-quality conditions, the couple that owned it was quite friendly. They drove us in and out of town multiple times.

( Pension garden )

( Living room )

( Entrance & bathrooms )

( Kitchen )

엑스포공원 Expo Park

This looked like it was going to be pretty cool, but unfortunately it was closed. We stopped by and took some pictures. Katrina then convinced us that it was a good idea to sneak in and take a look. We got whistled at.

( The main building )

( Katrina made it in, )

( and so did Chelsea. I made it too, but the whistle blew while I was squeezing through. )

( We got busted. HA! )

석굴암 Seokguram

We took a bus ride up the mountain to this temple and opted out of the 2 hour hike up the mountain. The ride up was fine, but the ride down left us all feeling a little queazy. It was a bit of a trek around the top of the mountain, but it was worth a look. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures in the grotto.

( Bell building )

( Ladies, selling chestnuts. )

( Drew )

( Myself )

( Chelsea )

( Fountain )

( Temple complex )

( Photo of the grotto from google )

( One More )

불국사 Bulguksa 

This temple is one of the oldest temples in Korea. It was pretty fun to walk around. Sadly, we didn't have lots of time, because they were about the close. We still did a nice run around in the temple and took lots of pictures.

( A bridge on the way in to the temple )

( Bamboo and temple buildings )

( Entrance guardian )

( Guardian demon )

( I'm on a bridge! )

( Courtyard )

( Shrine )

( Another courtyard with a shrine )

( Rock stacks )

( Another bridge )

( Turtle )

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