Trip to Gyeongju

Feb. 10 9:00 pm

Today was unbelievable! It was one of those days where I kept wanting to pinch myself just to make sure I wasn't dreaming. (Actually, I've been pinching myself since I landed.)

Dr. Soojin Ritterling, Mary's friend, set us up with our own taxi driver who drove us around to different sites in the city. Our first stop was the Bulguksa Temple. This historic site embodies the theme of the Buddhist Nation as well as the architecture of the Unified Silla. With Mt. Tohamsen as the beautiful backdrop, the Temple exudes an aura of "harmony and balance" amongst its visitors--I can attest to that.

Bulguksa Temple

We couldn't hold it anymore!

Next was the Seokguram Grotto where we viewed the breathtaking Seokgayeoraebul statue. Can we say WOW? I have never seen such intricately carved artwork. I could have stared at this Buddha forever. I felt very serene and peaceful walking back down to the taxi.

The Gyeongju National Musuem consisted of five exhibition halls that feature everything from detailed jewelery to sword artifacts.

Dharma Bell

Next stop was lunch where we enjoyed Sundubu tchigae, a traditional Korean tofu soup. There were nearly 10 sides that included, kimchi (pickled cabbagge), sprouts, green cabbage, mushrooms, shrimp, fish and of course rice :-). The soup came out boiling and was still steaming when I slurped my last spoonful.

I don't need to tell you how good it was, check out these before and after pics:

Before

After

After lunch we went to Anapji Pond, (also built in the Silla era) this was another really serene environment. Great photo ops! I learned that the pond was originally named Wolji, "meaning pond of the moon," but was later changed to Anapji "as geese and ducks began to fly in to the pond."

Anapji Pond

The Cheomseongdae Observatory, the oldest of its kind in Asia, was next. The bottle-shaped structure represents the "scientific nature of the Silla people." The "flowy image of the sky" is represented by the structure's circular shapes, while the "square shapes represent the flatness of the ground."

Cheomseongdae Observatory

We actually got to go inside the Cheonmachong Tomb, or "Heavenly Horse Tomb." That was a neat experience. The exhibit displayed everything from cooking utensils to royal crowns.

To cap off the day, we visited Jang Cheul Gi's pottery gallery. Woah. (Mom you would've loved it here.) I stood there photographically memorizing every plate, bowl and mug that I want for my own place. Check out his web site at www.daesanyo.com.

My descriptions of the sites are hardly doing any justice so please take some time and look these places up, maybe you'll be inspired to visit!

I'm so glad we made the trip here.

Tomorrow we look forward to another relaxing train ride back to Munjeong!

(Sources: Korea Sparkling Gyeongju handbook)