Today has not started off very well. I have spent a sleepless night at the hostel sharing a room with the loudest snorer in Asia and I manage to miss my train to Gyeongju! While waiting for my next train I decide to exchange some money at one of the banks close to the station. I cash in my traveller's cheque and in my tired state I dont realise that I have mistakenly been given a EURO rate instead of pounds...

A while later at the station, I am approaced by a girl - it's the girl from the bank which apologises for her mistake and hands me the extra money! She has left her desk at the bank to come and find me at the station (and a pretty big station that is) to hand me the extra 25 dollars. Her gesture makes my day. At least now I know for sure Seoul has a soul - quite a big one too.

Gyeongju is a pretty town full of temples, parks, a lot of tombs (!) and surrounded by beautiful mountains. Being the former capital of the Silla dynasty it has plenty of things to see. I'm staying at Hanjin Hostel, another popular guesthouse with the backpackers. It is ran by the great Mr Kwon and his son and they are both eager to inform me that Mr Kwon's son-in-law has written a very popular book about Greek mythology which is currently used as a textbook in Korean schools! I shared a dorm with an Andalucian and a French who had decided to spend a night with the monks at Golgul temple. That sounds fun I thought, so I decided to join! Little did I know...

After spending the day visiting Bulguk temple, we finally reach Golgul at 5pm. Spending a night at a temple, also known as a temple stay, is something relatively common in Korea. You are provided with food, a place to sleep (usually the floor!) and a chance to observe a monk's life and meditate with them. The difference with Golgusa is that it also offers training in Sunmudo, a Zen martial art. After dinner we hike up the hill and visit the beautiful stone carving of Buddha, dating from the 11th century. I lie down on the rock staring at the sky as it gets darker: all I can hear are Buddhist monks chanting and the leaves on the trees. In the temple garden below, a master is immersing a young monk into sunmudo fighting.

What follwed was quite a challenge: half an hour of chanting with the monks and then 2 hours of sunmudo training! It is 10pm, our legs are aching and we are dying to get some sleep. Luis Carlos and I pass out on our room floor only to be woken up at 4am by chanting monks. We spend half an hour praying and then comes the most challenging part of the day: a 30 minute meditation, which means trying to clear your mind while sitting in a very uncomfortable position. All I can think of is that I want to move my legs but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to or if someone's watching! I manage to focus after a while and relax myself. Our Zen meditation is followed by a long walk in the fresh air to keep us awake. I have already experienced a lot of new things for a day and it's merey 7am! After having breakfast we pray again and then perform 108 bows to Buddha. A bow consists of kneeling down and then touching your head on the floor while your arms are raised above your head, the palms facing upwards. You then stand up again, joining your hands in the praying position. Although quite a tiring excercise, I found it easier than staying still in the meditation position for 30 minutes.

The temple stay was a unique experience, offering a glimpse of a Buddhist monk's life in Korea. I was impressed by the self control and devotion of the monks, not to mention the physical fittness and the impressive art of Sunmudo. After spending less than 24 hous at the temple I felt exausted but also rejuvenated. I can only imagine what it is like to lead a life like this.

Bobby, Meena, Justin and I decided to be spontaneous this weekend and take a roadtrip to Gyeongju, a city famous for it's historical ties. It was formeraly a capital of one of the ancient dynasties which explains the presence of dozens of royal tombs.  Gyeongju is also known for Bulguksa, one of the most famous temples in Korea.  Up the mountain from the temple is a stone grotto with a large Buddha carved from one piece of stone.  We heard great things about it.  Too bad we didn't get to see it.

Several times during our trip we all decided that next time it would be smart to add some planning to are "spontaneity".  Or maybe we'll be spontaneous but we'll choose do so on a weekend that is not a national holiday and therefore one of the busiest travel periods of the year.  When we arrived in Gyeongju late Friday night we had not been counting on the mass exodus of tourists to Bulguksa for Buddha's birthday.  We should have known, we've experienced other Korean holidays and know all too well how crazy it is to travel on those days.  So, needless to say, we had some difficulty this past weekend.  After two hours of searching for a cheap hotel and coming up empty because there were no rooms left, we finally stumbled onto a building about a 20 minute walk from the bus terminal.  There was one room left with korean style sleeping arrangements (aka blankets on the floor) that the manager would give us for 100 bucks (for people- keep in mind the room was supposed to be for 2 people and normally was 30 bucks a night.)  We took a peek and when we asked if there were any more rooms available, the manager hesitated a minute, then unlocked the room next door which had a plush western-style bed. We were happy that we would have two rooms but later we realized that the room with the bed was actually being lived in (on a long term basis)- it turns out the occupant was away for the weekend but the manager decided to let us have it anyway (despite the fact that the occupant's clothes and personal possessions were scattered around and the room had not been cleaned).  It was definitely a little awkward sleeping in a stranger's room- I was afraid that the occupant would return home in the middle of the night and discover two strangers sleeping in his bed- I imagine it would not be a pretty encounter.

Luckily, the next morning we woke up after a peaceful night's sleep with no angry tenant's barging in.  We looked into renting scooters to drive around the city but they were all rented out.  We were going to take a cab to Bulguksa but realized 10 minutes after getting in that it would probably cost us 30 bucks or more to even get close to the temple and we knew traffic would be horrendous the closer we got.  Instead, we hopped out of the cab and walked to the National Museum.  It was a beautiful day outside and the admission was free so we had a nice, relaxing time.  Next we waited almost an hour for a city bus that would take us to Bulguksa but when it finally came it was packed like a can of sardines.  The driver refused to stop because it was so full.  Finally we caught a different bus that would take us to the base of the mountain on which Bulguksa was located.  However, after arriving there we saw that all of the shuttle buses to Bulguksa were packed too, so we gave up hope of trying to see it.  Instead we had a great lunch of homemade veggie/noodle soup and bussed it back downtown.  There we found some bicycles and decided to rent them for a couple of hours.  Our bike ride made up for our whole lousy experience thus far.  The countryside was beautiful, the landscape was dotted with rice paddies in the valleys between the mountains and the sunset created a a gorgeous site.  We biked past the ancient burial mounds and stopped at one of the largest, oldest observatories in Asia.  Meena was expecting an actual telescope in a building filled with exhibits about astronomy.  What we found was a simple stone structure that you could walk around (outside of) in about ten seconds.  At least the admission was only 50 cents a person. And now we know why :)

After the observatory we continued our bike ride and attempted to make it to the base of the mountain on which bulguksa was located.  We had not tried riding bikes there before because we heard it was too far away but after a 40 minute bike ride we had almost reached our destination. Unfortunately we had to turn back because it was getting dark and it's not exactly safe to be riding along side traffic in Korea without lights, helmets, or any protection whatsoever.  After returning the bikes we had a great spicy chicken dinner downtown (the restaurant was empty except for us because of the Avian Influenza scare) and Justin and I hopped on the bus back to Daegu.  We meant to catch the last bus from Daegu to Gwangju but we missed it so instead we walked 5 minutes down the street and found a love motel for 25 bucks a night.  It was much nicer than the place we stayed at in Gyeongju and a ton cheaper. 

I wouldn't say that our trip to Gyeongju was a bad experience, it was just "interesting".  And the next time we decide to be spontaneous we are definitely going to plan ahead :)

People i met here who contributed to, and improved my trip:

Gyeongju is THE place in Korea to visit, if you have any interest in ancient Korean History. The city and surrounding areas contain a plethora of tombs, palaces, pagodas and temples, enough to keep any enthusiast content for a few days. Gyeongju became the capital of the Shilla dynasty back in 57AD and held that title for almost a millenia, and at its peak was home to nearly 1,000,000 citizens! Today the city is a walking museum, as the place has been lovingly restored.

I decided to check into the hostel next to the bus station, which Lonely Planet informed me that i would either love or hate. Well, i was apathetic, but i cant say that i have much good to say about it. At Hanjin Hostel, 20,000won ($20) got you a matress on the floor of a tiny room, with a grubby shared bathroom. Incredibly they charged 3,000won ($3) for one hour on their only computer, which is 3 times the price of anywhere else in Korea and the first place i've stayed in that actually charged to use a communal computer. My aim was thus to spend every waking second away from the place and as the sun was beating down, it was ideal for been out in the fresh air anyway!

First stop on my grand sightseeing tour was the Noseo-dong Tombs, dating back more than 1500 years, to the Shilla dynasty. Unbelievably there had been houses standing upon the tombs until recently, but it warned that you should not have a picnic on them - its ok to build a house there, but eat a sandwich and the dead royal members would be greatly insulted! I wasn't overly impressed with them to be honest, as the surrounding area was undergoing redevelopment, but they actually reminded me of the Chocolate Hills in bohol, Philippines! http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/2550/Tarsier-Monkeys-the-Chocolate-Hills-and-Bank-Fraud-Tagbilaran-137

After a quick pit stop for some lunch, i moved on to Tumuli Park, which contains 23 tombs of former Shilla Kings and some of their wifes too. The tombs which have 2 humps are the ones where the King was buried next to his wife. Burial was performed by placing the deceased in a wooden coffin, which was then placed alongside a wooden chest that contained personal belongings. A wooden chamber was then built around this, which was topped with boulders and an earthen mound covering.

It was possible to enter inside of Cheonmachong Tomb, which translates to the Heavenly Horse Tomb. It received this description as during excavation of the tomb, they found a cloth painting of a white horse, which is depicted on a birch bark saddle flap. Also taken from the tomb were 11,500 other artifacts. There were strictly no photos in here, which once more i found ironic. Its ok to dig up the poor guy, take away all of his possessions that he was buried with and let people wonder through his tomb, but taking 1 photo is disrespectful, hmmm, yeah. I also wonder if in 1000 years time we will go around digging up Princess Diana, Pope John Paul and the likes and letting us walk around where they were buried? Its kind of strange to think that we do these excavations and whats to stop it happening again in the future? I kind of hope it does to be honest. If we can do it to the likes of Tutankhamun, then why shouldn't we do it to modern day celebrities and royalty?

The park looked extremely beautiful with cherry blossom trees in full bloom and the colours and soft music been played made for a very relaxing stroll. The other tomb of real note was that of King Minch'u and although you couldn't go into the area, just to look at it from the outside was enough as far as i was concerned. This tomb was known as Chukhyonnung, or 'Bamboo Soldier Tomb' because of a legend that told of soldiers with bamboo leaves in their ears appearing from his tomb to repell invaders!

From the Park i had seen some pretty tiled houses over the wall, so decided i would go and check it out. I stumbled across some really lovely buildings, with the star attraction been that of Singhyejeon Temple, which the helpful curator briefly showed me around. From here i walked to Wolseong Park, which housed Cheomseongdae, the oldest astrological observatory in Asia. The park itself was absolutely magnificent and the colours really knocked me off my feet! the day was dazzling and i couldn't think of a more beautiful place at that moment, my gloom of having my boots stolen had been lifted!

In the nearby mini forest of Gyeongju Gyerim, there was a pagoda with a stele inside and a group of schol kids were having their photo taken by their teacher. Instead of saying to them 'Cheese' to make them smile, she was saying 'Kim-Chi' which i thought was absolutely hysterical. I walked into Banwolseong from here, which was once a fortress, but the only thing left of interest is the Seokbinggo, or ice storage room. A trip to nearby Anapji Pond seemed the wisest place to head next and i enjoyed spending an hour walking around and photographing what i found to be a really scenic area.

By now it was nearly 15.00 and i had the decision of whether to try and rush a visit out to Bulguksa or visit the museum. Now the thought of a museum really wasn't appealing to me, so i made my way to the bus stop. For some reason as i was sat waiting, i thought, come on Philip, get your butt into the museum you uncultured bufoon, so thats exactly what i did! I often have these mini talks and battles with myself, some would call it schizophrenia, but why give it a  name!

I am pleased that the inner voices did triumph, as i was thoroughly impressed with the museum. There were several rooms containing a range of exhibits and also outdoor features, which i am always a big fan of at museums. Rooms included one dedicated to the findings within Anapji Pond when they drained it and one on archaeology. There was such a range of items, all well labelled, not too much information and well spaced out. Outside there was a giant bell, some pagodas and Buddhist statues amongst other things. The only downside to my time here were the raucous groups of school children running around, paying no attention to any of the exhibits, but at the same time spoiling it for those that were attempting. Regardless of this, Korean museums score 10 out of 10 for me, there is still not one that hasn't caught my attention and had me captivated at some point, why can't all museums be like the ones here?

After spending a good 90 minutes or more, i just had time to make it to Bunhwangsa pagoda, a mid-7th century creation and still standing proudly today. It dates as the oldest one remaining in Korea, although it is thought that it used to have an extra 6 storeys compared to what is left on display. In a field full of flowers outside the main entrance was 2 huge stone monuments, which were used to support flagpoles. By now i was thoroughly shattered and spent my evening trying my hardest to catch up with my blog and burn photos onto CD's. Im telling you, this is a full time job, i'm going to have to give up travelling, just to keep up to date with the blog and this site!

The following day the weather was abysmal, but i went off to discover the outlying areas of the city and my first stop was Unesco listed Bulguksa Temple. Despite the weather, it seemed like every Korean had made the journey anyway, and having come on the weekend, this meant a hell of a lot of people! Cherry blossom trees filled the gardens on the approach to the Temple and once inside the beauty continued. There were Dabotap and Seokgatap stone pagodas, several impressive buildings that housed national treasure Buddha statues and two 'bridges', which were actually stone steps leading up to the temples. The central bridge had 33 steps, symbolising the 33 stages to enlightenment. There were also several mechanisms for calling out to all living creatures. A drum that sounded to animals of the land and had ox and cow hides to represent yin and yang, a wooden fish to sound to animals of the sea and a bell to those in the air.

From Bulguksa it was an uphill 3.2km walk to the Seokguram Grotto, another Unesco site. I personally didn't find this place as impressive, it was just one cave that had a temple built above it, to shelter it and contained a carved granite Buddha, which was surrounded by more than 30 guardians and deities. There was a glass sheet seperating you from getting anywhere near and the room was filled with pilgrims doing their melodic chantings. From the distance i was stood, the grotto did look nice, but i wouldn't go out of my way to visit it again.

I wandered back down the hill in the mist and light drizzle, another reason i think i wasn't too over enthused about the grotto, afterall, i couldn't really see any of it from the outside! Back down at Bulguksa i caught the bus to Gyeongju and from here collected my belongings and connected on to Busan.

Another old scenic place from the Silla-period, it was originally built in 528, but like a lot of Korean cultural buildings destroyed by the Japanese and rebuilt some time after.
It is set amid the foothills of Tohamsan, which is about 16 kilometres away from Gyeongju. This place was really crowded, a lot of tourists, though mainly Koreans and Japanese, but that was no wonder as it is UNESCO world heritage sight.
There are also 5 or 6 National treasures in the monastry. The most outstanding probably is the 10 metre high Seokka pagoda on the main placa next to the Tabo pagoda, which is not as high, but decorated with Lotus flowers.
I really liked the way the temples are decorated, it is so colorful. At every roof I had to stop and give it a closer look, because at first they all look the same. Only if you give it a closer look youll find pictures of dragons, birds or flowers.

After running around the temple complex for 2 or 3 hours we decided to go to the bus station and check out the nearby Bomun lake. I could have left my swimming stuff at the hotel, as this lake was way too polluted for the likes of mine. The area there is very touristic, youll find a Hilton hotel, an amusement park and a lot of Cafe's and restaurants.

After 3 days in Daegu we decided to go elsewhere, both of us didnt like the city too much and it was time to move on to Gyeongju. Again we took the bus, but this time the bus driver was not as crazy. The ride itself took us about an hour, nearly as long as finding the bus station and buying the tickets in Daegu.

The weather in Gyeongju was very hot, and we had a hard time finding a decent priced room. After 1 hour of running through Gyeongju we found a nice small Hotel. The couple, who owned the Hotel was very friendly, they even washed our clothes for free.

After 2 or 3 hours of rest, we decided to check out one of the numerous sights in Gyeongju. It was alrdy 3 or 4 pm, so we had a quick trip to General Kim Yu-Shin's tomb 1 kilometre outside Gyeongju.
The gardens around the tomb were very beautiful, the tomb itself was not too impressive as it was only a small green hill in the middle of a wood. The site was very old, probably about 1300 years,  this General is still very prominent person in Korea. He was the first to unify Korea in the Silla period in 668 and he even succeeded to the throne as king some years later.

After we inspected the tomb we wandered around the area for an hour and then we took a taxi to the tumuli park to see more of those hill-like graves. This site was a lot cooler than the General's tomb, because there were more of those hills (tumuli), and you could even go into one of the tombs, called Heavenly Horse Tomb. There we saw the grave of an unknown Silla king, how those tumuli were constructed and some of the artefacts the archeologists retrieved from the grave, including an awesome crown!

After this historic excursion it was time to get something to eat. I had my first Kalbi grill experience that night and it was excellent. All the side dishes, Kimchi, rice, sauces and the salat to wrap the meat, mhmm.
Stuffed and tired we went home to get some sleep for the next day.

Finally I had acclimatised myself to Korea, the jetlag was gone and I slept until 11 o'clock ;). The hotel was in a silent corner of Gyeongju, not like the last one in Daegu, which was next to a metalworker.
We decided to check out the Namsan trail 2 kilometres outside Gyeongju.
It is a trail up on a nearby hill, with some budhist and Silla sights. The nature there was awesome, very different from what our woods in Austria look like. Near the trail a small creek ran down the hill and every now and then you could see inscribed stones, buddha statues and carved buddha images. After 2 hours of walking we arrived at a buddhist hermitage, where we could regenerate ,drink some water and enjoy the surrounding landscape. We walked down on a different route to see a temple on the foot of the hill. Those buddhist monks always find the coolest places for their temples. This scenery must be awesome in fall or late summer, but also in summer it is beautiful.
After 4 hours of hiking in the hot Korean summer, both of us were rather tired and longing for a shower. So we went to our hotel and checked out the marcet in Gyeongju later that day.

We stayed at the Sa Rang Chae hostel which is in the traditional hanok style, seperate rooms surrounding a courtyard and we slept on a yo on an ondol floor.  The facilities were excellent and breakfast was included.  The owners were very helpful and the hostel is a relaxing place to stay.

On our first evening we found a galbi restaurant.  We sat on the floor at a small table with a built in barbeque.  You cook your own meat which you then wrap into a lettuce leaf along with a variety of other vegetables and sauces.  You then stuff the whole lot into your mouth, trying not to choke in the process.

We spent our first full day sightseeing around the town.  We went to Tumuli park to see some royal tombs and had a relaxing walk around some woods and the surrounding area which was covered in flowers and lily ponds.  The next day we went hiking up Mt. Geumosan.  We met a friendly Korean couple who insisted that we shared their packed lunch of rice and Korean wine.  On our final day we got a bus to Bulguksa temple.