Gyeongju is called the outdoor museum of Korea. It is even one of the top ten ancient cultural cities of the world as chosen by UNESCO. It only takes a short walk to figure out why. Gyeongju is three-fourths of the way down the country close to the eastern coast. We rode the KTX fast train from Seoul to Gyeongju, which took three hours and ten minutes and they are very prompt! We learned this because we had to switch trains in the middle of the trip and we only had ten minutes to find the right train and be seated, so we were really hoping that our first train ran on time!
We were champs and made it to each train, and eventually Gyeongju, on time. After a deep conversation with the taxi drivers (they didn't understand us at all) at the station, we were on our way to Bulguk-sa. Up the hill, there is an amazing temple surrounded by a wall. The temple has 2 buildings, each with Buddha's inside. The one further up the hill comes with a small woman who (for no extra charge) will yell, "No pictures!" at you. It's nice.
One of two ancient granite pagodas inside the palace walls. The two are opposites. This is the female. The male counterpart, far superior of course, will one day be removed by the Indigo Girls.
This used to be a symbol of love and mercy, until men with neatly trimmed mustaches used it for evil... and this is Tiff sticking her tongue out at Ricky.
This guy's job was just to spank dragons.
From there, we took a bus up to the top of the mountain (the tallest one in the area) to see the Seokgurom Grotto. There is a shrine here inside of a cave (you can see it below), which you reach through a small building on the side of the mountain. It looks like a little house, but that is only the entrance. The house was put there to protect the statue. Once inside, you can see an amazing Buddha that was carved out of granite in the 8th century. It was amazing. It was being guarded by two big warriors carved into the walls of the cave. They were so old. We both got really quiet in there, out of respect, maybe. This was definitely a highlight. Trust us, you don't have to believe in the Buddha to think he's cool-looking.
Then we spent time on the other side of town. Bulguk-sa village and the Grotto were out in the country and on a mountain, but now we were in the city (small city, though it was). One of the main features of Gyeongju City is the large tombs in which the royalty of ancient times were buried. As you can see below, these tombs are massive and they come in various shapes and sizes depending on how important the royalty was. There were dozens of tombs in this town and you can walk through them just like a park. The town has sadly grown up to the very edges of the areas where these tombs reside, which I guess could be an advantage if the Kings and Queens ever get hungry or need to get some pictures developed. They were built between 57 B.C. and A.D. 935. Sorry about all the history.
Cheomseongdae (Star Observation Tower): This tower is thought to be the oldest observatory in East Asia, thought by whom, we don't know... but it could be. Thirty bricks high, one brick for each month, this monument was used to determine the agriculture cycles and to speculate the fortunes of the government.
"Why didn't I think of a mini skirt and high heels? It would have been the perfect outfit for hiking up a mountain on dirt roads and standing out in the blistering cold. "
