Gyeongju Tour: Going Back to Seoul

Finally the day we went back to Seoul arrived. It's just 2 nights in Gyeongju. 

Some things we remembered from Gyeongju:

The 37 Celsius Summer Heat!!

The cozy pension we stayed in.

The not-so-many buildings in and around Gyeongju: which turned out to be an advantage.

We love the trees and the lanes..and the blue sky that dominated most of what we experienced there. 

Not many cars. blue sky. trees on both side of the lanes... 

The green paddy field along the way.... 

A dome protruding out of the hills....(did not know what)!! 

We changed our ticket 3 times!

First: the original ticket we bought from Seoul.

Second: The second one we bought after we changed the time schedule. We changed the tickets into the earlier ones so as to provide us ample time to take a rest in Seoul (after arriving).

The third: After we MISSED the TRAIN to Seoul.!!!!!!!

Yes, I got a penalty for the tickets we bought. GEREHGDHGOIDHGEKHGDKGHDFDDG#$GDGR$^DG&D*G&D(GD&(GD*)(GD*)D*G)_D&*(GDUIGDHIOGDJOIGDUOIGDUIOG&*(E^*&GE^*&E^

But...IT was a great experience and we can laugh about it NOW. 

Freya always had fun time and found something to do...to spend. 

She never stopped talking. Well, that's a good thing. 

What about Eyra? She's busy with her phone.!!!!!! 

We're transfering @ DongDaegu station. 

And the 13.42 KTX time was the train we're boarding. 

It's a hanok-style waiting room inside the station. Is it??

Now..let's take the whole group. Say 'Smile'''' 

More members of our group came along. We still had some time left before departing to Seoul... 

Oh...the KTX train was approaching...oops..no..not that one.. 

So, let's take some time off again.... but...not for long..since our train would arrive soon  

It's a good thing that both of them were always enthusiastic and energetic....^^ 

Never complain or whatsoever...they seemed to have always been able to enjoy their trip.

Hope you enjoy your trip in Gyeongju, girls!!

Gyeongju City Tour (part 11): Dinner time

We had some dinner at the Pension Maeul restaurant lane. 

Since most of us wanted to have some seafood, we went to this ..낙지 마실 restaurant... 

any kind of seafood and any kinds of shells, crabs, ...etc...to name a few were there for them. not for me.^^

for me..I jus had my suntubu. 

the fountain...beyond...

Gyeongju City Tour Bus (part 4): 안압지 Anapji Pond

Now let me get this straight. Do I need to walk all the way down the long lane..with barely no trees to the hall beyond? and I got to walk for about 40 minutes, should I want to enjoy the whole area?

The answer is YES.

But..then..I reluctantly did what I had prepared for: I'd rather stay put..and enjoy the pond from afar. So, my pictures do not show the intricate pictures that I should've taken. 

But..I learned a thing or two about the place, though.

It's built in the 7th Century. It was created to serve as a royal exotic garden. Some say..that exotic animals, too, were brought in. (hmmm I wonder what those must have been).

Just when I thought that these were the 'original' buildings, it turned out that they were the restored version thanks to the historical records informing how they must've looked like back then (after being left in ruins). 

We were taking (again and again) some shelter under the tree.^^

I love the traditional pattern, representative of Shilla. I think I saw most of this design every where I went to around Gyeongju. 

See? It's simple, yet...it's simply Shilla. Wait..or is it the modern invention? 

Oh, Anapji pond was also dubbed as the detached palace of Shilla royal family. It's located right in the Anapji pond. yes..a pond with beautiful pond...that I did not have a chance to see.:( 

Freya and her auntie were walking around the detached palace in Anapji pond.

Later when I asked her what it was all about: "Oh...gosh..it's so hot"

Once again, I should've come to Gyeongju during Autumn or Spring.^^

Gyeongju City Tour Bus (part 3): 첨성대 (Cheomseongdae)

The next spot we visited was Cheomseongdae. Wait..I lied. we did not REALLY visit this place. The tour guide told us..that we'd better just look and 'admire' the Cheomseongdae from inside the BUS. ^^ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

So, we just took the picture from the window of the bus.

Okay...it's more than 9 meter-high. The oldest astronomical observatory in Korea...wait..in Far East. Built during Shilla Dynasty. hmm, let's see what else do I know? oh..it looks like a bottle...and it's one of the technological and scientific achievement of the Shilla. 

Okay..I couldn't agree more. It's okay just to look at it from afar. After all, as the guide told us, most people wondered and blurted out " oh, it's not that tall....and not quite as what I'd expected"

But then...the tour guide told us that the height of the observatory did not matter in observing the celestial objects. Oh....!! What's then?  

Okay..bye bye....첨성대....^^

Gyeongju City Tour Bus (part 2): Tumuli Park (천마총)

The 2nd place we went to is the famous Tumuli Park or 천마총 (Cheonmachong). My kids referred them as Teletubbies park. ^^ Well, that's how they learned about it...

Take a picture before heading into the park...

Most of the time, I was the one who took the picture.^^ 

See? That's the first impression that any first timers would get. What are those? 

These green hills are actually tombs, royal tombs of Shilla. Quite unique, right? 

There are hundreds of these in Gyeongju. But, this one at Tumuli Park is considered to be the largest concentration of such kind. 

Take a shelter in the shades before continuing our tour... 

Indeed, it was a okay-let's-do-this-kind-of-tour..since we're like being succumbed to the blistering heat of summer in Gyeongju. It was 37 degrees Celsius....:(( 

But, Eyra and her sister found a must-do list, i.e. stamping on each picture that matches the site of the spot we visited. This is the kind of activities that --I was pretty sure--surely agitated 'the competitive trait' in hers. 

She liked showing it off..that she did stamp the Tumuli Park mark.^^

Now let's go inside the tomb... 

Wait..I want to have a pic,too. 

Inside the tomb were the royal belongings which used to be incorporated into the tomb. All of the kings, nobles, families' belongings were preserved inside the tomb. and oh my..some were gold plated. 

This is the interior within the tomb. What a sight, though. 

Surprisingly, it was cool inside. So cool that people preferred staying longer, despite the contracted-time-limit of the tour... 

At least I came to learn a few facts...

Cheonmachong means 'Heavenly Horse Tomb' . er...what? heavenly? horse?

Well, the guide told us that it was called so because it is the representative of the wooden chamber tomb with stone mound in the Shilla period. But..why the horse??

Okay..it was built in 5th or 6th century. hmmm almost as old as Borobudur Temple in Indonesia.

It's around 13 meters in height...and...I don't know how large they are.

Thousands of historical objects or...artifacts were retrieved from the tombswhen they were dug out. 

and..one of the artifacts WAS a saddle with a painting of a flying horse on it.

AhA>...AHA>..that's why it is now called Cheonmachong..the what was that?

yes...Heavenly Horse Tomb.

Okay...I take it in. 

now..we're out of the tomb. Let's take a family picture before going back to the bus. 

Now..a complete family picture. Mama, put that umbrella for a while...:) 

The landscape view of the Tumuli Park. 

Once again, it would've been nice, had we had the trip in Spring or Autumn.^^

But then, what would my daughters call the hills if they're not green, then?

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Gyeongju Summer Trip (part 13): the 2nd day in Gyeongju

Just woke up in the morning. hmmm..a tired face. A bit drowsy. yet..we're ready to explore Gyeongju today. oh, have I mentioned that we love the scenery at the back. It turned out to be a great decision to stay at a pension with hills surrounding it. 

From the 2nd veranda..we could make barbecue party if we wanted to. But..we didn't, though.

another picture of a decorative touch on the 2nd floor, overlooking a garden.

and..wait.. I saw.....Om Wawan, Eyra, and tante Ulfa were sitting on a swing... 

not..again...why is it that they always make a 'heart' pose? is it a girl's thing? *^ 

Oh, I found one particular item that took my mind back to my hometown years ago. I used to have one of these to repel and whisk away mosquitoes. Yes.."obat nyamuk" or mosquito medicine...that's what we call it. 

hmm..summer. mosquitoes are striking back again. 

and then..we're ready to take a morning walk... 

another different facade of the garden...

earthenware disposed of? No..they're decorative touches @ the garden.