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 (part 9): The City Square..

Be it a city square or not..we just passed it by. It's a hollowed architecture. The catch? it's a traditionally designed hollow-concrete architecture. 

Not know it for sure, though.

Guess...Googling it down....would just do the trick.^^

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 Summer Trip (Part 14): Gyeonggu PPang (경주빵)

The unmistakable downtown scenery that I found was the line up of shops specializing in Gyeongju specialty: 경주빵 or Gyeongju Ppang (Gyeongju bread). 

We were like passing the street with this kind of shop....for a couple of times.

경주빵: if I could compare it with what we have back home in Jogja, it tastes more or less like Bakpia. 

Another ppang store that I saw when I was on the Gyeongju City Tour Bus. 

In fact...one of the things that people must buy as a gift or for personal craving...is this ppang. 

The Gyeongju ppang is the one on top. The other twos wrapped in plastic were 찰보리빵. And this one tastes (again and again) like the one we have back home: kue serabi. 

Who doesn't want to have a ''dip' of what Gyeongju has to offer in term of culinary trait?

Another simple reason was its cute, yet modern packaging. 

This particular shop serves coffee, too. And while waiting for our bread to be served, we could just chill out inside the store:) 

The street, the glass panes, the displayed empty box of would-be gift boxes:  

I am pretty much sure that this kind of business is indeed a good thing to start with.

As for this one, it was taken at one corner of the restaurant..and ....the commotion..OMG. 

Everyone seemed to have a taste for themselves. 

Another displayed food that people might want to savor....

And this one, too. No, it's just...the glass pane showing the brand. 

So..anyone wants to buy the ppang...just Google it down...

The TRUTH was that..we're deliberately ushered into this store to start bargaining.

The price was a bit expensive. The other day I saw a different one with cheaper prices...

anyway...if you have no time to go around looking for a decent gift-cake, just grab one or two....^^

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.

Gyeongju Summer Trip (part 10): Bomun Lake

It's dusk and about 8 pm. To whisk away the summer night heat, we were sitting next to Bomun Lake. One of the scattered hotel chains along the lake-line .. 

and we're having our light snacks... 

enjoying the night scenery with the moon hanging over the night sky...

with the shimmering water and lights reflected over the lake... 

the air was breezing cool.

Yet..it's a bit warmer than it should've been..or what I'd wanted. 

one... 

two...shaky camera... 

Freya and her Mom. 

The whole member of our group.

Far beyond: Gyeongju World Amusement Park was brightly lit. Hmm wonder what it'd be like to visit there at night.

Maybe some other time?