Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (57 BC – 935 AD). Gyeongju is often referred to as “the museum without walls”, and nearly the whole city is designated as World Heritage by UNESCO. Hence, Gyeongju is one of the most popular tourist destination in South Korea.
We did not visit the whole of Gyeongju, only a small part of it. Partly because it was just too hot.
Important tip: Please avoid visiting South Korea in summer at all cost. It’s just too hot and uncomfortable to walk around.
First stop: Cheomseongdae Astronomical Observatory. Notes on the map: Visitors come and find it full of scientific surprises and mysteries. Hmm~~~… I’m not sure about that.
Next: Rape Flowers Complex.
No, I did not spell is wrongly. It’s definitely called Rape Flowers complex according to the map, unless the map spelt it wrongly.
I think it is very unfortunate of them to have such a name.
I couldn’t resist doing a bollywood style photo here. Can you find where am I?
I wonder if there is a bee farm around. If there isn’t, they should seriously think of starting one here. There were bees everywhere!
No I’m not hiding among the flowers, so stop looking too hard.
This is South Korea’s national flower, the Mugunghwa. It’s a type of hibiscus. Very pretty.
Next, we passed through some melons.
If you are thinking of trying to steal any of them, just be reminded that there is a third eye above you. I really do hope that someone harvests otherwise it is such a waste.
Mathias saw an unusual colored dragon fly. Pretty!
And of course, we couldn’t resist doing the touristy thing.
Everyone, please meet the Princess of Gyeongju, she pretty ain’t she :”>
And the ever secret lover who watches over her from the sky!
(This is actually taken from the back of the princess picture, and Mat think it’s so funny.)
More flowers. Lotus garden.
Let’s move on.
Our next destination is called Anapji.
Anapji is a man made pond whose original name was “Wolji”. People started calling it “Anapji” in the Joseon period since many wild geese and ducks visited the place which had been abandoned for ages. In Korean, “an” is the phonetic transcription of the Chinese character meaning “wild goose”, and “ap” meaning duck.
This looks real right?
It’s actually a replica model of what the place once looked like.
Anapji in its former glory.
What’s left of it now.
Next: Seokbinggo Ice Storehouse.
Seokbinggo means a freezer made of rocks. It is an ancient refrigerator only in Korea.
You can definitely feel the cold from inside the structure.
The floor, walls, and ceiling are made of granite and have an airway. The walls are covered with limestone to keep off moisture and water. The floor is slanted to allow melted ice to funnel out. Frozen ice was popular for the upper class.
Wolsung Forest.
We actually stumbled across this next stop. It’s actually a Confucian Academy.
Kimchi pots.
Class in progress.
The weather was soooo warm. We were both sweating and sticky. What better way to cool down our bodies and rest than with a nice bowl of naengmyun, literally means Cold Noodles. Yes, that’s ice you see there in the soup. It’s nice!
One of Alvin’s friend went commando:
Is this a hill?
Or a scene of the Hobbit’s shire from Lord of the Rings?
No….. they are… TOMBS!
We were excited to be able to go in one and see what it’s like inside. Unfortunately no pictures allowed in the tomb. I was actually very impressed how they kept the structure from collapsing. If there is a double hill, that means, the wife is buried with him. Only the royals are buried this way.
That was the last destination of the day and for this visit. The weather was just too warm to continue. Moreover we had a dinner appointment.
We had “barbecued” duck Korean style!
Yumilicious!
I’m hungry already.
