Hi again, it’s really been six months! Wow, it’s really been six months? It seems like I just flew in yesterday for this really fun and an incredible adventure! February is the end of the school year. I’m excited to be getting some new co teachers to work with and also some new classes. There’s been some changes to the schedules and to the teachers because as always the number of students changed. Also, the Korean Public school system is structured so that teachers only stay in one school for 4 years, and then they have to transfer. This is an extraordinary compliment to the system. The teachers never get stuck in their ways. They never have an opportunity to develop too much political clout in the system. So, everyone has a chance to make a difference if they are so inclined. This is even true of a foreign language teacher, me. I’ve had a couple of teachers that were less than cooperative and they will be leaving.
But the end of the school year brings me to this super gift that was given to me by my schools. I had two extra weeks off with pay. Time to travel or rest, they said. Didn’t need to twist my arm. I made plans to travel to some historical places that I’ve been wanting to see.Now I can tell tell you all about this amazing historical place in South Korea. I see South Korea as a historical place anyway, but not all of it is as well preserved as Gyeongju. These Koreans work very hard to establish a place for their children to come and find their roots. This is home to the oldest dynasty, Silla (sounds like Shilla) When we left, we were unsure what we would find. But, we’re always unsure what we’ll find.
We decided to travel by train to Daejon and then take the KTX (speed train) to Gyeongju. Ben was eager to see what that was like. I’m not sure how impressed he was, but he did remark that a train moving 200 KPH is pretty fast. We arrived in Gyeongju, found a pretty nice room for 50,000 won per day and settled in.
When I say a pretty nice room, I’m not kidding. This room was decorated nicely and had a tub with jets and a great shower, a couch and a pretty comfy bed. The Tv screen was very large and it had a computer. Oh and I have to add that everyday we had clean towels and silk robes. That’s really nice for 50,000 won.
The bus terminal lends itself to lots of tourism, so there are many motels in the area just behind the terminal. The neon is really stunning. I think it looks like Vegas or Reno. It seems that many of the motels cater to customers that prefer shorter stays, possibly an hour or two. It’s not a secret, in fact the “working women” leave their business cards taped to the entrance of the motels. We were the unusual couple that actually stayed for a few days and slept there. I like the difference, don’t you?
The next day we went to the Gyeongju National Museum. I’m really glad we chose this first. It was full of history, archeology and art that helped explain all the things that we would see the next day on the tour that we took. The museum had many excavated artifacts from the kings tombs, like jewely, crowns and other adornments. Kings were always buried with their possessions, so they had many of the necessary things that they might need to continue their lives in the great beyond, vessels for food and water and sometimes they were buried with their servants, who by the way were still alive. ugh! Sometime later, human sacrifice was outlawed and they were forced to bring replicas of their servants crafted in clay. Ben and I were delighted that ancient Korea was not that different than ancient Egypt or ancient China in this way. Humans tend to be human. They like their stuff, and even if it didn’t really transport with them, others believed they were special enough to bring some of it along, just in case.
We found dinner near the hotel, and went to bed early. We had big plans for the next day. On Friday we took the course 3 tour. It was very full of interesting things, some of which would have been fantastic if the weather had been warmer.
The tour bus left at 11:00 am. and started with a short visit to Poseokjeong site. It was an area that had wooded paths and a water course. Because of it’s beauty it was used by the royalty for gatherings. At this time, the water course was dried up and the paths were muddy. On to the next place...
Cheonmachong is a burial place where I could really use the information that I got from the museum. Korean people are buried in the ground in a wooden box, sounds normal. After the box is put in the ground, they take field stones and cover the ground to make mound that later grows grass and is maintained by the family. When the grave belongs to royalty, the box contains all of the possessions and the mounds are really huge. As you might have guessed, there are many royals buried in the same area, so that when you visit this site, there are mounds everywhere. At Cheonmachong the grave was excavated and you could walk into the mound and look at the open box, where the king was laid. Very interesting indeed!
Next stop, Cheomseongdae observatory. The observatory was built with 361 stone slabs that represent the 361 days in the lunar year. It’s a pretty short structure for an observatory, but I bet the stars were prettier from the top. This was a little disappointing in itself, but it’s part of the museum without walls, and it is surrounded by beautiful gardens and trees that of course aren’t blooming in February. Ahhh shucks! I’ll be back for this and a few other things in the spring, like Anapji pond.
Anapji pond will be amazing when it’s surrounded by flowering trees and shrubs. The pond is an excavation site as well. Many archeological finds were made when they dredged the pond that tell the story of the Silla royalty. The buildings are no longer standing at the site, but the model of the original buildings speak to an amazing place and time when the prince held grand parties and celebrations. One thing that was outstanding about this place is the fact that there was evidence of wildlife, like deer, geese, and other animals and plants that I haven’t heard of or seen anywhere else in Korea. This is one thing that I cannot understand. Korea is 75% mountains and most of them are not inhabited. Where are the animals?
Finally it was lunchtime, and we were really hungry. Ben had Bi bim bap and I had bul gogi. One must experience Korean food to fully enjoy. Sorry I will not explain! Back on the bus, we were ready for the final leg of the journey. We were finally going to the Seokguram Grotto and the Bulguska temple.
The Grotto was beautiful! The ride was a steep winding road up a mountain that left me a little car sick, but fully anticipating some beautiful mountain scenery. The bus let us off in the parking lot and we walked about 1/4 mile on a wooded dirt road to the grotto. The stone carved Buddha was worth the walk, but unable to be photographed, as were so many other things along the way. “NO CAMERAS”!
This included the Buddhas at the temple. However, the temple was beautiful and we photographed some of the colorful details and the stone additions. They were unusually built and interesting.
We were very very tired and hungry by the end of the day. We asked to be dropped off at the grocery store where we could buy some pizza and Pringles for dinner. The room was warm and inviting and the jetted tub, well... it was full in a jiffy. Man was it relaxing after a full day of tourism.
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