One Day Trip to Gyeong Ju - Part V

Tumuli in Daereungwon Park, Gyeong Ju

Here we are, the final destination of our one trip in Gyeong Ju. Tumulus [plural tumuli] is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave. So, it's like many many little hills scattered around Hwangnam-dong area in Gyeong Ju. These tombs are believed to have been built in the early days of the Silla Dynasty for the royal family. There's a golden crown and other relics excavated from Cheonma tomb in 1973 displayed in a mini museum there.

The map of the park

Entrance of Daereungwon Park

Sunlight beams through the woods

The path to the tombs

4 guys and a sign board

*a-hem, thish ish a ware twee* =P

Find the differences!

A small pond inside the park

A tumulus and its shadow on the water

1-2-3 tumuli

Sunset at Daereungwon Park

Cheonma Tomb and the display of the golden crown and other relics [it's the only tomb that you can go in but no photo shoot allowed in there]

Some beautiful parts of the area

One whole row of purplish flower trees

The sky is getting dark when we left the park. We walked all the way back to the bus terminal station [a long long journey to walk] and took the express bus back Busan. We then had our late dinner and head back home at around 11pm. It was a tiring but marvelous journey with the rest of the trainees and ShuYun. I thank her with all my heart for spending so much time bringing us to all the wonderful places we've never been to. Nevertheless, I enjoyed every single moment in Gyeong Ju, hope that we'll have another trip pretty soon [in fact, there's one already, yesterday. Shall post that up within these few days =P]. Billy, out.

One Day Trip to Gyeong Ju - Part IV

22 July 2007 @ Flowerbed of Gyeong Ju

Outside of the WolSeong Palace was full of these yellowish and orangy flowers. And this is another place we stayed long and took plenty of photos. It was one hell of a beautiful scenery. Enjoy the photos~

Green green grass of July...

A pond full of lotus but no flowers

Ah-ha! Found one, but it's not bloomed

ChauLun, DeYan, me and ShinKeat ^^v

유유유유유

Neverending flowers

Flowers at close-up

4 trainees with ShuYun buried in the orangy flowers

Destiny: Shall we meet on the bridge, holding an orange flower

The shadow of 4 guys on the bridge of sorrow?

We had quite some joyous time at the park but we can't stay long as we have our final destination to visit. Billy, out.

One Day Trip to Gyeong Ju - Part III

22 July 2007 @ WolSeong Palace [월성], Gyeong Ju

WolSeong Palace is also known as BanWolSeong (literally "Half Moon Fotress"). It's the royal palace compound of the Korean Silla monarchy in Gyeoeng Ju. It takes it name from the outline wall that shaped like cresent moon. This palace is also listed as one of thee UNESCO world heritage. Inside the compound of this palace lies another attraction, the Anapji Pond [안압지]. The place was marvelous when the pond was filled with water. Now, it is dry, empty and dirty. Nevertheless, I found some great photos of the Anapji pond. =P

A video of us going in, from the entrance

One of the structures inside WolSeong Palace

That's me... [hmm.. why do I looked so cool?]

DeYan, me, ChauLun and ShinKeat [see those aunties back there laughing at us and immitating our pose?]

The dried Anapji Pond

The un-dried Anapji Pond [looks better lar]

Another view in the palace compound

Seems like Gyeong Ju got a lot of structures and remains from the Silla Dynasty eh? Hint: there's more to come.. hehehe.. So, after visiting the palace, we went to a very yellowish and orangy place. Want to know where? I'll reveal it tomorrow lah. Gotta do my work now. Billy, out.

One Day Trip to Gyeong Ju - Part II

22 July 2007 @ Seokguram Grotto [석굴암], Gyeong Ju

The Seokguram Grotto is one of the national treasures in Korea and also listed as one of the UNESCO world heritage. It's situated not far from Bulguksa Temple but we decided to take a bus to get there. [lazy mah...] The main attraction in Seokguram is the 4.8m tall stone sculpture of Buddha. To avoid any unwanted circumstances that might happened to the statue, it has been fenced up with a glass wall and visitors are not allowed to take any photo of it.

Entrance of Seokguram Grotto [all of us are holding our tickets]

The misty path to the sculpture.... [the temperature was quite cooling]

We're going to climb this... not! It's some rocks stacked together at the side

4 guys, a girl and misty surroundings

Can you feel the coldness up there? [getting more and more humid and cooling]

White lanterns for the dead people

Many many white lanterns~

Finally, we reached the place where the statue of the Buddha sits [photo courtesy of wikipedia.com]

Everyone is so sullen [hehe.. just acting cool =P]

An architecture in Seokguram

DeYan: AH!! My money!! WeiLiam and ShinKeat: NOOO!! Don't jump!
[Never try this anywhere unless you have first-aiders beside you] =P

After visiting Seokguram, wee rushed down to take our lunch [ramyeon aka instant noodles] at a small shop. At the same time, ShuYun bought some local barley bread for us to try. Thanks to ShuYun~ We took a bus to our next stop after having our tummy filled. Where? You'll know soon enough... Billy, out.

One Day Trip to Gyeong Ju - Part I

22 July 2007 @ Bulguksa [불국사], Gyeong Ju

It was a one day trip for the 5 of us [MMU trainees] and ShuYun jie jie to the famous city of Gyeong Ju. Gyeong Ju is a famous historical city in Korea, and it's also one of the well-known tourist attraction. It's said that this city is the capital of Silla dynasty more than a millennium ago. It's also known as "museum without walls" [but with a lot of entrance fees to pay].

We took subway and express bus to Gyeong Ju and took a public bus to our first destination, Bulguksa Temple. This temple has a lot of beautiful architecture of the golden age of Buddhist art in the Silla Kingdom. It's one of the must-go places if you come to South Korea.

Inside express bus to Gyeong Ju

Reached Gyeong Ju!!

Entrance of Bulguksa Temple [we're holding our tickets]

A lake inside at the temple complex

5 trainees @ Bulguksa

Cheongungyo (Blue Cloud Bridge) and Baegungyo (White Cloud Bridge)

DeYan, ShinKeat, ShuYun jie jie, ChauLun and me

the 5 of us again on top~

Seokgatap Pagoda

A drum at the southeast corner of the temple

DaXiongDian, the main hall of the temple

v(^.^)v

Surroundings...

We were quite in a hurry as we were off our schedule and we have to catch a 1-hour interval bus to our next stop: Seokguram! Don't forget to check back frequently for my next post. =P Billy, out.