Going to Gyeongju, Day 1

Two weekends ago I went to Gyeongju with Andrew and Kara.  Gyeongju is a city located near the southeastern coast.  It is most well-known for being the capital of the Silla Kingdom which ruled Korea between the 7th and 9th centuries.  We left on Friday afternoon by bus from Seoul and arrived that evening around 5pm.  Kara made us reservations at an awesome guesthouse called Sa Rang Chae.

The guesthouse was really nice.  It was run by a cute older couple and they were really helpful the whole time with directions and tips.  The guesthouse was made up of a few Korean style rooms connected in a rectangle shape so that there was a small courtyard in the middle with a little garden, picnic tables, and a fire pit.  We had reserved the "family room" which was the biggest room they had and it had a private bathroom.  The rooms were Korean style which meant we slept on the heated floors, also there was a couch and a TV.

The first night we walked into town where most of the famous tourist sights were.  There was a big park with many huge, grassy mounds which are the tombs of all the Silla kings.  Also in the park is the Cheomseongdae observatory which was built by the Sillas; also it's one of the most famous astronomical observatories because it's the oldest one still standing in East Asia.  We walked around the park and the tourist complex for a bit before looking for the restaurant we wanted to eat at.

We had dinner at a restaurant that was recommended in Andrew's guidebook.  The area is known for ssambap and so that's what we decided to try.  Ssampbap refers to rice wrapped in lettuce along with many other items that are served as side dishes, these are called banchan.  The side dishes we received included fish, soybean paste, soup, sesame noodles, pickled vegetables, kimchi, a leg of some unknown creature, and a few other items.  I was not impressed with the dinner and although it was nice to experience the area's specialty, I just wanted some meat!

Our table at dinner; many, many side dishes!

After dinner we walked through town to Anapji Pond, a gorgeous pond and park that was built by the Sillas.  The pond and the pagodas were beautifully preserved and it was especially nice to see everything lit up at night.  It was quite cold at this point so we did a quick walk-through and then headed back to our hostel to get cozy with some tea.

Andrew, Kara, and me in front of the pond at the Anapji Park. 

The reflections in the water were my favorite part. 

Historical pagodas from the Silla Kingdom.