Day 2 in Gyeongju

The next day in Gyeongju we woke up and had some breakfast in the kitchen/common room which was adjacent to our "family room".  We helped ourselves to eggs and toast and we got to meet some of the other guests that were staying at Sa Rang Chae.  There were other people from different parts of Korea, the States, and from Europe.

The Bulguksa Temple is one of the most well-known temples in Korea and it was only a short bus ride from our hostel so we knew we had to see it.  South Korea has ranked it number one on the list of most historic and scenic sites in Korea, and it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The temple was beautiful!  The sun was shining and it was warm out, we had a great time just walking around the park, through the different parts of the temple, and taking lots of pictures.  We were lucky to get to see the amazing fall foliage because in Seoul the leaves were already gone.

Loving the fall foliage at the Bulguksa Temple

In front of the Seokgatap, a beautiful 13-century old pagoda inside the temple

Another famous site is the Seokguram Grotto.  This was only a few miles away from the temple and we took a shuttle up to the top of the mountain where the grotto was located.  Unfortunately, the opening was blocked by plexi-glass, but the stone carved Buddha inside was beautiful.  We took pictures and then headed back towards the shuttle.

The view from the top of the mountain where the grotto was.

When we got back into the main part of the city, we had lunch at a delicious "juk" restaurant.  Juk is the Korean word for the famous porridge that is served here in the winter time.  My all-time favorite Korean food is "hobakjuk" which is pumpkin porridge.

We headed back towards the guesthouse but stopped first at a park that was filled with mound burials of the old kings.  We walked around the area for bit enjoying the scenery and taking in the friendliness of the historic town; we realized that we had just missed a pumpkin carving contest!  There were beautifully carved pumpkins all over the park.  Located in the same area is the Cheomseongdae, which is the oldest surviving astrological observatory in East Asia.  Although not as big as I was expecting, it was still really neat.

In front of the Cheomseongdae Observatory

That night back at the hostel we ordered McDonald's for dinner.  We hated being "such Americans" but we were too tired to head back out and in Korea you can get anything delivered!  Chinese was our first choice, but they stopped delivering at 8.  I gotta say though, a burger and fries was not a bad way to end the evening.