I had a long weekend last week so my coworker, Tyler, and I took the opportunity to visit Gyeongju, a small city in the south. Gyeongju was Korea's capital during the Shilla Dynasty and is described as a 'museum without walls' as there are so many temples, tombs and relics scattered all over the city. We spent three days there biking, hiking, exploring the tombs and temples and eating traditional Korean food.
We stayed in a super cheap youth hostel and it felt like being on the road again. The first evening, after a days cycling, I met a cool Colombian man and cool Japanese student staying in our hostel. We all had dinner together and it was great to meet some 'real' travelers after so long. Hermano, from Colombia, has been on the road for 17 months, most of which was spent in India and Tiber doing volunteer work with kids who have behaviourial problems. And Mashi, from Tokyo, just came back from India where he was learing to play Satar for three months. These guys were interesting and passionate travelers and we had a good night together.
On our second day, we got up early (too early) for a big hike. Again, the weather was great and I developed my sunburn a bit more. The mountain, Namsan, was not spectacular, but fresh air and less than a thousand people blocking the paths made it a welcome respite from the mega city.
We actually got kind of lost on the descent and ended up on a road a long way from where we wanted to be. So we hitchhiked back to town, which turned out to be so much fun. We got picked up after about a minute by two old ladies and a grandfather who had us laughing all the way with their attempts at English and good nature.
A couple of girls from my Korean class, Rachel and Rebekah, also came to Gyeongju so we met up for dinner and nice coffee after out hike and a siesta.
ANd on the third day we rose early again to visit the famous Bulguksa Temple. It was grey and drizzly (thank god since my sunburn was killing) and Tyler and I were pretty beat. So we ditched the temple and decided to spend the afternoon in a wonderful cafe drinking hand-dripped coffee from the other side of the world.
All in all it was a great weekend. The city itself didn't amaze me, but that's probably just because I'm spoilt and desensitized after my two years in Japan. But we met some wonderful people there and had lots of small, but fun experiences. It was a refreshing and recharging break from city life and I'm glad we went.
Photos: 1.Tyler, Rachel and Rebekah posing at Bulguksa, 2.Tyler taking a rest enroute to the summit of Namsan, 3.Me chilling in our super cheap hostel, 4.Tyler at the river at sunset, 5.Our trusty steeds, amazing bikes for six dollars a day, 6.Magnolias in bloom, 7.Off-roading, 8.Tomb, 9/10.Showing off in a small bamboo forest.
I had a long weekend last week so my coworker, Tyler, and I took the opportunity to visit Gyeongju, a small city in the south. Gyeongju was Korea's capital during the Shilla Dynasty and is described as a 'museum without walls' as there are so many temples, tombs and relics scattered all over the city. We spent three days there biking, hiking, exploring the tombs and temples and eating traditional Korean food.
We stayed in a super cheap youth hostel and it felt like being on the road again. The first evening, after a days cycling, I met a cool Colombian man and cool Japanese student staying in our hostel. We all had dinner together and it was great to meet some 'real' travelers after so long. Hermano, from Colombia, has been on the road for 17 months, most of which was spent in India and Tiber doing volunteer work with kids who have behaviourial problems. And Mashi, from Tokyo, just came back from India where he was learing to play Satar for three months. These guys were interesting and passionate travelers and we had a good night together.
On our second day, we got up early (too early) for a big hike. Again, the weather was great and I developed my sunburn a bit more. The mountain, Namsan, was not spectacular, but fresh air and less than a thousand people blocking the paths made it a welcome respite from the mega city.
We actually got kind of lost on the descent and ended up on a road a long way from where we wanted to be. So we hitchhiked back to town, which turned out to be so much fun. We got picked up after about a minute by two old ladies and a grandfather who had us laughing all the way with their attempts at English and good nature.
A couple of girls from my Korean class, Rachel and Rebekah, also came to Gyeongju so we met up for dinner and nice coffee after out hike and a siesta.
ANd on the third day we rose early again to visit the famous Bulguksa Temple. It was grey and drizzly (thank god since my sunburn was killing) and Tyler and I were pretty beat. So we ditched the temple and decided to spend the afternoon in a wonderful cafe drinking hand-dripped coffee from the other side of the world.
All in all it was a great weekend. The city itself didn't amaze me, but that's probably just because I'm spoilt and desensitized after my two years in Japan. But we met some wonderful people there and had lots of small, but fun experiences. It was a refreshing and recharging break from city life and I'm glad we went.
Photos: 1.Tyler, Rachel and Rebekah posing at Bulguksa, 2.Tyler taking a rest enroute to the summit of Namsan, 3.Me chilling in our super cheap hostel, 4.Tyler at the river at sunset, 5.Our trusty steeds, amazing bikes for six dollars a day, 6.Magnolias in bloom, 7.Off-roading, 8.Tomb, 9/10.Showing off in a small bamboo forest.
