Sunday, May 9, 2010

24 Hours in Gyeongju

We spent a night in Korea's "cultural capital" of Gyeongju this weekend.  It's home to countless artifacts from the Silla kingdom period, which dates back more than 1,000 years.  Highlights from the trip: taking a late night stroll through a park filled with giant, grassy mounds (royal tombs); seeing the pristine Buddha carving at Seokguram Grotto (photos were not allowed, so we had to look twice); hiking up a part of Namsan Mountain, which is littered with statues and stone carvings; tasting Gyeongju's trademark red bean paste-filled breads (of course, we brought home a few).



Even though the city is only a four-hour drive from Seoul, people in Gyeongju have a distinct "southern" Korean accent that's a little more colloquial than the way people speak in Seoul.  That was interesting to hear.  And people were extremely friendly, helping us find our way around mountain trails and directing us to the best spots for sightseeing.  Most people only spoke to us in Korean, too, which was nice for a change.  One woman even told me I must speak English pretty well in order to communicate with my blonde partner here.  Nissa got a kick out of that.

2 comments:

  1. These pictures are insane. What kinda of camera is this Panasonic? SLR?

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