Blogs from Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea, Asia

Ash and I were meant to save our money last weekend and have a quiet weekend in Daegu. However we seem unable to overcome our itchy feet at weekends (need to sort this out somehow!). We still wanted a cheap weekend but had the idea to find a quiet seaside village and beach nearby so we could still get out and see stuff. I researched and found a little fishing village called Gampo just outside of Gyeongju that we decided to visit. We got up early on Saturday and caught a coach from Daegu to Gyeongju and then another from Gyeongju to Gampo. For two hours the total cost was about £3 - bargain. For anyone looking for tourist attractions Gampo is not the place for you. It’s really small and is based around a harbour. ... read more

There are those relatively rare periods of travel that leave you breathless with wonder and excitement. As I settled into the bus heading to the southern part of Korea, I was not to know that the next few days would be one such period. My predilection for religious sites always finds me gravitating to churches, mosques, temples and other sites of divine significance. My visit to South Korea would be no different, and the Haeinsa Temple was the first of such places on this sojourn. Situated amongst the glorious mountain scenery that dominates the peninsula, its fame derives from its housing of the Tripitaka Koreana, a 13th century collection of 81,258 wooden blocks inscribed with over 52 million Korean characters of Buddhist scripture. Not being favoured of a temple stay (thus missing the early 3am start ... read more

Since my last post I had one night left in Busan. My last day there I visited Yonggungsa Temple and spent some more time in the markets. Yonggungsa is pretty far from the city, so I had to take the subway to Haeundae Beach to catch a bus. About 40 minutes later, I was dropped off at the bottom of a hill, with a big stone sign with the name of the temple on it. Just over the hill was the approach to the temple with several vendors selling various foods and souvenirs. A series of statues each representing a different zodiac figure were lined up along a wall, along with several other statues. All of these seemed fairly recent. Next came a stone pagoda and a gold dragon gate. Soon, however, down a few stairs ... read more

Andong In Andong op zoek naar wifi-spot, koffie gedronken en op telefonato opgezocht waar te verblijven. Er bleken alleen maar hotels en motels te zijn. Alles redelijk makkelijk te belopen in het centrum. Hotel wat ik had uitgekozen niet kunnen vinden, op zoek naar andere dingetjes. Had gelezen dat er in bepaalde gebieden motels waren. Een paar gecheckt en de goedkoopste uitgekozen na de kamer bekeken te hebben. Geen internet, maar had al paar dagen geen internet, dus zou dat wel overleven, was immers nog niet aan het trillen. Toen ik 's avonds op zoek was naar eten zag ik het hotel wat ik in eerste instantie niet kon vinden en nu bleek dat het gesloten was wegens verbouwing, misschien dat ik het daarom niet gezien had. Volgende dag naar Hahoe folk village, een authentiek pittoresk ... read more

After leaving Jeju Island I returned to Busan where I stayed for five days or so just relaxing and enjoying the beach. From there I went to Gyeongju where I had a reservation at a hostel. When I showed up to the hostel they said that it was all full. I felt like Seinfeld trying to talk to this guy. He told me that if I wanted I could upgrade for $10 to another room. I told him that I wasn't going to pay any more money and that I had a reservation. He finally just kept saying that he didn't speak English and to come back at 6pm when someone else would be there. This infuriated me, it was noon and he spoke English just fine to the guy ahead of me and most of ... read more