Choseuk Continued..

...so I went up to the Seodeok Grotto the day I left, and i'm glad I did. It was certainly worth seeing. It was a bit smaller than I thought it would be from the models and drawings, but it was impressive.

But I dont think I wrote about tour I took yet. I ended up stopping at the info center, and the guy there spoke enough English to get me by. I wanted to change the time of pickup of the tour I booked so that they would pick me up at the jimjilbang instead of me having to come into town, and come all the way back. So, once that was confirmed...he got me to wait for him to close so he could give me a ride to the Ajapji Pond. I could have taken a bus, but I felt comfortable enough in this case. Strange how that is.

So I got to see Ajapji Pond at night, and I'm very very glad I did. It was fantastic. Have a look through my pics on Flickr to see it. There's 3 buildings there that are positioned amazingly wonderfully together. Now if I wasnt seeing it myself...it would be so incredibly romantic. I found myself imagining and envisioning what it would be like years and years ago(or not that long ago) when the older generations and royalty would stroll through the pond. All dressed in their hanbok and all the colors,...wow. The interesting thing about most things I saw in Kyeongju was that where there weren't palaces, there were markings in stone where the columns would have been. They were all on flat mounds about 2 feet above the paths between them. It was really quite beautiful.

And the interesting thing about that was that I saw it repeated on the hill where the most important palace was too. Just a big clearing with column markings, bu tthere was the 'ice box room' left. That was impressive on its own. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

After the pond, I decided to walk a bit. It was too late to get the bus to the jimjilbang I was recommended to stay at, so I thought I would go to the one in town I went to the last night. I walked by another pond that was filled with Huge lotus flowers and leaves all shaped like big discs. Incredible how big those leaves are!! And the flowers too!

Then I wandered a bit down the street and saw where the famous building is that was used to map the stars. It was all lit up as usual, and it looked quite fantastic.

Then I happened to notice a cafe across the street. It was called Mauricio Del Toro, who is a famous Opera singer. Yep, I had to go in. Why not go and relax a bit. Glad I did. There was no one there...and it turned out that the owner is a Korean Opera singer! I ended up getting a performance even! Woohoo! He put on this TV show/documentary of him singing and about him in Kyeongju. The best part of that was where he was riding his Harley with his Cocker Spaniel on it! Lmao! Then I said I had better go, and he invited to show me the palace and stuff. So here I was going with this Korean opera/biker showing me the sights! And he was a perfect gentleman about it...thank goodness.

So we walked through an old folk villiage, and to the Cheong.... watchtower, and he showed me the palace site and the ice box thing. Yay. Another thing on my list accomplished. And then I got the best part of my whole trip. He said he would give me a bike ride to the jimjilbang! So yep folks, there I was, riding on the back of a Harley with an Korean opera singer! Wooohooo! I've always wanted to try riding on a Harley! I wished I paid attention to what make it was n stuff...but I do have the picture to prove it. Heh heh.

And then there was the jimjilbang. If you dont know from my previous writing, a jim jil bang is a Korean version of a sauna. This one was really quite fantastic. I felt like I was in a country house, and the saunas were traditionally shaped in abeehive style. You have to stoop low to get in them, the door is only about 3' high. And once you get in, there are slabs of wook lined up against the wall vertically, and you sit on the grass mats on the floor and sweat yer heart out! And they had a pretty good sleepign room too. Yay.

The next morning I got ready to meet the bus. Got it just in time. Got some rice growing by the side of the road too. First stop was the Bulgoksa Temple. It's I think one of the most important things to see in Korea. It's another palace that is quite exquisite. You feel like there's royalty that lived there.

It was here that I met the other foreigner that was on my bus. He turned out to be from France. And I turned out to be an interpreter between what Korean I know, and what French I know! Imagine that! And I didnt do too bad either!

The next stops were things I can't all remember at the moment, but they were all things like temples, and monuments, and all very important sites to see in Gyeongju. THe best things about it was that after Korea startign to feel a bit repetitive, it was a nice twist on the 'normal' things I've seen here. They are very similar, but I can start to see the differences. Kyeongju is really different, and feels like it's really old, and yet new, and has that history.

I think the biggest thing that sticks out for me is the dome tombs. They're really quite incredible. They're spaced out or grouped together, and some are more important than others, but they're all quite interesting. At the end of the tour, I walked, or rather, hiked to the top of one. I was surpprised to find that the top was flat. You woulndt know it from looking at it on the ground. Quite interesting, really. It was a great view. I could see and reference how the city is laid out, and refer to the map that they showed us earlier. I met a Chinese woman and her daughter at the top too..and she spoke really quite good English! Ha ha. Then I went window shopping, and then went to the jimjilbang in town.

The next day, I decided to go see the Seokoram Grotto, and then go to Seoul. I had a bus ticket for 2 pm, but in the end missed it. Thank goodness I could exchange it. It was worth staying though. Then as I was going to catch the bus to go to Seoul, I happend to be walking towards the bus when I saw this guy who was obviously a foreigner...and nodded hi. We ended up having a short conversation, and he was off to Seoul as well. So, we ended up sitting together on the bus. Strange. Turns out he is Russian and Uzbekistanian (!) and we ended up only being able to really communicate in Korean! Imagine that! So here I am speakign Korean with a Russian! H aha...and actually I'm suprised at how we ended up communicating. His name is Hon, so he said. It turns out to be Bahodirhon, but eveyone calls him Bahodir, and we ended up hanging out quite a bit during the rest of my time in Seoul. I didnt really have an agenda besides seeing more of Seoul, and this time I ended up feeling I went to Uzbekistan and Russia! He showed me where the Russian/Uzbekistan section of Seoul was, and man it was awesome to have some different food!

THe next day he invited me to hang out with some of his friends for a 'birthday party'...so I figgered why not. So off we went to Incheon, and I ended up going from one friend's house to another to celebrate Chuseok, but it felt like it was Christmas. It was the most amazing experience. A bit crazy freaky, and potentially quite dangerous because here I was one girl, and I thought there were going to be more girls, but it ended up beign all guys. And there I am, only able to speak korean with them! Bizarre. They were all very nice and hospitable, and it was an experience I'll never forget.

We went to go shopping in Dongdaemun, and other places. We went to a really cool building where Karim Rashid designed the interior I believe, or furniture anyway. It was on the 60th floor of the building. We went to the Seoul Tower, but didnt go up because there were lineups for hours probably. Oh well, hopefully another time.

Then all too soon, it was time to go home. I ended up finally taking the KTX (or the fast train) to Gwangju. It took 3 hours instead of 3.5 or 4, I can't quite remember which. It seemed a bit faster than that even....glad I did it that way.

So that was the summary of Chuseok. I'm glad I stayed in Korea, and I didnt even end up spending al lthat I though I would! Imagine that! And I got to go shopping too. Not as much as I would if i were alone, and that's probably what saved me! Ha. Glad it did.

Anyhooo..I really really gotta go to sleep now. But I'm glad I finally got to writing this.

Latah!

Hey everybuddeeee....
It's been a week since I got back from Chuseok (the Korean Thanksgiving that's as big of a deal as Christmas in the Americas..) and I still havent got to writing about it. I think I'll have to do it in snippetts or something, as time permits.

Well as you see above theres a bit of a story to this bike ride....but that willl come a bit later.

So Chuseok started for me on Friday afternoon when I got off work at 3 pm as usual. I decided to hang out around Gwangju and relax for the weekend, and then leave for Gyeongju on Sunday afternoon. I left Gwangju at 4:50 pm and arrived in Gyeongju almost 4 hours later. It was quite dark, and I just got to the bus station, and then decided to wander around.
I saw a hotel that advertised a sports massage but it turned out they didnt have it available...which rather sucked. No worries. Then I found a hostel that charged about 25 a night. Nah....jimjilbang it is for me. I found downtown somehow, and did some window shopping. Then got a taxi to find the nearest jimjilbang. I've been looking forward to a jimjilbang for a while now. Thank God for them!

The lady there was a bit rude as I got there at 1 30 am and they were cleaning up the sauna room where u shower, and she told me I couldnt wash up! That's the first time that's happened. No worries...upstairs I went to sleep. I found a really nice corner on the marble floor and a pillow and crashed in the room full of snoring people.

The next mornign I woke up at around 930 and checked my email and then got ready to go. I had no idea how or what I wanted to do really. I did some research online to see what sites I should see.

Got a taxi to the bus station where there was an info center, as i decided that might be a good way to figure out where to go and how to do it...someone there spoke some English..yay.

I found out what bus went to a place that's called Poseokjeongji which what is left of an ancient palace or temple and theres a water trough in stone where the kings used to float their tea cups and/or candles. It's really tranquil and beautiful.

Then there was a tomb there of a king, which was the first one i went right up to. There was one downtown too, but I didint clue in to what it was right away as it was night and i was tired.! Duh!

Caught the bus back, and then went to try to go to another place that was a famous Buddha statue, but I got out there an hour later to connect to another bus that went up the mountain and I found out I just missed it. Grrr... oh well.

K, I gotta run.....will continue my Gyeongju adventures....