8 February 2019 - Busan and Seoul (South Korea)

         

      

The tour arranged for today in Busan was only for two Mexican women tourists (mother and daughter) and myself. First was a visit to the 1200 year old Seokguram Cave Temple which included a walk up a snow covered road to the temple in a forest.

 

The stone carvings inside the temple are said to be unique and special to the Buddhist people of South Korea but we were not allowed to see inside but I have taken a copy of a photo off the internet to show some of the carvings inside.

It was then onto Gyeongju Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond which had been built in 674AD and being called Silla at the time. It was the palace of the then Crown Prince and was destroyed by the Mongols and then forgotten about. It is said that the palace, when uncovered completely, would cover an area as big as that for the Forbidden Palace in Beijing. It was certainly a pleasant place to walk around.

Gyeongju Palace

 

 From the Gyeongju Palace the next visit was to Cheonmachong, or Tomb No.155 which looked like a mound of earth, with a number of other mounds nearby. The mounds are believed to be tombs but only one has been excavated, which is actually a tomb named "Cheonmachong" or Sky Horse Tomb. The tomb was excavated in 1973 and is believed to date from the fifth century.  It wasn’t easy to get good photos inside the tomb and there are few to be found online. It’s a pity as the artifacts found there are fantastic with many of gold and quite elaborate. In a way this tomb compares somewhat with that of Tutankhamen and is certainly worth a visit.

Cheonmachong Tomb

Cheonmachong Mounds

Royal burial area

Crown

Crown

A short walk away was the Gyeongju Traditional Village. The village was founded about 1433 and is still a traditional village of that period. The village has over 160 tile-roofed and thatched-roof homes with fifty-four of the better preserved homes being over 200 years old. Although not seen during my visit the village people demonstrate traditional crafts such as music, weaving and beer making.

General view

  

                        

The tour finished earlier than expected so when I was taken to Gyeongiu Railway Station I expected to have to wait more than two hours to catch the booked train to Seoul. The guide was able to change the ticket for an earlier train at no extra cost so I arrived back in Seoul earlier than expected. Then it was back to the Ambassador Isadong for one night, pick up the luggage I'd left there on arrival in South Korea then on the following morning catch the flight to Beijing.  

Generally I did not like the food in South Korea finding it spiced too much and not being able to taste the food itself. Kimchi was horrible! The organised lunches while in Jeju Island were better though.