Museum without walls

Sights in and around Gyeongju

Gyeongju is referred to as a museum without walls because it is home to more temples, pagodas, Buddhas and other historical artefacts, compared to anywhere else in Korea.

I started by visiting two that are out of town … firstly it was Bulguksa, a temple originating from the 700s which was rebuilt in the 1500s and restored in the 1970s. The temple was meant for prayers asking for protection against invaders.  Perhaps they didn’t pray hard enough because some 900 years later when the Japanese attacked and razed it to the ground.

Second was Seokguram Grotto dating back to the 700s (also) which houses a stone Buddha. The walk through the forest was very picturesque but the actual grotto was very shallow … more like a shallow overhang which you can’t really see because they’ve put a building over it.

Text continues after this gallery.

Back in Gyeongju itself, I visited the burial mounds of the Shilla monarchs (and their families) just behind my guesthouse. These date back to the Three Kingdoms era (57-668 BC). One mound was open for visits but I reckon it has been overly done up.

Text continues after this gallery.

How up to date is your Sat Nav?

If you think you’ve kept up with the times by having a Sat Nav or GPS, you’re wrong. In Korea, taxis are reasonably cheap and the couple that I’ve hopped in have Sat Navs incorporating a TV.

It is the size of a small tablet computer and offers split-screen mode … one side for navigation and the other for entertainment. It probably won’t be legal in many countries to be watching a move while you drive though.

My guesthouse

I had initially booked a nice budget hotel for my stay in Gyeongju.  I later switched to a traditional gueshouse called Sarangchae.  It is lovely and it makes the experience so much more Korean.