Sunday turned out to be the most interesting day as I had brunch in Daegu, lunch in Gyeongju and dinner in Busan!
Waking up a Sunday morning on the 14th floor of Novotel in Daegu was quite nice. Especially when the breakfast was waiting in the buffet hall. I was eager to check it out since the room service menu offered 5 types of breakfast: Continental, American, Healthy, Korean, and Japanese.
What not to like? And as expected it was the best brunch ever I ever had with a mix of all the types of food. It also allowed me to taste dishes which names I could not remember. In any case it was a good start for the day since I seemed to be unable to grab proper food while walking and hiking around. There were a rather large group of Americans at breakfast, and they looked huge compared to everyone else, a bit like big tall basketball or American football players standing out of the crowd of petite old Asian tourists.
After my 3 servings of food, it was time to quickly digest in the KTX train to Gyeongju, an open air museum in the old Silla country. Given my limited time though, apart from using the tour bus which did not run on Sundays, I could only focus on visiting Bulguksa temple, which is another UNESCO world heritage complex. I would be forever impressed by the facilities in Singyeongju (the KTX station for Gyeongju). The station was elevated and the station hall was below the tracks. The lockers were fingerprint locker for a mere 2000KRW for the day for my suitcase. And there were a flatscreen TV in front of many chairs in the waiting area, as well as souvenir shops and great food.
From the KTX station, bus 700 drove through various landmarks of the city, even passing by waterparks and resorts. There were no high rise buildings clusters in sight, and most of the constructions were 1 or 2 stories building. The layout reminded me of Kyoto, with the buildings and surrounding hills, but also made me think of Antananarivo with the rice paddies separating each little village like set of buildings. There were not much traffic and I could not get a sense of the businesses running in the city as I could not decipher the signs. However we passed by many historical sites, from palaces, temples and royal tombs.
After a 30min ride, bus 700 dropped me off at its terminal, which was a large parking lot at the feet of a hill. After scanning the parking lot and spotting a path uphill taken by many visitors, I had to resign myself to perform another climb. The path was lined with street vendors selling all sorts of Buddhist items, and there was even a fortune teller/palm reader tent. Eventually the entrance of the park stood in front of me after a short 15min hike.
The gate keepers were still as impressive, although I could not remember their names (Niou?). These creatures were also spotted in Todai-ji (東大寺) in Nara. I never noticed but one always has his mouth closed and one has menacing smirk.
The 4000KRW entrance ticket gave access to the park leading to the temple. The air was cool and the sun shining brightly, with no cloud in sight. People were enjoying a stroll around the little pond or facing the stone bridge under the shades of rustling leaves. It was really peaceful and I resisted the temptation of a nap. When faced with the actual temple it was quite impressive to see the whole building being built on stone, as it was built in the 8th century.
Visitors were not allowed to climb he precious stones, but took a sinuous path in the shades of centuries old pine trees to get to the side entrance of the temple. The light was perfect and the contrast of colours with the deep blue sky was a feast to the eyes.
The information brochure was somewhat stressing the importance of the stone pagodas, but I was most amazed by the colours of the ceilings and the eaves and woodwork.
Waking up a Sunday morning on the 14th floor of Novotel in Daegu was quite nice. Especially when the breakfast was waiting in the buffet hall. I was eager to check it out since the room service menu offered 5 types of breakfast: Continental, American, Healthy, Korean, and Japanese.
After my 3 servings of food, it was time to quickly digest in the KTX train to Gyeongju, an open air museum in the old Silla country. Given my limited time though, apart from using the tour bus which did not run on Sundays, I could only focus on visiting Bulguksa temple, which is another UNESCO world heritage complex. I would be forever impressed by the facilities in Singyeongju (the KTX station for Gyeongju). The station was elevated and the station hall was below the tracks. The lockers were fingerprint locker for a mere 2000KRW for the day for my suitcase. And there were a flatscreen TV in front of many chairs in the waiting area, as well as souvenir shops and great food.
From the KTX station, bus 700 drove through various landmarks of the city, even passing by waterparks and resorts. There were no high rise buildings clusters in sight, and most of the constructions were 1 or 2 stories building. The layout reminded me of Kyoto, with the buildings and surrounding hills, but also made me think of Antananarivo with the rice paddies separating each little village like set of buildings. There were not much traffic and I could not get a sense of the businesses running in the city as I could not decipher the signs. However we passed by many historical sites, from palaces, temples and royal tombs.
After a 30min ride, bus 700 dropped me off at its terminal, which was a large parking lot at the feet of a hill. After scanning the parking lot and spotting a path uphill taken by many visitors, I had to resign myself to perform another climb. The path was lined with street vendors selling all sorts of Buddhist items, and there was even a fortune teller/palm reader tent. Eventually the entrance of the park stood in front of me after a short 15min hike.
The 4000KRW entrance ticket gave access to the park leading to the temple. The air was cool and the sun shining brightly, with no cloud in sight. People were enjoying a stroll around the little pond or facing the stone bridge under the shades of rustling leaves. It was really peaceful and I resisted the temptation of a nap. When faced with the actual temple it was quite impressive to see the whole building being built on stone, as it was built in the 8th century.
There were signs in English and Chinese and Japanese but there were no huge guided tours or cars of tourists threading about. Visitors were mostly families on a Sunday outing, or couples of foreigners. A certain quietness permeated through the complex and I could sense the day passing sluggishly away. This kid playing behind a prayer hall captured that peace.
Funnily enough there was also a bell pavilion and this picture made me think the sound of the bell was imprisoned, allowing the quietness I felt. Behind the pavilion, the temple souvenir shop sold scrolls, name-stamps and other local historical emblems. After much debating, I got myself a scroll depicting a folk dance in a village.
After another stroll in the very green garden, I caught the bus back to the KTX station. There was also a popular Seokguram grotto near the temple but I was running out of time. In Singyengju, I watched an episode of 아름다운 그대에게 (To the beautiful you) which is a remake of Hana Kimi (花ざかりの君たちへ)while munching on spicy dried sausage and waiting for the train for Busan.
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