Gyeongju, South Korea

Today I ventured away from Ulsan all by my lonesome and visited Gyeongju. Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla that ruled during the 7th through 9th centuries. There are many historical sites in this area. A modern "touristy" city has been built in this area but the beautiful history has been preserved as mush as possible. The bus ride from Ulsan to Gyeongju is about 50 minutes and it costs 4600 won which is about 4 dollars, so very inexpensive transportation. The following pictures are from the Daeneungwon Royal Tombs, which includes 23 tombs that stand close together.

Pretty landscaping

This is the tomb of Cheonmachong (Heavenly Horse Tomb).

More tombs...

This is the Royal Tomb of King Michu of Silla. The tomb is under a heap of earth behind the red doors.

More tombs

Gyerim Forest: this place bears the birth legend of Kim Al-ji, the progenitor of the Kim clan of Gyeongju. The legend goes that people who head a rooster crowling in the woods went in to theck and found a golden box hanging on a branch where he was discovered.

The stele was erected in 1803 and the story of Gim Al-ji's birth is inscribed on it.

The following pictures are from Imhaejeon site (Anapji Pong). This place has Donggung, the palace for the Crown Prince, built in the King Munmu's reign to hold banquets. Samguksagi records that in the 14th year of the King Munmu's reign a pond and mounds were created, and plants and rare animals grown in the palace.

There were pretty birds in the trees (shown below) and there were giant coi (koi) and turtles swimming in the pond.

more pictures...

After hours of walking around I decided it was time to head back. I was walking down the streets and found these beautiful statues of Buddha. I also found this amazing antique type store where I bought an amazing book. It looks like someones journal and it has these beautiful water color paintings in it. The paintings are original (not copies). Its absolutely beautiful.

This type of chili is use in almost all Korean dishes it seems :) I often see it being dried like this on the side of the road.

Overall I had a great trip to Gyeongju. I tried some of their famous barley bread which is delicious. It was a very peaceful place. It was nice walking through Buddhist areas of study (no pictures, didn't know if I was allowed :) ). I could definitely spend much more time there but time is something I do not have a lot of these days. Work is keeping me very busy. Maybe I'll get to go back another time, there is much much more I want to see.

Happy 23rd!

My 23rd birthday was yesterday (in Korea, still my birthday in the states)... it ended up being a very good birthday indeed. I was a little worried about celebrating it in Korea by myself but my friends and family sent me lots of love that made the day very special! I had to work which was depressing cause birthdays should be holidays, but work went quickly so it was alright. I came back to my hotel room and beautiful flowers were sitting on the table!

Evan sent them! I know the background is a little blah, but there wasn't much I can do. Hotel rooms don't always have a lot of spice :) I then had a very good workout and yoga session which helped center my thoughts and pull in positive light. Here are some more pictures of Evan's flowers.

After my shower there was a knock at the door and it was the hotel staff with a huge basket of flowers and a cake! My parents had the hotel put them together for me!!! It was so nice of them! I got to have cake on my birthday! The following are pictures of the flowers my parents sent.

The cake was so cute...and delicious! I then got more excited when I opened it and it came with candles!!!! I got to make a birthday wish! I also got to talk to Evan and my dad...It was so wonderful...I felt at home.

I then went and had a beer on an upstairs patio with Vamshi, a fellow advisor. It was nice because it reminded me of my balcony in Chicago :) We then went to this little restaurant and had a very Korean meal. Everyone in the restaurant gets the same dish and its one plate for the table, you pick the size (S, M, L). It has clear rice noodles, carrot, cucumber (cooked), potatoes, onions, and chicken. I tried the chicken for the experience but left the rest for Vamshi. We also had Korean beer called Hite which added to the experience. To serve the dish you use tongs and scissors...very interesting. I wish I had a picture of it, but my camera is too large to take to restaurants and things like that and I do not want to break it or lose it. I need to find a different camera for times I cannot take my large one. Beautiful flowers, cake, wonderful energy and love sent from friends and family, cold beer and a delicious dinner made my birthday wonderful! Thank you all so much!

It was a great birthday though I wish everyone from home was there too. I miss you!

South Korea Week 1

The past two weeks have been slightly hectic...ok extremely hectic. Thank you everyone for all of your help and support in getting me prepared for leaving. The almost never-ending list of things to do seemed slightly impossible and it would have been impossible if it wasn't for all the help. I really do appreciate it! So before I even got to S. Korea I had to fit my entire life into a single suitcase.

My suit case is pretty large as you can see...it fits an entire Evan! It was still a mission shrinking my belongings down to such a small size. After the bare necessities I had some spare room so I packed a couple more things to make it more like home :) This was my first international travel experience so I was pretty nervous when I left. A 15.5 hr flight seemed slightly overwhelming. Luckily my company flew me business class so it was a pleasant experience. My seat layed down into an entire bed, the food was decent, free drinks, free movies, shows and music, and there was also a small toiletry kit which include something called a "romance card". I was not entirely sure what that was, maybe someone can fill me in. I got to move around alot in the plane which was nice and between movies, work and a nap I was entertained the entire time. We stopped in Tokyo for a couple hours and then continued onto Seoul where I had to stay the night. I managed to get through customs and to my hotel with no problems. Once I was in my room is when I faced my first real challenge...turning the lights on. I finally won the battle of wits with Korean engineering and only one lonely tea cup was sacraficed :) Sleeping was a bit of a challenge but I managed to get a couple hours. The next morning I flew down to Ulsan and got the the Lotte hotel where I am staying for the next month or so. It's nice here, I'm on the 19th floor with a pretty good view. I wish I had a kitchnette though but all of those rooms are taken. Pretty interesting. All the toilets in Korea I have ran into have remotes on them. I got curious and pressed te buttons but was to scared to press them while I was sitting. Needless to say the bathroom was covered in water and the dryer only works in close proximity to the bowl :) I have the weekend off so I went exploring for a couple hours. No one I ran into spoke English outside of the hotel. I was just wandering but couldn't read most signs or ask anyone questions so I was not sure what to do or where to go. It was nice to get some sunlight and a good walk in. I will head out again later and see what I can find. Here are some pictures of Ulsan near where I am staying.

The view from my room.

Some pretty traditional Korean dresses

This is the street I am staying on

Lotte Hotel...where I am staying.

This is a bar I found. There are a bunch of Beatles posters on it. I must investigate :)

Well those are all the photos for now. It takes a very long time to upload photos. If you would like to see more I will try to post on Facebook, or you can ask me and I will e-mail them to you, or you can wait til I have a better connection. It is time to venture out and find lunch. I hope you are all doing well. I miss everyone so much! Lots of love!