Check Out the Mound of Dirt!

Egyptians do it symmetrically, Mayans do it artistically, and Koreans do it differently - but they all do it for the same reason. They build lasting monuments so they can out live their legacy. Our weekend getaway to Gyeongju had lots of monuments, but in my opinion, they looked a lot like mounds of dirt!

Underneath all that dirt are royal tombs, some dating back to 282 AD. We went to Tumuli Park, which contains the largest number of tombs (23 in total) from the rulers of ancient Silla. King Michu's tomb is the one that dates back to 282 AD and he was the first king of the Gyeongju Kim clan. He has a really big mound because he was important!

After checking out the tombs, we saw a field of forsythias - Gyeongju's city flower. We couldn't resist the photo opportunity so we ran into the fields of flowers like two lovers re-united in an Indian movie. The pictures are really funny!

We headed to the tourist information booth because we didn't know what else to do in Gyeongju. We found a wealth of information there and decided to go see a pond with amazing flowers and lillies. We hopped on bus line #5 but we never made it to Seochulji pond, some how we missed that important stop, but luckily the bus dropped us off at Bulguksa temple. Our dumb luck took us to one of Korea's most famous temples and we were blown away by its scenic beauty.

At this point in the trip, we decided that we were going to stay the night, so we could see more of this historic city. It was getting dark and we didn't have a room, a change of clothes, or a toothbrush, but we were having a great time. On our way back to town we took in a museum. That's when the cold hit me. Of course, I refused to listen to Lauren and didn't bring my jacket. What does she know anyways?! Now, I am the proud owner of $20 Chinese black jacket. The label on the fronts says Hamster! I have a jacket to match my Korean hairstyle.

Sunday morning started early because we wanted to make it a long day of hiking. Our mission: Mt Nimsan. Our gear: none. If an eighty year old grandma can make it to the top...so could we. It was about a 2 hour hike to the top and on the way up we stopped to visit Buddhist shrines. You can see for miles from the top of the mountain. All of the hikers were so happy to have made it to the top and they were so friendly to us. They offered fruits to us and we accepted kindly. We hung out at the top for awhile taking in the view and then we made our descent. We took the path less travelled back down. It was less travelled for good reason because Lauren did most of the trail on her bottom. She claims it was because she had no traction on her shoes. She must have worn down the rubber on those serious hikes through the Appalachian mountains. That's where she claims to have learned her "slide down on the bootie technique."






More pics are on the top left link foolios.