A Look At Gyeongju: Cheomseongdae Observatory
Cheomseongdae (meaning star-gazing tower) is the oldest astronomical observatory in East Asia. The observatory was build during the reign of Queen Seondeok of the Silla Dynasty. It’s 9.4 meters tall and 5.17 meters in diameter. Built with square granite stones and filled with soil and pebbles to the 12th layer.
It’s one of Korea’s National Treasures and it’s only cost 500 won to enter the grounds. It’s easy to get to take buses 10, 11, or 70 and get off at Daereung-won Tumuli Park. There is tons to see and do in the area too.
A Look At Gyeongju: Anapji
Anapji (meaning goose and duck pond) is an artificial pond that was a part of a palace complex in the ancient Silla Dynasty. It went into disrepair, but during a renovation project in 1974 it was restored to it former flourishing glory. The complex is located in central Gyeongju and only a three minute walk from Gyeongju National Museum. You can take city bus number 11. It was highly recommended to visit at night.
Forget Me Not, Gyeongju: Promise of a Thousand Year Dynasty
Gyeongju is a beautiful city in the southeastern part of Korea. It was the capital city of Korea during the Silla Dynasty for about one thousand years. It was the longest surviving kingdom in the history of Korea.
Gyeongju is packed with things to see from burial tombs to temples to a theme park.
We stayed at a really inexpensive hotel called the Sajo Resort. It was about ₩80,000 a night divided by five people, it was a steal. The room was condominium style with a living room/kitchen area and two small bedrooms. We got a taste of Korean style sleeping, which means sleeping on a pallet on a heated floor.
Getting to Gyeongju is real easy and similar to our trip to Sokcho. We head to the Express Bus Termial in Gangnam right on line 3. Thanks to Sunny we already had our tickets so we all got some breakfast and waited for our bus. Tickets for the bus only cost about ₩20,000 for one way. (Round trip cost about ₩40,000.) Due to the holiday traffic the bus ride was about 5 hours instead of the usual 4 hours without traffic.
Once you enter the city you know you’re miles away from Seoul. You enter a city full of Hanok style homes and buildings. You can see the mountains that surround you and no skyscrapers to obstructed your view.
The air is fresh once you step off the stuffy bus and be sure to stop by the travel information center that is located right next to the bus terminal. Grab a map! There is a bus stop right across the street that leads to most of the hotels and Bomun Lake area.
If you want to know more about the ins and outs there is a great blog I found written by this guy that has lived there about five or so years, check it out!
Happy Lunar New Year!
It’s the Year of the Dragon! Hope this year brings you joy and love.
We went to Gyeongju for Seollal (설날) Korean’s Lunar New Year. Will post more later, for now here is a picture of an ancient dragon…
A Photo A Day When You're Far Away 