Labels

P.S. Blog visitors interested in K-pop/Korea-related matters:

Thank you for visiting. However, kindly refrain from asking questions through my chatbox, which is dedicated for personal friends ONLY. Any questions, please post it on the relevant blog posts, or at the following link. I'll definitely try my best to help answer your questions ^^
http://musical-bell.blogspot.com/2012/01/faq-everything-and-anything-about-korea.html

Sunday, May 29, 2011

KU Week 10 (110505-07) - Busan & Gyeongju

First time travelling far far out of Seoul~~~
First time taking train~~~
First time staying in Guesthouse~~~
Had lots of fun, though tired and had a bit of unpleasantness
the trip was superb!!
especially that i get to visit those historical sites that i learned in school
(ya, i'm taking a course called Introduction to Korean Art~)

Before one going for traveling
one must do some research on the place first right
like where to visit and what to eat etc...
well...besides searching through internet for information
another way i learned about Busan and Gyeongju
was by watching 2D1N (episodes on 28 Sep 2008 and 23 May 2010)
muahahahahahaha :P


* * * * *

05 May (Thu)
It's Children Day in Korea
it's also the Founder Day of Korea University
so
holiday!!!
which also means
i had a 4-days break from Thu to Sun
mustn't waste such a good chance right!
that's why traveled out of Seoul with roommates and her classmates
to the South of Korea --- Busan and Gyeongju

It's not an easy job to plan a trip if you're traveling with someone that you're not really close with
'cause you don't have the authority to make decision for everyone
hence i was rather frustrated that few days before the trip
'cause no one took initiative to book train/bus tickets
well...
i know it's a backpacking trip
but since it's a national public holiday on thu
i was really really afraid that there'd be no more tix left if we only go and buy on spot
so i search online, and yes, the tickets were all running out fast
wanted to reserve the tickets early
but the others seemed indifferent to speak out opinion
well
what can i do?
the tickets were not cheap
i couldn't just make the decision myself and buy the tix, can i?
well, at the end, i did just make buy the tix~

Okay, enough of grumbling
time for photos!!
(btw there're some chinese words in the captions, they're actually the direct translation of the Korean words
well... Korean originated from Chinese you see...i mean the language...)


BUSAN 부산 釜山
A city famous for its beaches and seafood

First time taking train!!! Hehe...really nice view along the way from Seoul to Busan~
Busan Station (부산역 釜山驛)
The train took us 5 hours by the way >.<
The subway ticket in Busan; those old-style ticket which you insert into the "gate" before entering the platform, similar to what Singapore used to have before EZ-Link was introduced
Busan as one of the 5 largest cities in South Korea; but it still gave me a feeling of a "small" town :P
Haeundae Market (해운대시장 海云台市場)
A must-go in Busan --- Haeundae (해운대 海云台)
Every year, it becomes crazily crowded during summer time (click here to have a glimpse of the craziness)
A buddhist temple by the seaside --- Haedong Yonggungsa (해동용궁사 海東龍宮寺)
Guang'anli bridge (광안리 廣安里)
The beachside (not shown in this photo) is very vibrant, quite similar to Shanghai Beach
Dinner time~~ Potato Soup with ribs (감자탕)

* * * * *

06 May (Fri)
Trip continued~~

Yongdusan Gongwon, translated as "Mt Dragon Head Park" (용두산공원 龍頭山公園)
Next stop, passing by Pusan* International Film Festival (PIFF) Square
Opposite the PIFF Square, was this famous Jagalchi Fish Market (자갈치시장)
One MUST try the seafood when coming to Busan~ and well, the raw seafood are not shown in this photos...
we actually asked the ahjumma to "cook" the raw octopus and abalone for us, they're too SCARY for us >.<


Gyeongju 경주 慶州
A city that witnessed the rise and fall of the ancient Silla Dynasty


Gyeongju Station (경주역 慶州驛)
Yup, we left Busan, took an 1-hour train to Gyeongju!!!
Daeleungwon (대릉원 大陵苑) Tomb Complex
Gyeongju is like our Melaka, full of historical sites left from the ancient Silla Dynasty
Inside this Daeleungwon, there's Cheonmachong (천마총 天馬冢) Heavenly Horse Tomb, but i have no decent photos to show
Cheomseongdae (첨성대 瞻星台)
Side track a bit... this is the lantern festival/parade we saw in Gyeongju ^^
 Anapji Pond (안압지 雁鴨池)
If you were to visit this place, make sure you visit it after sunset (before they close at 10pm)!!!!
Ending our day; back to Gyeongju Guesthouse...
People were gathering at the lounge to watch TV and cook/eat supper~
That ajeossi is the owner, super kind ajeossi; he even helped us plan our trip around Gyeongju ^^
Highly recommended guesthouse to stay in Gyeongju!!!

* * * * *

07 May (Sat)

Seokkuram cave temple (석굴암 石窟庵) (the one on the middle left)
Too bad i don't have photos of the cave temple, photography not allowed in the man-made cave anyway :(
 Bulguksa (불국사 佛囯寺); one of the main Buddhist temples in Korea, built during Silla period
Inside of Bulguksa, with the 2 pagodas that i learned in Koreanart ^^
Last destination of our trip, the Gyeongju National Museum~
First time feeling so excited and interested to visit a museum...haha... thanks to "Koreanart"


P.S.
For those who want to know more about Bulguksa and Seokkuram (World Heritage Sites)
or simply like the arts/archaetecture of temples and Buddha statues
have a look at the video here:
http://www.bulguksa.or.kr/movie/Seokguram_Bulguksa.WMV

And as usual, more photos on FB...
Busan: click here
Gyeongju: click here




No comments: