Gyeongju, South Korea: 29 September - 1st October, 2009

As soon as I arrived in Gyeongju I made haste to the Bulguksa temple in the nearby mountains, a 20 minute bus journey away this temple is supposedly one of the most spectacular in all of South Korea. The temple was quiet and serene which made a refreshing change from those I’d visited previously. The most impressive features of the temple were the intricate wood carvings in the ceilings and the incredibly detailed artwork which had clearly been applied with much care and attention. There was an interesting rock garden tucked away behind one of the temples where literally thousands of small rocks were neatly arranged into small piles.

From this temple it is another short bus journey to the top of the mountain and the Seokguram grotto. The view from atop the mountain is impressive and looks down upon the valley and the meandering river which splices through the landscape. The real highlight of the temple, however, is the large granite statue of Buddha, considered to be a tour de force of Buddhist artistry the world over. Indeed, it is grand and extremely detailed, surrounded by various other carvings of the 10 bodhisattvas (disciples). As with every other temple papping is not allowed, so all my photographs are poor and blurry hipshot efforts (thanks wikicommons for the photo). A brilliant experience; standing at the top of the mountain overlooking the beautiful scenery while one of the most revered pieces of Buddhist art in the world sits a matter of feet behind you is enough to drive a man to enlightenment.

On the second day in Gyeongju I decided to take a hike around the various cultural sites surrounding the heart of the city. The city itself is typical of South Korea, but much less Westernised than Busan, and the architecture away from the city centre has preserved its traditional heritage with pagoda style roofs and tiled fences.

The first ports of call were the various Tumili parks; giant mounds of grass which house the tombs of various Shilla kings and noblemen. These bizarre yet tranquil mounds are akin to the Egyptian pyramids, and while on the outside these are nowhere near as impressive in terms of scale or design they still leave you with a sense of awe. One such mound is open to the public and gives a sense of the design; essentially a giant igloo made from sand and rock, but still requiring plenty of skill to ensure they don’t collapse in on themselves. Around the park wild chipmunks scurry amongst the trees, and some bizarre black squirrels roam for nuts.

Across from the main Daereungwon tombs lies the oldest standing observatory in Asia; Cheomseongdae Astronomical Observatory. A small cylindrical building constructed from granite stands unimposingly in the centre of a park, but to think that this is the place where thousands of years ago (7^th century) some of the first organised Asian astronomers gazed upon the stars gives one a satisfying insight into human and scientific history and our obsession with the skies. Again, as with so many historical sites, the observatory was undergoing restoration and was surrounded by scaffolding and netting, which meant no decent photographs, grrrr.

Wandering past the observatory and through the surrounding flower gardens I came out at Anapji pond; a manmade pond from the Shilla period which had recently been drained to reveal various archaeological artefacts which were extremely well preserved. Apparently, for centuries no one had realised that there once lay a grand complex on the sight built by a Shilla king thousands of years ago, but since discovering the artefacts there has been a concerted effort to restore the pond to its former glory. The pond is calming and very zen, but until the complex is fully restored it will probably resemble more of a building site than an impressive piece of history.

Further up the road is the National Museum, which luckily for me is free entry until December, hoorah! The biggest draw of the museum is the gigantic Dharma bell, reportedly the largest in all of Asia and legend tells of its chimes being heard over a 3km radius. The rest of the museum is rich in artefacts, particularly from the Shilla period, but also dating back to the Neolithic ages. It was certainly worth a look to see the various pottery, jewellery, armour, weaponry, figurines, tools and masonry scattered about the museum.

The final leg of the hike took me along a tree lined street with golden fields of wheat flanking both sides and the imposing volcanic mountains in the distances Appreciating the view with nothing but the sound of your feet hitting the road is certainly one of the best experiences I’ve had in Korea. Watching the dragonflies wizzing about from flower to flower as a variety of elderly Korean women plied their produce at the roadside had something very Asian about it. I reached the Bunhwangsa temple after about 30 minutes and paid an incredible 1500 won (75p) for the very little that was on offer. The main draw is the short 3 storied pagoda which is unusual because it is made from stone rather than carved from wood. It was certainly different, and I did enjoy the walk so I was pretty satisfied.

Another 30 minute walk home and it was time for a beef bowl (with chilli), some kimchi (includes chilli) and two unprepared chillies on a plate. All finished off with a slice of chocolate cake (no chilli).I was planning to go to the Andong mask festival tomorrow but it has been cancelled to prevent the spread of swine flu, gutted! Instead I shall be getting the bus up to Seoul a day early and taking in the second largest area of urban sprawl in the world!