Gyeongju - Day Two

Sunday I woke-up rather early because I wanted to head to the Grotto, which we didn't get to see on Saturday because of our bike ride slowing us down. Mike L. decided to join me for the day, so it was great to have the company. We took the first bus to the grotto, so it wasn't very busy when we got there, which was nice. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures of the Grotto, which is a GIANT Buddha statue in a cave, surrounded by Gods, Kings, Bodhisattva's, etc carved in stone along the walls. It was absolutely incredible and so beautiful, but since no pictures are allowed, I will just show you the surrounding area.

This pagoda with the bell is at the entrance way of the Grotto. This is a view from the hill the Grotto was on. Bus loads of Scouts showed up for a field trip just as we were leaving the Grotto, so we came and went in perfect timing. A view of the city below. It would have been nicer without so much haze.

Once we finished at the Grotto we took the bus back into the city and headed to the Cheomseongdae Observatory. Along the way we stopped for some snack food because we hadn't eat much for breakfast and didn't know when we would stop for a decent lunch. The walk from the bus stop to the Observatory only took about 10 minutes and the weather was beautiful again, so it was a great walk. We had to pay 500 won to see the Observatory up close, which is really nothing. Cheomseongdae is the oldest astronomical observatory in East Asia, and Korean National Treasure #31. It was part of the Silla Kingdom, which reigned for over 1,000 years.

This is Cheomseongdae observatory. Those may look like hills, but they are in fact the tombs of Kings during the Shilla reign. Mike and I came across a tree forest and were told by an ajusshi that it was 1,000 years old. The amazing thing is, it was still growing leaves. There was a Memorial stone inside the forest, dedicated to the dead Kings...I think. This tomb belongs to one of the ruling Kings of the Shilla period. The alter on the left is where the ghost of the King comes to pray and watch over it. On the right is a prayer platform where people can pray to the King.

Next stop was the tomb park tomb. That clearly means there were more Kings tombs to visit.

This is one of the Gyeongju mascots outside the entrance to the tomb park.

There is one Kings tomb you can go inside of and inside there is a replica grave. Unfortunately, this was another spot where pictures were prohibited, so I'm unable to show you how it looked.

The area within the tomb park was beautiful. It was just full of nature and very green grass. I enjoy this picture a lot. The trees canopy the pathway and it's just so full of natural beauty.

When we finished at the tomb park, Mike, Holly and I headed for some Chinese food and then headed to the bus terminal to wait for the rest of the troops before boarding the bus for our 5 hour long bus ride back to Incheon.