We rented a car so we could visit some out-of-the-way sights. Kristina is in the back seat of our Hyundai Sonata.
The first day we spent a lot of time outdoors to help Patty and Bill get over jet lag. We walked around Anapji pond and the nearby forest.
We stayed four days in Gyeongju. Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla for 1,000 years (50 BC to 950 AD) and is called a "history museum without walls". We visited Bulguksa temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is the pond on the way to the temple.
Bulguksa was founded in 528. The stairs leading up to the temple are called the Blue Cloud Stairs and were built about 750.
The most recent renovations were done in the 1970s.
Here’s Patty getting a look at the Blue Cloud Stairs and outer grounds from above.
We liked the dragon themed door pulls.
Bill and Pete are in front of a guardian gate.
Nearby was the Seokguram grotto, a Buddhist hermitage from the 8th century.
The highlight of the grotto is the beautiful Seokgamoni Buddha, the historic Buddha at the moment of his enlightenment. The 3.5 meter Buddha statue couldn’t be photographed, so we bought postcards and took photos of them.
This postcard's photo was taken in 1913 while the grotto protecting the Buddha statue was being repaired.
We also visited the reconstructed Wolseong Bridge.
The bridge was finished in 2008, and we walked across.
This model shows the bridge with two end pavilions. The pavilions haven’t been rebuilt yet.
Korean food is delicious! We had a wonderful meal at a ssambap restaurant where we counted 42 bowls on the table due to the variety of sauces and side dishes.
Ssambap is a meal where you wrap meat and vegetables in lettuce leaves. We liked the restaurant so much that we went back for another meal. We often ate a large lunch in the afternoon accompanied by Korean beer. Their beer is nothing special but it cooled our mouths while eating spicy food.
We went back to Anapji at night and loved how the lit pavilions reflected on the water.
Anapji pond was first built during the Shilla Dynasty, about 1,500 years ago. This photo shows it was almost a full moon.
We had a morning ritual of going out for coffee.
Our favorite spot in Gyeongju was Cattle & Bee Cafe that also sold soft serve ice cream.
We spent a day at Yang Dong Traditional Village, another UNESCO World Heritage site.
The village was established around 1450 during the Joseon Dynasty. The tile roofed houses built on the hills were for the Korean aristocracy.
The thatched roofed houses built on lower ground were for the lower classes, as the Joseon Dynasty had strict social stratification. In the gardens we typically saw both chilies and cabbages growing, the main ingredients in kimchi.
The top of the walls in the village were topped with either tile or thatch too. Here the braided thatch was used to hold the thatch in place.
The village was built on a few small hills and we walked around the narrow, winding streets.
The Mucheomdang house was built in 1540. It was no longer inhabited and was in beautiful shape.
It was fun to look at the inside.
We took a break and enjoyed soft-serve ice cream cones.
This door was so small and we couldn’t figure out what it was for.
Kristina is in front of the Seobaekdang house that was built in 1456.
And here’s a closer look at the interior.
We had many great meals together, but these photos are from a standout lunch that Patty and Bill treated us to.
It was a set menu, and the courses kept coming. Here the table is full of the appetizers, salads and rice porridge.
We had read a CNN article "50 Beautiful Places to Visit in Korea" and we chose our favorites for this trip. Kristina and Patty are at the base of Yongam Temple.
We especially like this photo of Patty and Bill, who make such a handsome couple! The temple was built among huge boulders and the top of one is visible behind the temple.
Originally built in 552, Yongam takes its name from a nearby boulder that was shaped like a dragon. Here’s the main hall.
We hiked up to explore the other buildings, like the founder’s hall that Pete’s peeking into.
We stayed two nights in Daejeon so we could visit the Geumgang Suspension Bridge on Daedun Mountain. First we rode a gondola partway up the mountain.
Then we climbed up stairs and rock steps.
We enjoyed the fall foliage.
Next we walked across the suspension bridge that’s 81 meters high and 30 meters long.
We took lots of photos. The bridge was a popular place to take a selfie.
Here was the view looking down into the valley. (Click the photo for an enlarged view.)
And this was the view looking up to the peak.
Next we climbed up some more, pausing for selfies, which were a good excuse to take a rest.
Then we got to the Cloud Bridge, a 50 meter long ladder-bridge with 127 steps. Kristina took this photo while Pete, Patty and Bill were starting to climb up.
And here’s Patty almost at the top of Cloud Bridge at the highest point on the mountain, 900 meters. Our visit to Geumgang was her favorite site on the trip.
We are glad she wanted to visit Geumgang because it was breathtaking!
Then we climbed down the rock stairs on the other side, thankful we didn't have to go back down the ladder.
We climbed 52 flights of stairs this day, according to our iPhone app.
Back in Daejeon we went to the public foot baths to rejuvenate our tired feet.
That evening we strolled a bit through the park, admiring the lights.
Of course we liked the bicycle lights in this tree.
This is the ARC, River Culture Pavilion in Daegu. It was designed by Hani Rashid and built for the 2012 World Expo.
The ARC is at the confluence four rivers on a man-made peninsula, and it's become a popular area to ride bikes and stroll around.
Inside the ARC there were exhibits about the rivers of Korea. There was also this sculpture entitled Sharing Hope.
We went for lunch at a dumpling restaurant. Pete is using the machine to order our dumplings.
We tried two varieties. Both were filled with seasoned meat and vegetables, and were tasty.
The next day we went to Palgongsan, a mountain known for excellent hiking trails. We rode the gondola about halfway up.
Pete was able to take this selfie of all four of us in the gondola.
We had a lot of fun together!
Although the terrain was pretty challenging.
It was easier when there were stairs to climb rather than rocks.
But the rocks were more interesting to see.
Pete climbed out to these cool boulders and flashed his "power pinkies."
Patty was not to be outdone and climbed out there, too.
We have been seeing lots of ripe persimmons in the trees as we drive in South Korea, so when we there were dried persimmons for sale after our hike, we bought a box. We all liked them.
Today’s lunch was flat dumplings. This woman had the dumplings already made and cooked them on a griddle.
Topped with Korean chili, they were good, but we preferred the dumplings with more filling.
In Daegu we rented an Airbnb apartment.
It was nice to be together and we enjoyed cooking breakfast there. The house mugs were joyful horse, diligent chicken, funny monkey and lovely rabbit.
We left Daegu and went to Haeinsa Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kristina and Bill are on the path leading to the temple complex.
This panorama shot gives a feel for how large the temple grounds are. (Click the photo to enlarge the view.)
In 2013 we had done a temple stay at Haeinsa and it was wonderful to visit it again.
While the wooden buildings were reconstructed in 1818, the stonework like these lions could be original from the 9th century.
We stopped for tea at this charming tea house nearby.
Built in a traditional style, the light colored wood interior was pleasant.
Kristina order puerh tea and was able to brew it about seven times.
The fall foliage was not quite as dramatic as Daedunsan and Palgongsan.
But there were some showy leaves.
We had lunch nearby. The mountain vegetable set menu was full of unusual and delicious dishes like acorn jelly, quail eggs, pickled fiddlehead ferns and a variety of mushrooms. The orange dish left of center is bonnet bellflower root, called deodeok in Korea, that is similar to ginseng but milder.
We visited the Naganeupseong Folk Village that was settled at the end of the 14th century during the Joseon Dynasty. This was the beautiful flower garden.
It was a little more touristic than Yangdong Village.
But it was still interesting to see them re-thatching the roofs. According to Wikipedia, there are still 85 households and 229 people living here. Enclosed by high walls that we could walk on, we had a great view of the village.
Here are piles of thatch waiting to be put on this building.
We saw lots of kimchi pots.
Patty and Bill were atop the walls near the front gate for this photo.
Here's a view of the village walls looking through the village administrator's house.
This woman had chosen to have her wedding at Naganeupseong. She’s dressed in the traditional Korean hanbok.
We walked in the Suncheon Ecological Park, the largest tidal wetlands in Korea. The paths wind through reeds growing in brackish water that provide food for many species of crabs and birds.
We saw lots of golden rice fields that looked ready for harvest.
This was our fifth trip with Patty and Bill. We think it’s their adventurous spirits that enable us travel so well together. Hwaeomsa temple wasn't on our original itinerary, but we read that it was on the top ten list of Korean temples, so we decided to check it out.
As we walked up to the temple we saw this bridge adorned with stone animals that reminded us of Maurice Sendak’s wild things.
The dragon gate was one of the most beautiful metal gates we have seen.
Hwaeomsa dates back 1,400 years, and the wooden buildings were completely rebuilt in the 17th century.
This is Gakhwangjeon Hall, one of the largest Buddha halls in Korea.
A monk was chanting inside. The acoustics were wonderful so we went in to listen and do our bows to the Buddha.
After checking out the temple, we took a walk in Jirisan National Park.
The path had a gentle slope and followed a stream. We saw more changing leaves.
Then it was time to head back to Busan. We stayed at Nongshim Hotel, which claims to have the largest jjimjilbang, Korean bath house, in South Korea. After relaxing in the baths, we put on the “uniforms” and hung out in the communal area.
For our final lunch together in Korea we had a private dining room. It was a wonderful trip!
Next we head to Thailand and Kristina's folks return to San Diego.
