Gyeongju Historical Cultural Tour

Gyeongju was so cool! About 1 hour by bus from Busan, Gyeongju is a popular day trip for people basing their stay in Busan. It's known for its old style architecture and several historical sites. Since Cam and I heard all the spots were quite far apart, we decided to spend the extra money on a tour so that we didn't have to worry about bussing or cabbing between the different spots. The tour was super laid back and casual. There were two tour guides - one for the Mandarin speakers and one for the English speakers. The English speaking tour guide was not super knowledgeable about the history. Basically, we would stop at a location, he would show us two or three things and give a little speech, and then we had an hour free time to wander around and take photos before meeting at the bus.

The first stop was Bulguksa Temple just outside Gyeongju. Having already seen a few temples, I'll be honest, it just kind of reminded me of the other temples. Like many of the historical sites, the original temple had to be rebuilt because it was burnt by the Japanese when they occupied Korea. It was super pretty though! On the way out, there was a field of cherry blossom trees where we finally felt the hype about the cherry blossoms (most of the trees we've seen are next to busy roads).

After Bulguksa, we had an hour for lunch. The tour guide recommended a restaurant where the tour company has some kind of deal with and I assume the prices are inflated. Cam and I opted to go find our own food and ate bibimbap for slightly cheaper. Then it was back on the bus to stop number two!

The second stop was a bridge and historical area called Woljeonggyo bridge. It was really pretty among the historical buildings in Gyochon and on the stepping stones across the river. We saw the outside of a really rich historical figure's house (normally you can visit inside too but not when we went apparently).

The third spot was where all the hubbub really was and where Cam and I will go back to by public bus if we visit again. It's a road called Hwanglidangil Road which is next to the royal tombs. It was really fun because it looked so different than any other street we had been to in Korea. None of the buildings are more than two stories and you can actually almost see the horizon. There are tons of cute boutique stores, photo zones, and cafes. Cam got one of the "ten won bread" which is like a waffle with cheese in it and I got a cute scoop of gelato decorated like a frog. We didn't try the red bean "Gyeongju bread" but maybe next time!

After wandering around the street, we met up with our guide and tour group at the entrance to the royal tombs. The tombs look so strange! Our tour guide said they were from the Silla period and when we asked when that was, he didn't know. So we found a sign that said it was around 600 CE. You can enter one of the tombs to see some of the artifacts that were found inside.

Lastly, we visited Donggung Palace and Wolji pond at night. They have the whole palace grounds set up with lights so that everything reflects so perfectly off the pond. It was very picturesque AND very crowded. I think it was the most crowded spot of the tour. They have everyone walking in a circle clockwise though so you aren't bumping into people.