Gyeongju

Gyeongju, known as the Museum without Walls, is a city in the Gyeongsangbuk-do province that was one of the most important cities during the Silla Kingdom. It was a great weekend as the weather started to thaw and could almost go without jackets (yes, in February.....the post is late!). There is a lot of history going on in this part of the country, including many Buddhist artifacts at the Bulguksa Temple. When we landed in Gyeongju, it took a few minutes to get a feel for the place.

Bulguksa Temple was an extraordinary temple that was designed to symbolize 'Buddha's land on earth.' It was built in 751 AD and was designated a UNESCO Cultural Heritage site on December 6, 1995. The temple itself was very impressive and contained many Buddhist artifacts inside. The construction of the temple was very striking (as you can see from the pictures), and was fairly large in size. The Bulguksa Temple has seven National Treasures of Korea contained within it's walls and holds important cultural

Overlooking the Sea of Japan (to the East), Seokguram Grotto, which we were not allowed to take pictures of, is one of the most famous and is regarded as one of the most intricate Buddha sculptures in the world. The Seokguram Grotto is built into one of the mountains and the view from the entrance is spectacular. The entire area of Gyeongju was very picturesque. This is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was completed in 751 AD.

Cheomseongdae was another stop in Gyeongju. It means 'star-gazing tower' in Korean and is the oldest surviving observatory in East Asia. Cheomsaongdae was really interesting in the fact that it showed so much interest in the stars, moon, and sun back in 7th century.

Gyeongju National Museum is an extensive collection of artifacts from the area that have been inticately laid out. The artifacts are from around the area, and also from a pond that was drained (Anapji) at the palace in 1974.

The weekend was full of sightseeing, cultural and historical learning, as well as climbing Mt. Namsan in Gyeongju (Seoul Tower in Seoul is also on Mt. Namsan, but different one). There is so much history in Gyeongju, that it would be hard to try and fully understand the ancient kingdoms of Korea without paying a visit to the historically rich area, which was extremely important during the Silla Kingdom.

Jason Mraz Pictures

Jason Mraz Concert......

While I was in the Philippines, I had a very interesting e-mail stating that Jason Mraz would be coming to Seoul. I got really excited and then proceeded to get tickets. The show was in Jamsil at the Olympic Park (same place, different building, as Billy Joel).

The day of the concert was a Saturday and we headed to Jamsil area where we had snacks and drinks at the TGI Fridays. It was a relaxing fun evening, Kim, Jerick, Annette and I all attended.

The concert was great, although I was separated from the group for the show. But.....the highlight comes after the show, when I was looking for a Jason Mraz poster with Korean writing on it. They were all removed from the windows, but there were some in between glass doors. Jerick managed to pull the doors apart enough so Annette could stick her fingers through and grab a poster (ripping the tape off), the first one fell to the ground inside - but the second was a success. I now have my Billy Joel and Jason Mraz Korean show posters!

The show was great and the Jamsil Olympic Park proved once again to be a great concert venue.

Yeoju Pictures

Yeoju

Trying to explore Korea is sometimes pretty difficult if you don't understand Korean or are able to know where you are going. I discovered this on a day trip to Yeoju. I researched everything and thought that everything was planned. We headed to Express Bus Terminal in Seoul and got the bus to Yeoju. The plan was to go see the ceramics village and make our own. Upon arriving in Yeoju, we had quite a struggle to get a cab to take us to the ceramics studio. We finally got that down after asking the woman at the bus station for directions as well as several people on the street trying to help us.

Once at the Ceramics studio, we travelled two hours to find out that it closed THAT day to get ready for the Ceramics Biennial (a giant world ceramics expo that is held every two years). It is taking place this year and they needed to start preparing for it. What luck, eh?

We enjoyed the nice weather and got to walk around the ceramics village and down to the river. We then proceeded to go to a nearby temple, which is the only main Korean temple situated on a river. It was great to see and we had good pictures turn out. The highlight of the day was sitting in a tea house and having an old woman pour us traditional Korean tea in nice ceramics and how to pour it correctly.

The day was not all lost, but it turned out to be a very relaxing day of just walking around. When we arrived back in Seoul we took the subway to Insadong and had another excellent cup of tea at a tea house.

Yeoju wasn't a full success (as we have no ceramics to show), but it wasn't a loss of a day either. Just having some difficulty with language barriers! It's time to learn more Korean!

Prison and Aquarium Pictures

Prison and Aquarium Weekend!

On this sightseeing adventure, we decided to go visit Seodaemun Prison which holds a lot of historical significance in modern day times, especially with the rule of Japan. The prison was constructed in 1907 while Korea was considered a protectorate of Japan and was used to house Korean anti-colonial activists.

It was very interesting and somber at the same time, we were learning about another country coming to rule over Korea and the way that they treated the men, women, and children. There were historical displays that were set up. One of the most interesting buildings was one that was constructed for hangings. There was an underground tunnel that went into the hill. The tunnel allowed the Japanese to have hangings and drag the bodies underground out a back way while taking others in the front door.

After the historical tour of the prison, we then proceeded to climb up a nearby mountain with a temple built into the side. The mountain, Inwangsan, is 338m tall and has many granite peaks. The mountain was a lot of fun to climb, and we got off the beaten path. We noticed, after vertically climbing most of the mountain, that there was actually a path and stairway. We decided to take the humane way down the mountain and that ended our day.

The following day we went to Coex in Gangnam to go to the aquarium. It was the crew that works with Kim and it was a great time. The Coex is a really cool shopping centre in one of the hip areas of the city. It houses a hotel, exhibition centre, mall, theatre, Kimchi Museum, Aquarium, and More! The trip to the aquarium was great fun for everyone. We got to see a lot of cool fish and marine life, as well as different ways to display them (some pictures included in the blog).

It was a great weekend.

More Taiwan Pictures!

Taiwan Experience!

For the lunar new year, Kim and I decided on going to Taipei, Taiwan. We chose it as a destination that still celebrates Chinese New Year in style, as well as it's proximity to Korea due to the limited time frame. Taipei was definitely worth the visit. I didn't really know what to expect when traveling to the small island off the coast of China. It was supposed to be beautiful, and it was. The weather was nicer than that of Korea and the entire trip was excellent.

We called the Taipei Grand Hyatt our home for four days and enjoyed the luxury of the stay. We were conveniently in the heart of Taipei and located across the street from the world's tallest building: Taipei 101. The building was beautiful and was an excellent example of modern architecture and engineering. The building has also been given the award of one of the 'Seven Wonders of Engineering.' More on the building later.

After landing early in the morning, we took the bus into the middle of the city to check into the hotel. The hotel was gorgeous and the next plan was to head to the concierge desk and plan our weekend. Little did Jessica, the concierge, know that she was going to be bombarded by us for the next 4 days! Jessica helped us plan out and create an itinerary for our entire trip. We got to fit in everything (almost) that we wanted to see in the city. Our first stop, the National Palace Museum, where many artifacts were stolen from China - directly from the Forbidden Palace. The centerpiece of the collection, a disappointing Jade sculpture of a Buck choy Cabbage. The hype of the carved cabbage was so much, that it was a huge disappointment. I left the museum crushed. But there were good pictures taken on the outside and it was also really cool and interesting to see the museum that has the most Chinese art and artifacts in the world. Approximately 60,000 of the 650,000 artifacts are on display on a rotational basis (3 months), which means that to see everything in the museum's collection it would take about 12 years constantly going at least once every three months!!!

We then proceeded to go to the Jade and Flower Market that was in the city centre. There were many interesting types of flowers, including hundreds of Orchids, which are apparently difficult to grow, that were extremely inexpensive. The Jade and Pearls were really cool as well, since we were celebrating the Lunar New Year (Zodiac Calendar) and I am an Ox, and we were ringing in the year of the Ox, Kim purchased me a little Jade Ox. It is interesting and a great keepsake.

The next adventure on our first day was to figure out the Taipei Subway system and make our way to Longshan Temple. The gorgeous temple was all decked out to welcome the Ox in an extravagant manner (see pictures). There were decorations everywhere and the temple was packed. We didn't stay there TOO long as we also had to make our way to Taipei Tourist Alley, aka 'Snake Alley.'

Here at the Taipei Tourist Alley, there were many different things to experience, including snake blood mixed with grain alcohol and prepared in a shot glass. Kim and I were too tired at this point (and a little disgusted) to try the shot, and unfortunately we missed the snake show because we ducked into a massage parlor to have shoulder and foot massages. Upon leaving the massages, we stopped and Kim had a serving of, what she explained to be, delicious raw tuna. It was a very interesting place to visit and I did manage to get one picture of a live snake, but none that were tied up by their necks and guts hanging out.......

To finish the night off, we retreated to "Cheers" the hotel 'Sports Bar' which was actually an upscale lounge with live entertainment. The singer was excellent and she came and sat with us after the show. We planned the next day at the table and had a great evening.

The next morning we woke up early to go to the Hotsprings in the mountainous area of Taipei. The area was great and we got to enjoy the local hotsprings. We had time to relax and enjoy the vacation alone. The area where the hotsprings were located was really cool and the hot water actually bubbled up from the ground and flowed through the city! We then went to a little seaside town and got to experience the local market with thousands of people around buying things that they needed to prepare for the New Year! There were live chickens, tons of produce, and things that I have never seen in my life. After returning to the city centre of Taipei, we went to explore some famous Taiwanese cuisine - Dumplings! I also got to try Taiwan Beer, which is actually better than Korean beer. We went to a Tea House that was recommended by the New York Times, but it was closed, as was Monster Ice, the Shaved Ice restaurant. We didn't eat too much food, as we had reservations at the Swanky hotel restaurant. There was a set menu with Lobster and other seafood dishes, but the kitchen made me a special dinner with Lamb, Steak, Foi Gras, and more. We enjoyed a bottle of wine and had a lovely meal. We went back to the room early as the following day was a big celebration! NEW YEAR!

When we awoke, we were officially in the Year of the Ox. The hotel had a lot of celebration things set up and we went downstairs to join in on the festivities. They included Chinese calligraphy, Paper folding, Print pressing, and best of all, FIRECRACKERS and a Chinese Dragon Parade. They also had an elaborate ceremony to introduce the Ox, because it is the Zodiac character for the year! It was great, the costumes, dancing, drumming, and thousands of firecrackers went off! The day was great, and afterwards, we went to Taipei 101 to enjoy the afternoon. There is a giant mall, and the tallest skyscraper in the world.

The construction and everything about the building is extremely impressive. It is able to withstand earthquake tremors and typhoon winds because of a giant Damper that was built into the top of the building (at a cost of $4 US million). It is the largest damper sphere in the world, it prevents damage to the structure during strong wind loads.

The view from the top was excellent and it was very interesting. They are very proud of the damper and even have little cartoon characters called "damper babies." There are four damper babies in total and Kim and I got out picture with all four! When in the observation tower we are able to view the damper from the levels. It was really big and pretty impressive, as dampers go.......best one I've seen. I was really interested in the construction of the building as well as the architecture. It is designed to resemble a bamboo stalk. The repeated segments are made to look like Asian pagodas, and there are curled Ruyi figures throughout the structure. This symbol is associated with heavenly clouds.

The building also has the worlds fastest elevator, going at a speed of 60.6 km/h. It doesn't even feel like you are moving when inside, except noticing your ears pop. We traveled from the 5th floor to the 91st in 37 seconds!

After seeing the observation deck and spending time in Taipei 101, we returned to the hotel to get ready for dinner.......only to return to Taipei 101 to go to the 89th floor for dinner! Again, Taipei is known as the best cuisine in Asia, and it didn't disappoint! My meal consisted of White nest soup (soup made of a nest from a bird the builds it by regurgitating - it's considered a delicacy), caesar salad, pork spine, lamb, and desert. The meal was excellent and I highly recommend.

This concludes the excellent four days that was in Taipei, the next morning we just packed up and returned to the airport to head back to Seoul!

Taiwan Pictures