This Saturday we made our first escapade outside of Busan proper. Brian, David, Duck, and Ryan and Shannon and I headed out Saturday morning to see Gyeongju, a city about an hour north of Busan by bus that was the capital of Korea during the Shilla Dynasty. The Shilla Dynasty began in 56 or 57 BC and lasted over 1000 years. It was during this reign that peninsular Korea was first unified, and it's amongst the longest dynasties on record in Asia. Therefore, Gyeongju is loaded with Shilla era architecture and ruins.
We met at the express bus terminal Saturday morning, and I was amazed at what an easy time we had buying tickets. For 4000 won (about 4 USD) we got a luxurious cross country ride with leg space even for the freakishly tall amongst us. But before the bus ride, we stopped in Lotteria, the Korean McDonald's, where hidden between the normal beef items on the menu is the delicious shrimp and avocado burger. It was my first time in a Lotteria, and I think I'll go back, which is strong language for me and fast food. When we got to Geongju we stopped by the tourist information center and got maps and some advice. Then we hopped on some rental bikes and headed out to see the sites. Some of my favorites were the Gyerim (chicken)forest, where the κΉ€ (kim) lineage was born - something like 85% of Koreans have Kim as their family name - and Cheomseongdae, the oldest standing astronomical observation tower in all of East Asia.
After an amazing dinner we found ourselves a cheap "love motel", which means you can rent it by the hour, but we took it for the night. Unfortunately, I felt really sick the next day, so Brian and I headed back to Busan early. But Duck has some great pictures of the temple the rest of the crew visited Sunday on her blog. Sunday night Brian made some traditional Korean food at home and it was better than many restaurants that we've tried. Hopefully we'll be pros when we leave so we can bring home the tasty treats we've tried here.
Jess
