So I hear you went to Gyeongju...

What a great weekend! Brandon and I have been hanging low at home for the last several weekends so when some old friends from our orientation mentioned they were meeting in Gyeongju world… We decided we had to make it work! Brandon and I recently sat down and made a list of all the things we'd like to see before we leave the country and decided this was a great time to start crossing some things off the list. Gyeongju is only 2 buses and about 1.5 hours away so it was a pretty quick journey. 

The first order of business when we arrived in Gyeongju, of course, was a stop at McDonald's. They were still only serving breakfast though so Brandon said it didn’t really count! We met up with our friend and after eating we dropped our bags off at his apartment. Harry is one of the sweetest humans and graciously offered for us to stay the night. We were now bag-less and ready to get on the bus towards Gyeongju World to meet the others! I was really excited to experience Gyeongju World because it has been a very long time since I’ve been to an amusement park not knowing what to expect. Normally, when we go to Lagoon I know we need to start with Wicked or Colossus and you have a good idea of what rides you know you need to hit up before leaving. For those back home, I would say Gyeongju World was similar to but a bit smaller than Lagoon and the entrance fee of $30 seemed like a great investment. 


After sorting out our entrance tickets in the front, (buying tickets online for a discount in Korea is the biggest hassle because their security measures are so extreme), we finally headed in! We were greeted by cute buildings and sculptures and headed straight for our first ride. Although there were less rides to go on overall, it was an excellent experience because every ride was different than something we’d ever experienced before. The lines were very short at the beginning of the day so I did begin to feel a bit queasy after the first few. My body is used to waiting in longer lines between each thrill and I guess it’s fair to say that this 22 year old body just isn’t the same as it used to be. 


Some highlights from the amusement park:




'Cola popcorn chicken' all in the same cup! Business in the bottom, party on the top.

Everybody in the groups shared excitement for “Authentic Mexican Churros”

The magical photo opportunity that allows you to stand under a regular old umbrella and a directed rain shower. The umbrella was NOT big enough for two people and the water spray was no joke.



Lots of great friends who graciously captured said magical photo experiences

A K-pop parody show that was just as magical as it sounds. I couldn’t help but be reminded of trips to amusement parks when I was younger when my mom was insistent we always watched the shows. As I grew older these were opportunities often traded with friends for more thrills but it made me feel very reminiscent and I’m very happy we got to see the performance. 


After hitting up the rest of the rides we headed out for dinner. We got a chance to walk around Cheomseongdae at night and stopped at a few small shops. Some people needed to leave earlier to catch buses back home so we headed back to Harry’s for the night. We played card games and ate some post-dinner, gas station, refreshments. After some trouble securing an official futon, Harry insisted that Brandon and I take the bed while he slept on some sitting mats. I told you he was the sweetest and this was a gesture that will not soon be forgotten. 



Cheomseongdae is the oldest observatory in Asia. Gyeongju tombs.


On Sunday morning Harry gave us a bit of a walking tour of Gyeongju. I wanted to see the Muhly grass in daylight and we also wanted to hunt down a cafe for coffee and breakfast before we headed out. 


That magical pink Muhly grass Cheomseongdae gardens

Woljeonggyo Bridge

Gyeongju Gyerim Forest

We did eventually track down an open cafe and stopped for a coffee and breakfast. I was a big fan of their ceramic mugs and I now want one for Christmas. The food was quite delicious as well. Cafe 1909.

And for anybody who's made it this far and is wondering... but what about Nacho? Nacho seems to have done just fine on his own for the night. His meower seemed a little worn out so I hope the neighbors didn't have to hear him whine too much. On Friday night before leaving we took a bus to Yeongdeok to get his rabies vaccine so that he is ready to go back home with us whenever that may be. He did an awesome job on the bus in his carrier though so I am hopeful the flight home won't be too challenging. Anyways, it's a good thing we accidentally left a new roll of paper towels out for him when we left. I wouldn't be surprised to hear him say he had just as much if not more fun than we did!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We've landed in South Korea!

Image
Better late than never. A motto I really hate but I guess it will have to do. We are quickly approaching Quarantine Day 4 dinner and I just wanted to share a few thoughts, pictures, and things about our first few days in Korea. The flight was great. Brandon was very nervous about it but it wasn't too bad. We finally had a chance to watch Slumdog Millionaire (Brandon's favorite movie, 3 years into our relationship. It's embarrassing, I know). To both our pleasure and surprise we were served two full meals in-flight (we were worried with the 'Rona's). Bibimbap & chicken/rice or beef/noodles. We had an excellent piece of carrot cake and I am still dreaming about it to this very moment. Thanks to fabulous support from my TL' s at UPSTART we divided a 40 pack of snacks between the two of us for our flight. I have never been more grateful that I didn't eat those snacks as we are on Day 4 of rice, meat, and odd Korean sidedishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...
Read more

Just Because you CAN Doesn't Mean You SHOULD

Image
This is a phrase that has been replaying and floating around my head for months. I have a very specific memory of my mom helping me with a school assignment sometime in middle school. I was trying to pinpoint my three biggest strengths and weaknesses. I'm not sure why this memory stands out so strongly to me but it is one of the memories that feels almost tangible. I can remember the frustration I was feeling at the impossible question and the way that I was leaning/jumping on our old green granite counter tops while mom sat in one of the wooden swinging chairs. This is the first time I remember ever being asked this question and the answers my mom helped me to come up with are the ones I always fall back on when I am filling out surveys or having a job interview. "Determined. You are very determined and always finish everything that you set out to do. Enthusiastic. When you find something you care about you show enthusiasm in your work and are eager to share your goals and sk...
Read more

Chuseok in Jeonju, South Korea

Image
To Jeonju! This week we traveled to the city of Jeonju for our Chuseok holiday. We both worked on Monday/Tuesday and left for Jeonju first thing on Wednesday morning. We made plans to meet up with 3 other EPIK teachers that all work in Gyeongbuk province and we met most of them in our orientation in August. Jeonju is a far journey and it took two bus transfers and over 5 hours to get there.  We all arrived around the same time and headed over to our Airbnb together. We unloaded our things and headed out to walk around and see the Hanok Village. We were lucky to find a nice and clean place to stay for a pretty reasonable price and were just a minute's walk away from the edge of the village.  Within the first hour or two of being in town, we found another EPIK teacher who is placed in a different province but we'd had an opportunity to meet and talk with her a bit at orientation. She had made the trip to Jeonju on her own so we were excited to turn our group of five into six for...
Read more

Teaching is very hard - Claire's first big 'flop'

Image
A great weekend adventure! On Saturday last week we made it down to Yeongdeok, the next biggest town from us. We drove town with David, his wife, and one other friend. We met with another Epik teacher who lives there and we had a traditional Korean dining experience. Shoes off at the door, cushions on the floor sitting crisscrossed, everybody eats and shares food together. I am a terrible tourist and am not sure what the place was called or the traditional name for the experience but it was fun! They brought out side after side after side. Some fresh greens with purple sauce, some boiled greens that tasted like essential oils, pickled sides, etc. We also had Sundubu-Jjigae (Brandon & I's favorite Korean food from Myung Ga where we would eat at often in SLC), fried green beans, onions, and meat pieces.  After absolutely stuffing ourselves to the brim and leaving some food behind (it goes against everything I was taught growing up and honestly pained me a bit); somebody decided w...
Read more

We've Arrived in Yeonghae-Myeon!

Image
Orientation It honestly feels like we have been here for a lifetime already. Following the last day of our quarantine, we headed to a hotel where our mini orientation was being held. Everything was cut a little short due to a surge of cases in Seoul/Gyeonggi metro areas on the last day of our quarantine. Of course. However, we were excited and ready to get to a change of scenario no matter what it looked like! We were pleasantly surprised by a nice stay at the Hotel Prumir. Brandon and I still were not allowed to share a room together but at least got to see each other as all of our classes and meals were held at the same time. While at the hotel we had almost nightly visits to the convenience store for an "Into the Mango", 'ice-cream on a stick' if you will. Such a delicious treat to have SUGAR!! The bars only cost 0.84 so how could we say no, really?? Going outside for short walks after lunch we were reminded just how hot and humid it is here but we were not allowed...
Read more

Finally... Falling in Love with Seoul

Image
Day One Day Two Day Three Day Four Day Five Day Six Day One - Myeong-dong After our friends left Jeju for home, Brandon and I flew from Jeju to Seoul. We didn't have many plans laid out but we were ready to finally see the big city after living in South Korea for the past six months! Our plane landed in Seoul around 1130 am and we couldn't check into our Airbnb until 3 pm so we had a bit of an awkward time where we walked around a bit but mostly sat and waited because we were lugging around 2 backpacks absolutely stuffed to the brim and very heavy. During this time we took our first subway which was intimidating at first but actually pretty easy in the end and a huge time saver throughout the duration of our trip. After seeing the Seoul subway system, it is clear why so many people use it as a part of their everyday routine and we are jealous not only living in a small town here but also back in America! As soon as we got off the subway we headed to a highly recommended restaur...
Read more

Say Hello to... NACHO!

Image
I am here to share Nacho's story. For as long as I could remember I've always wanted a cute little kitten for Christmas. Once Brandon and I settled in at our new house back in South Jordan we brought Dory into our home and I was so excited to finally experience a pet cat after never being allowed one while living at home. Brandon and I loved having Dory at our home in the one year before leaving for South Korea. Even with Dory in the picture though, I still pictured that tiny little Kitten in a Christmas box under the tree, a dream I've had for several years.  Some of our last pictures with Dory before leaving Fast forward a few months and we were finally settling into our new home here in South Korea. I'd been feeling a bit lonely and was missing Dory insanely. There is a huge problem with stray cats here in South Korea so I was constantly being reminded that there were cats all around me but none waiting for me when I got home. Brandon and I talked a few times about w...
Read more

Boseong Green Tea Fields & Tangerine picking on Jeju Island!

Image
Visiting Jeju vacation island during Seollal. Seollal is a huge Korean holiday that celebrates the Korean New year. Similar to Chuseok back in October, many people travel to their hometowns to spend time with their family for the holiday. Due to the current COVID restrictions, groups of 5 or more are restricted so Brandon and I chose to meet up with two of our friends to explore Jeju during their long weekend off of school. In our pursuit to visit every province before the end of winter vacation, we started our trip a little early and left for Gwangju, a metropolitan city located within Jeonnam province. We were both very excited to see Jeonnam as it is the province we were initially placed in when we planned to leave in April of 2020 before COVID forced us to defer to the fall semester. Because Gwangju is on the west coast of the country and our home is on the east coast of the country it is a rather long bus ride to Jeonnam. We left early on Wednesday morning to be sure we would make...
Read more

Dreams Come True in Busan

Image
This week's adventure was an absolute TREAT. Last weekend we spent two nights in Busan and had the best time imaginable. Busan is South Korea's second largest city and there were a plethora of activities to partake in and pictures to procure. I found my personal photo count to come in at over 430 images in less than 48 hours and on day two of our trip we clocked a total of 25,430 steps! Obviously there is a lot of ground to cover and pictures to share so let's get started!  As soon as we arrived in Busan we set out on a city bus for Haedong Yonggungsa. This is one of the most popular temples in South Korea as it is quite large and positioned just perfectly along the sea. Although we had heard it was a must see we were shocked by all of its beauty once we actually arrived. There was so much to take in from hundreds of stone sculptures to the sweeping rocks jutting out of the perfectly blue sea. When you first arrive at the temple location you are at the top of a hill. There ...
Read more