Museum Without Walls

Last Sunday we were lucky enough to be escorted to the ancient capital city of Gyeongju - The Museum Without Walls. Our guides were our friend, Eun Ju and her sister Su Yoen. What a difference it makes being accompanied by locals!

Usually any day trip we take requires walking to the subway, riding the subway, changing subway lines, finding the bus terminal, waiting for the bus, riding the over-heated bus and arriving at our destination tired, grumpy and wondering "What do we do now?".

Our friends and tour guides picked us up from our apartment and drove us directly to our first point of call in Gyeonju, Bulgoksa temple. This temple is one of only 5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Korea and is the largest and most important temple complex in the country.

Located on the mountain above Bulgoksa is the 2nd UNESCO site in the area, known as Seokguram Grotto. Seokguram is an amazing Buddha statue carved from stone in around 744AD. It sits within a cave temple nestled into one the highest mountains in the area.

The other great thing about traveling with locals is, they know what to order at a restaurant. This is always one of the most awkward and frustrating situations that we experience. Not this day! We were treated to traditional Korean cuisine at it best! Han jong Shik for lunch and Saam for dinner. Lunch was comprised of about 20 different dishes will I counted 50 cups, pots and dishes on our table for dinner. Needless to say we were full and there was plenty left behind.

Since we didn't have to worry about catching buses, subways or taxis home, we were able to stay a little later and experience some of the nightlife. This came in the way of the kings very own garden and the oldest observatory tower in Asia.

A wonderful day, with great food, excellent people, and a fascinating city!