Gyeongju with Kevin

Last weekend, my friend Kevin and myself set off on our motorbikes along the east coast of Korea, going north toward Gyeongju. It's not too far, but it's a really nice ride.

















We took quite a few little breaks along the trip. We sat down on the pebble beach for a few minutes here.































I'm probably crazy for doing this, but I've aquired a new skill: motorcycle photography. No, it's not taking pictures of bikes. It's taking pictures while riding ON a bike! Fun! Fun! Fun! I traffic was light, so I was able to drive pretty slowly when I did this. It made for some sweet pictures.
















Like this one.
















And this one.
















And this one. I really like this one.
















This one reminds me of playing a video game.
















That's a speed limit sign above the road, in the red and white circle. It's 80 km/h. Some of the signs are a little different than they are in Canada, but most of them are similar enough to figure out.
















A lot of these multi-lane roads are quite dead. I don't know why. It was a beautiful Saturday, perfect for a leisurely drive around the country. Then again, many Koreans are working or in school on Saturdays.
















I think that log building is a restaurant.
















I like this picture because you can see the sea in the distance.
















This is just pretty.
















I wasn't hungry enough for this.
















Nor was I hungry enough for this freshly dried seaweed.

Actually, salted seaweed is pretty good. I don't mind it at all. Same with the squid. It's just ugly...
















Here's a shot of our bikes.
















I'm pretty sure that a squid massacre has taken place here. Squid don't generally sunbath on their own accord.
















This is the legendary underwater tomb of King Munmu.

King Munmu (late 600s AD) was the first King in the Korean peninsula to see Korea united as one nation. Before that, Korea was in the time known as the "three kingdoms period". The three kingdoms were known as the Silla, Baekje, and Gogureo kingdoms. King Munmu was the King of the Silla Kingdom, which had it's capital at Gyeongju (about 50km north of Ulsan). He helped defeat the other kingdoms with help from Tang dynasty China. Following that, he succesfully worked to free his Silla empire from the control of China. He is known as being one of Korea's greatest Kings.

His dying wish was to have his ashes spread over the East Sea, in order to be reborn as a dragon and protect Korea from Japan, which is located across the sea. The rocks in this picture are where this occured.
















Right after the underwater tomb of King Munmu, we took a road west inland, towards the ancient capital of Gyeongju (this is not the first time that I'd been there). The scenery, as you can see, is gorgeous. There are rice fields in the river valley here, which is flanked by lush green mountains. This looks amazing in the Spring and early summer as well, when the rice fields are filled with water.































The tractors that the farmers use are interesting. They are small little things; not much more than a small ATV with a trailer on the back.
















It was definetely harvest time.
















Though Gyeongju is only about 50 km from the north end of Ulsan, it was a much longer ride for us, as we followed the coast. We took the busy highway on the way back, in order to avoid riding in the dark. It was not nearly as nice.





















I love this photograph.
















Kevin decided that he would stand in the middle of a rice field. It made an excellent picture.




















Here's me in front of a mushroom house. As much as I looked, I could not find Super Mario anywhere. He must've been eating mushrooms and fire flowers inside. (most of these places actually ARE mushroom resturants!)
















We took some random trail down the side of a mountain. Unfortunately, this was as far as we could go. The road was just too rough and steep after this point.
















Now THAT'S a nice view! You can see the ocean in the distance.
















This interesting structure is a bell house. You can see the massive bell inside. Korea is known for it's amazing bells.
















We are looking west here, towards the valley where Gyeongju lies.
















Geokguram Grotto

From Wikipedia:

The Seokguram Grotto is a hermitage of the Bulguksa temple and lies east of the temple on Mt. Tohamsan. In 1995 Seokgram was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list together with Bulguksa. It is the 24th national treasure of Korea.

It is said to have been built by Gim Daeseong in 751, but it remained virtually unknown. Its last record was of the early 18th century, and it was discovered in a decrepit state in the early 20th century. The Japanese Government-General of Chosen conducted restoration works three times, but it faced humidity problems. After World War II, it was virtually neglected for nearly two decades without taking countermeasures until 1960s when President Park Chung Hee pursued a restoration project.

It is a granite sanctuary with a Buddha statue seated in the main chamber. The main hall of Seokguram houses a Bojon statue Bodhi sattva and his disciples. The grotto was built around these statues in order to protect them from weathering. The ceiling of the Seokguram grotto is decorated with half moons, the top is decorated with a lotus flower. Many people come to or near Seokguram to enjoy the sunrise, which is considered particularly attractive.

Because of the numerous renovations and the fact that the temple was abandoned for a long time, many details are disputed amongst scholars, such as the exact layout of the original grotto, the buildings in Bulguksa or the shape of the watercourse, which no longer exists, in front of the temple.

Here's another pretty view west, from Seokguram Grotto.


Some of these pictures, and some that I didn't bother to upload, can also be found on Kevin's Site.