At long last, day two of Gyeongju

Let's see... hmmm... what is it that I've been forgetting? There's something I've been needing to do and I can't seem to remember... Oh yeah! The blog! I still have some Gyeongju business to attend to before I get on with my life in Suwon, so here it is:

Day two I decided to rent a bike and ride to Mount Namsan. Namsan is a place full of temples, stone buddhas, shrines, and museums. It is also a wonderful climb, but first I should digress and talk about the bike rental. I found it very telling about Gyeongju and Korea in that I rented a mountain bike for two days for ten dollars. I didn't sign a waiver or show an ID. The guy didn't even ask my name. I gave him money and he gave me a map. He pointed me in the direction of Namsan and said something to the extent of: "Have fun, see you later."

I should mention that my shoes were still wet from the river crossing fiasco the day before, so I had to wear sandals. When will I learn?! I climbed Mount Namsan in these sandals, and the breathtaking scenery made up for the damage inflicted on my feet. The climb took about two hours, and I was able to find some neat shrines and a great view of the mountains.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon riding my rented bicycle around randomly looking for sights worth seeing. I took more pictures than this blog could handle, but I was able to include a fair number. The pagodas and statues below were taken at the Gyeongju museum, and I've included a couple of other random shots as well.

On a final note, I should apologize for the lack of activity the last couple of weeks. So much has happened since my last entry, and I've only covered one day since on the blog. I promise to finish Gyeongju early next week and will have plenty more to post to catch everyone up. Lastly, I have to express my excitement for the Cardinals winning the world series. I watched the whole thing, and was jumping for joy

Welcome to Gyeongju

Phase two of the vacation: here we go. The whole idea of a trip to Gyeongju came from a British friend. We had bought train tickets weeks in advance, but my traveling partner overslept this morning. Thus goes the old expression: "Never trust a Brit when they ask you to go to Gyeongju." I'm not one to abide by old cliches, but this well known maxim proved to be true in this instance. Actually, I was happy to be relieved of the burden of another person's agenda and looked forward to experiencing this spot for myself.

Gyeongju is a UNESCO world heritage site that is essentially a huge outdoor museum of the Silla dynasty. There are tombs, shrines, pagodas, temples, and buddhas everywhere. Knowing this, I figured I would just wander around the first day and see what I'd run into. I checked into the Hanjin Hostel (more on that later) just after 12:00, and set out wandering immediately after.

Having no agenda or time frame, I happened upon this river path. It was a beautiful windy fall afternoon, and I savored the sound of the wind which drowned out the children's' shrill voices still pounding in my head. On my left side was the city, while some enticing mountains lie just across the river. Hmmm... How to cross the river?
Perhaps the best idea would be to find a dry patch and walk across. There seemed to be some places where I could cross without getting my feet wet. I'd just have to walk until I found one of these spots. Use the bridge, you say? I'd have to walk all the way back to the road--how much fun would that be?
I found a seemingly dry path until I came to a spot where I had no choice but to wade through the last twenty meters. The wet shoes would certainly make for a comfortable hike up the mountain. I did make it to the mountain (where I am pictured in my Yankees cap), but my hike was cut somewhat short due to soggy feet. Why do I choose to kill my feet every time I go on vacation? I didn't see much historical stuff day one, but I did see this stunning mound. The hike was very relaxing, however.















I went back to the Hostel around 5:00 and chatted with the owner, Mr. Kwon. The Hanjin Hostel is a family business that has been around for thirty years. The younger Mr. Kwon, who had spent twenty years living in the States, moved back to Korea when his father turned 80 to take over the business. His father is in spectacular shape for a man his age. He practices yoga every day and could pass for a man 20 years younger. These fine gentlemen have a passion for foreign travelers and have made many friends from all over the world. The hostel's rooms are bare, but there is a community kitchen, television room, and rooftop veranda; all geared toward travelers communing, socializing, and exchanging ideas and stories. That evening I ate dinner with two American English teachers from Suwon, and two German med-students from Seoul. When we came back from dinner, we sojourned to the rooftop where all the other foreigners gathered. This weekend, I would meet people from Germany, France, Switzerland, New Zealand, England, U.S.A., and, of course, Canada.

Yet another tale of Daecheon

I didn't have the courtesy of announcing it this time, but I had yet another vacation the previous week. Last week was Chusok (sp?), which is a big Korean holiday where most business's close on tuesday, thursday, and friday. The kids have the week off from school, and I had the pleasure of having a one-day work week. Wednesday is referred to as "sandwich day", since it falls between two holidays. Thankfully, our hogwan was gracious enough to close on this day, so I only worked monday. With four days off, I felt a little traveling was in order. Having learned about this vacation in short notice, the best idea was to travel around Korea.

My first trip was a peaceful jaunt back to the familiar confines of Daecheon Beach. Having been there twice before, I found it an entirely different experience than the first two. Each trip to this beach has produced a totally different atmosphere. This time proved to be the most peaceful. The idea was to catch the last bastion of warm weather for the season and read a good book on the beach. Mission acccomplished on both fronts. The weather was beautiful and the reading was spectacular.




The first couple of times I had been to this beach, it had been very crowded. This time, however, it was nearly vacant, at least, by Korean standards. I took a picture of this street because it is a site I rarely ever see in Korea. There's absolutely noone in site! Not a soul on this street, which was buzzing the last time I visited. Ahhh, this is the way to enjoy a book. The book of choice was QB VII, by Leon Uris, and I knocked out most of it that afternoon on the beach. Uris has a style I enjoy in which he employs the use of short chapters to keep the pages turning. When I know I can knock out a chapter in a few minutes, I'm much more prone to continue.

QB VII is a story written in four parts. Part one is the story of a Dr. Adam Kelno. Dr. Kelno is a Polish nationalist hero who had spent time in the hellish German World War II prison camp in Jadwiga. Kelno moved to England after the war for political asylum. Poland, now communist, is trying to extradite him on charges of performing experimental surgeries on Jewish prisoners under the watch of German war criminals. Thus, he is accused of being a war criminal himself. Because of political reasons, England is reticent to extradite him to communist Poland, and holds him in Brixton prison for two years until his name is cleared. Kelno then moves to the far east to practice medicine on a remote third world island.

Part two shifts gears to a character by the name of Abraham Cady. Abe Cady is a Jewish novelist who had suffered his own versions of hell in the war. He had somehow survived himself, but had lost many family members in the holocaust. His early career after the war is one of writing pulpy novels and screenplays, but his underlying aspiration is to go to newly formed Israel and write an enlightening and honest novel about the Jews and the holocaust.

In part three, Cady writes his novel with much blood, sweat, and tears. It becomes an instant international success, but he runs into a snag. One paragraph in the book implicates Dr. Kelno as performing brutal experimental surgeries in Jadigwa. Dr. Kelno, now a knighted surgeon in England, sues him for libel and demands the book be recalled.

Part four is the actual trial, in which the true character of each, um, character comes out. It is an intriguiging and educational story, which casts an enlightening glance on many aspects of post WWII life, including Jewish nationalism, Polish communism and nationlism, and the English commonwealth. I would not give away the ending, but I do wish to highly recommend this novel and give the real reason for my lengthy description. And I digress...

There is a character who emerges in the second half of the book by the name of Dr. Dimshits. Having described the serious nature and academic value of this book, I have to say I laughed every time I came across this name. I have no idea why Mr. Uris chose this name, as I would have used "Dr. Jackass" or "Buttlicker, M.D.". It reminded me of a story a fellow English teacher told me a couple of weeks back about her friend who worked in an inner-city high school. One of her students names was, get this: "Shithead" (pronounced shi-theed). I'll go ahead and say it: If one wants to get on this blog, all they need is a funny name.

Anyway, back to the beach. After spending the entire afternoon reading, I visited my favorite sauna in Korea and had a sea water bath and then a mud bath. That evening I went back to the same place I had been with Pam and friends the first time, and then with Gina and Sacha the second. This time, I took a picture of the delicious grilled scallops. Notice again how there's noone else around. This was my third time eating the same thing at the same place, and each experience was distinctively different. All of them were very good.




After dinner, I went back to the beach and watched the sunset. It was a little hazy on the horizon, and didn't hold a candle to what I witnessed in Thailand. Still, it sure beat teaching. I chilled in this spot for a long time and then turned in at my cozy cheap hotel room. This was the first small leg of the vacation. I arrived back in Suwon Wednesday evening, and had a ticket booked for Gyeongju on Friday morning. "What is Gyeongju?", you say. Stay tuned, and I'll tell you all about it.