For our fourth day (Nov. 18) in South Korea, we took a day away from Seoul. We spent the day in Gyeongju City in North Gyeongsang (or Gyeongsangbuk-do). It's a city that features multiple UNESCO World Heritage sites, which show the origins of the Korean culture. Gyeongju is really far from Seoul, but it's near Busan. But because of the KTX line, featuring a bullet train, it's just fast to get there. There's actually a free tourist bus from Seoul going to Gyeongju but it had to be booked at least 10 days before the trip,and it takes 4 hours of travel time. You may check the official tourism website of Korea to book a free shuttle bus. In our case, we took the KTX because it would only take us 2 hours from Seoul Station to Singyeongju Station (near Gyeongju). A couple of days before leaving Korea, we already bought our KTX tickets online and paid using credit card. For foreigners, there's a one-day unlimited pass for 58,200 won, but for a group of 2-5 people, each pass would only cost 52,400 won so that's how much we paid for. We just submitted our passport details online, and bought e-tickets, which we had changed into actual tickets at the Seoul station. Check this link for more information. Anyway, their trains depart and arrive on time so it's best to be early always. We departed at around 7am and arrived there at 9am.
The train ride was so comfy. There's also an attendant inside each cart who serve food (for sale) and assists the passengers. We just took a nap during the ride. So after 2 hrs of travel, we finally arrived to Singyeongju Station. We headed to the tourism office to claim our reserved tour tickets but apparently, we we're not booked. Before leaving Manila, we already booked the Gyeongju City Tour Course 3 online through this link, but when we got there, they said they didn't receive our reservation. Anyway, the tourism officer called up the tour guides and finally, they were able to give us slots in the tour. Since we're a bit early for the tour, we waited for almost an hour for the bus to arrive. The bus was full and most of the tourists were Koreans, that's why the tour guide only spoke Korean; then we realized later that she can't speak much in English. We really felt that what she's saying about every attraction was really interesting, it's just that everything's told in Korean so we were not able to understand. Anyway, when the tour guide collected our payments while inside the bus, we paid 60,000 won (15,000 won each) for the tour plus additional 48,000 won (12,000 won each) for the admission fees. So here's how our tour went:
The train ride was so comfy. There's also an attendant inside each cart who serve food (for sale) and assists the passengers. We just took a nap during the ride. So after 2 hrs of travel, we finally arrived to Singyeongju Station. We headed to the tourism office to claim our reserved tour tickets but apparently, we we're not booked. Before leaving Manila, we already booked the Gyeongju City Tour Course 3 online through this link, but when we got there, they said they didn't receive our reservation. Anyway, the tourism officer called up the tour guides and finally, they were able to give us slots in the tour. Since we're a bit early for the tour, we waited for almost an hour for the bus to arrive. The bus was full and most of the tourists were Koreans, that's why the tour guide only spoke Korean; then we realized later that she can't speak much in English. We really felt that what she's saying about every attraction was really interesting, it's just that everything's told in Korean so we were not able to understand. Anyway, when the tour guide collected our payments while inside the bus, we paid 60,000 won (15,000 won each) for the tour plus additional 48,000 won (12,000 won each) for the admission fees. So here's how our tour went:
1. Singyeongju Station - We left the station at 10am for the tour.
Welcome to Gyeongju!
tourist information
outside Singyeongju station
2. Gyeongju Poseokjeongji - It used to be a small palace.
the only part of the palace that's left
autumn :)
Pam
Pam, Dianne, Thina
3. Cheonmachong (Heavenly Horse Tomb) - Lots of ancient tombs that looked like Bohol's Chocolate Hills. The tombs were huge because the Korean ancestors were buried with their properties like jewelries and armors.
i love the colors!
Pam
Korean drama? LOL!
HDR effect via Camera360 app
We just can't get enough of the background...
ancient tomb
scary...
i like!
4. Geyongjucheomseongdae (Cheomsongdae Observatory in Gyeongju) - It used to be an observatory of Silla. For us, it looked like a Rook in the Chess board game haha!
yikes!
Chocolate Hills? haha nope, they're ancient tombs :)
I don't know what this is called but it's yummy!
5. Lunch (at a Korean restaurant in one of the buildings nearby) - We were only given less than 30mins to eat. We ordered bulgogi and pork cutlet. The food was quickly served. However, we were too hungry to take photos of our food haha.
6. Gyeongju Donggung Wolji (Imhaejeonji, Anapji) - Another royal Silla heritage site with large temples. But again, not everything got preserved. But, there's a diorama there that showed how this palace used to look like.
the lake
how it used to look like
7. Seokguram Grotto - We walked too far and climbed so high just to see the giant Buddha, but when we got there, no photo taking was allowed so we're not able to take a photo of the giant Buddha.
bell tower
just like Baguio haha
the giant Buddha is inside (it's like a cave inside)
small Buddha
8. Gyeongjubulguksagyeongnae (Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju) - It's a really huge and nice place. We explored the palace and the beautiful scenery around.
at the entrance
autumn colors...again!:)
eeewwwy but pretty pond :))
so nice!:)
photo bomber alert! tsk!
We left at 5pm from our last stop and we're back to Singyeongju Station before 6pm. Since all the trains going back to Seoul were fully booked, we were allowed to take any train we wanted (no need for reservation). However, we were just seated on the floor in between carts, since we didn't have seats.
We headed back to Hongdae. We decided to find the Hello Kitty Cafe first before heading back to the apartment. I found a map posted by a blogger, which she got from the cafe's official website. In my attempt to follow what's on the map, we lost our way! haha! Good thing there's this random Korean guy whom we asked for directions, and he can speak in English! he actually didn't know where the Hello Kitty Cafe was, which I was glad about 'coz if he knew, we might have thought his gay LOL! But he actually helped us by using maps from his smartphone. Good thing he was headed that way too so we walked with him. That's like the most awkward 500 meter-walk of my life haha! Anyway, when we got there, we realized that it was just less than 150 meters away from our apartment. I loved the place (being that Hello Kitty fan since childhood haha). Even their drinks were good too. We tried Cafe Mocha, Green Tea Latte (Matcha), and Cafe Latte. After finishing our coffee, we bought some streetfood, which we brought back to the apartment for our super late dinner. Our Malaysian housemates also shared their take away food with us. We really had a great night hanging at the apartment.
Total spending for the day for 4pax:
1. KTX Train from Seoul to Gyeongju - 209,600 won (52,400 won each)
2. Transportation (subway only) - 8,400 won
3. Gyeongju City Tour - 60,000 won (15,000 won each)
4. Admission Fees - 48,000 won (12,000 won each)
5. Lunch - 30,000 won
6. Coffee - 13,500 (ave. of 4,500 won for each coffee, total of 3 cups)
7. Dinner (street food & soft drinks) - 10,000 won
7. Dinner (street food & soft drinks) - 10,000 won
TOTAL: 379,500 won = Php 14,539 (or approx. Php 3,635/pax)
Two days left...yay!
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