Lots of housekeeping stuff to do. We managed to pin down our flight from Seoul to Beijing, our train tickets to Seoul, tour to Panmunjom and a hotel in Seoul- plus get some cash. Then it started to pour.
Our walking tour was looking less attractive, but we decided to continue. We took a taxi to the furthest point and started our self-directed tour. Anapji Pond, constructed by King Munmu in 674 AD as a pleasure garden was mostly destroyed by the Mongols. What’s been reconstructed was lovely- set near a pond with beautiful gardens. Then we trudged on to the Ch’omsongdae observatory, built between 632 and 646 AD. The 12 stones of the base symbolize the months of the year and from top to bottom there were 30 layers, one for each day of the month…totaling 366 stones.
Finally we made it to Tumuli Park, in the heart of Kyongju. It contained 20 tombs of the Silla monarchs and members of their families. One of the tombs, the Ch’onmach’ong (Heavenly Horse Tomb) had been opened in cross section to show how it was constructed. The tomb was 13 m high and 47 m in diameter, constructed in the 5th C AD. The construction was amazing.
Exhausted and wet, we headed back to Han Jin and spent the rest of the afternoon talking to an Aussie who was scoping out Korea for teaching opportunities. Evidently the best pay for teachers is in Korea, Taiwan and the Gulf States.
Dinner was a “bulgogi burger” at McDonalds.
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