Browsing the archives for the cycling tag
To be honest the Korean urban lifestyle doesn’t really do much for me. Sure, I sometimes miss the art and culture, the night clubs and the convenience. But after living in London, Berlin and Barcelona, there’s really not anything new that I get out of big cities in Korea. All it takes is a walk [...]
I have to apologize to the regular readers of this blog (if indeed they exist beyond my lovely wife ) for being slack in posting lately. I had not one, but two, presentations to prepare for my masters program this last week. As my creative efforts have been going elsewhere, I don’t actually have any [...]
If you’re visiting the Gyeongju National Museum and happen to look east over the highway you might notice the outline of a hill on the far side of the train tracks. From the looks of it you wouldn’t guess this low ridge (often describe as looking like a silkworm) was in fact considered one of [...]
With our first blast of brisk weather and leaves starting to turn, fall is finally settling on Gyeongju. In about a week or so all the brilliant red, orange and gold autumn leaves will be at their peak, so I suggest getting out to enjoy their beauty before the dreariness of winter sets in. If [...]
Not to become a broken record or anything, but most tourists just bounce down to Gyeongju for a long weekend, hit up the big tourist sites, and head home Sunday night. It’s a shame really. You can barely even scratch the surface of what Gyeonju has to offer in 2 days. To finally prove what [...]
Continued from Part 1: 5. The Buddha Boulder (부처바위) of Tapgol Valley (탑골): Tucked behind the quaint beauty of Oknyeongam Hermitage (옥룡암) in Tapgol (pagoda) Valley is a large rock outcropping covered with Buddhist carvings. There are dozens of cryptic images including meditating Buddhas, flying Devas, pagodas, and even winged lions! The quiet magic of [...]
One of the cool things about Gyeongu is that it’s literally covered with ancient stone Buddhas from the Unified Shilla Dynasty (통일 신라), most dating back to around the 7th or 8th centuries C.E. Very little is generally known about the sculptors who chiseled out these masterpieces way back when, though they were probably carved [...]
I know it’s all the trend these days, but I figured it was about time I sat down and wrote out my personal top ten “to do” list for Gyeongju. Some of these I’ve posted on already, and if I haven’t yet, I hope to soon. So here they are in brief; counting down from 10 [...]
If you’re only in Gyeongju for a short time, definitely take a day to check out the big sights like, Bulguksa, Seokuram, Anapji Pond, etc. (Honestly, I’d give the Museum a miss, unless it’s raining). But if you really want to experience what makes this city so cool, take an afternoon to hop on a [...]
Sure, in Gyeongju Mt. Namsan (남산) has the lion’s share of ancient Shilla (신라) statues and carvings, so it’s well worth taking the time to explore if you can. But the truth is, most of the surrounding mountains have atl east one ancient Buddha that’s pretty cool. Plus the other mountains aren’t crawling with hiking clubs [...]
