Posts Tagged ‘just enough korean’

I went to Gyeongju with a few friends of mine. It’s one of the most amazing places that I’ve been to in my 10 months Korea. I was getting sick of going to different cities in Korea and seeing temples and other cultural mish-mash that looks just like the ones a few blocks away from me in Daejeon. Gyeongju was a welcome change from all of that.

We left from the express bus station in Daejeon bright and early at 7am and made it to Gyeongju at 9:45 with one pit stop just past Gumi (halfway between Daejeon and Gyeongju).

The four of us took the “excellent bus” for 17,700 won. I checked online beforehand and read that we could pay 11,400 won for the express bus so I was quite shocked to hear the price we had to pay. I found that the excellent bus is way more comfortable than the express bus. But, depending on the length of the trip, the extra money most likely isn’t worth it.

Take The Tour.

Once we landed in Gyeongju, I spotted the Tourist Information Booth and scurried right over to it. It’s right next to the bus station which was amazing and convenient!

I talked to the people in there and asked them where the tours were. They told me that we could sign up for a tour in the building behind their booth.

Tours in Gyeongju left at 8:40am, 10:00am, and 11:00am for 15,000 won.

The 15,000 won doesn’t include admission to the temples and such (an additional 4,000 won) plus lunch for 10,000 won for Sashimi Bibimbap (sashimi link | bibimbap link) or 54,000 won divided by everyone in your group for a raw fish fiesta. I got the bibimbap. It’s good if you don’t mind raw fish or bibimbap.

We took the 10am tour since we arrived around that time. The tour was amazing because it was one price and they took us to way more places than I could ever imagine to go to in Gyeongju. Plus, they gave us plenty of time at each stop to wander around and do everything you want to do when you get there.

The tour guide gives information about the places in Korean (which didn’t help us much) but luckily the signs are in Korean and English in case you actually want to know what you’re looking at.

I HIGHLY recommend the tour so you don’t have to take a taxi everywhere and you can see a lot more of the city than you probably originally planned to see.

Downtown Gyeongju Is Dead As Disco!

I found out that there’s no nightlife in Downtown Gyeongju (near the bus and train stations) and barely any restaurants are open around midnight and later. I did find the McDonald’s, which is 24 hours, in the heart of Downtown Gyeongju. KFC, Pizza Hut, and a movie theater are also near the McDonald’s but they aren’t 24 hours .

EXPO Park in Gyeongju is a good place to spend half a day.

On Sunday, I went with a friend to EXPO Park (Expo Worlduh to the taxi drivers). The taxi fare is about 10,000 won from near the bus station. The Gyeongju map lists the admission fee as 5,000 won. But, at least on Sunday, it’s 6,000 won for adults.

We stumbled upon a Tea Experience in the EXPO Culture Center (second floor). It was … something. My friend loved it and it saved us from the rain.

While in the Culture Center, we stumbled upon a Hip-Hop/Bboy show in the same building.

Gyeongju Tower

We also got to go to the top of the building that we saw while on our tour the day before. It’s called Gyeongju Tower and it looks like another building smashed into it at some point. We got an awesome view of the area from the inside.

Gyeongju is a really amazing place to visit on a fall/summer/spring/and probably winter weekend and soak up what I’d say is the most authentic Korean experience out of all of the “authentic Korean experiences”.

“Where is the best motel in Seoul?” That’s what everyone asks me every time they see me.

Ok not really. But whenever I imagine someone asking me that, I always give them rave reviews about the amazing Motel Aubeson!

The Motel Aubeson has everything I’ve ever wanted in a Korean “love motel”. Which, for me, actually isn’t much. But the stallion cream is a nice and thoughtful touch.

Check out this slightly ridiculous video which explains how to find the Motel Aubeson from the Anguk station (line 3, stop 328) in Seoul.

Jermil and I headed south of the Han River to Gangnam to get breakfast for dinner at Butterfinger Pancakes (Line 2, Exit 6). Waiting for a table, we met a lovely pastor who drew us a map, and happily promoted his neighbourhood of Seoul.

Jermil and I had high hopes for Gangnam since we has read in ‘Dokkaebi Maps and Guides’ that it was as close to Paris as we would get in the Soul of Asia. On recommendation of the pastor, we went to Kyobo Tower which houses a book store with a selection of English titles, and we also took a stroll along Gangnamdae-ro (the main street).

We found lots of cute and unique shops, an interesting cityscape and tons of places to eat, but comparing this area to Paris is a bit far-fetched. We didn’t really find much there that is different from any other busy “dong” (neighbourhood) in Seoul. Actually, no, we did find these huge Iphone-resembling displays that take pictures of you on the sidewalk, and then you can email yourself the pictures. That was pretty cool, so cool that Jermil got in on the fun and had his picture taken with an unsuspecting Korean couple.

We only spent a short while in Gangnam, and we feel we missed something. What should we have done in Gangnam?? Any advice for things to see or nightlife??

Haesindang Gongwon (Haesindang Park) is known as the Penis Forest in South Korea. It’s either because the real name is way too long and complicated or because you can find totem poles shaped like different penises with faces all over them.

It’s way on the east coast of South Korea in a ridiculously small town called Sinnam. It’s a dreadfully long 5 hour bus ride from Seoul to Samcheok. Then a local bus ride for about 50 minutes to Sinnam. We asked the nice lady in the Tourist Information Booth at the bus station how to get to Haesindang Park and she showed us where it was on a map and also told us exactly which bus to take. We took bus 90. But I’d suggest you ask the human in the Tourist Information Booth as well instead of going by the exact bus numbers that may be changed on the exact day that you decide to check out the penis forest.

We got there in the late afternoon and decided to eat before we headed out even further away from civilization. By the time we caught a local bus to the park, it was twilight.

We told the bus driver where we wanted to get off because we knew we wouldn’t know it when we got there. He told us but it was pitch black by that time. We didn’t see any place around with light or any other signs of life so we stayed on the bus until the very last stop.

We hopped in a taxi there and asked the driver to take us to a motel (by saying “motel motel” over and over until he started driving).

He took us about two blocks and wanted us to pay the minimum fare. My friend stormed out in anger! I gave him 1,000 won so he wouldn’t call the police or who knows what else. It’s quite country out there.

We got the crappiest motel I’ve ever stayed in which tried to rip us of on prices. Good thing my friend heard them tell the couple before us the real price and she demanded that price.

Besides all that, once you make it to Haesindang (penis) Park, it’s well worth it. Besides all of the amazingly weird and awesome penis totem poles, it’s located right off the East Sea. You can walk along an almost unnatural beach with rocks galore that you can walk along into the East Sea if that’s your thing.

When we got there the next day, we realized that if we got off at the stop and went down the hill, we would’ve found plenty of minbaks to stay in right outside of the penis forest. But it’s pitch black and looks like no one lives anywhere near that place. So if you get there at night, feel free to hop off the bus at the correct stop and find a minbak. Or do like we did and go to the end of the bus route and walk a few blocks to the nearest motel.

Here’s a few pictures from our time at Haesindang Gongwon aka Haesindang Park aka The Penis Forest.