Spring has Sprung in Korea!

Cherry Blossoms in Bonghwa

Flowers are absolutely beautiful in Korea...One of the most beautiful and most famous flowers in Asia is the cherry blossom.  The cherry blossoms are only around for a short time, so we made the most of it and headed down to Gyeongju (one of the best places in all Korea to see them).  



"walking on water"



Ancient Tomb (huge earthen mounds)



the consequence of
"walking on water"



Gyeongju was the ancient capital of Korea, so along with seeing the blossoms, we also did some sight-seeing.  Gyeongju also happens to be the home of one of our American friends, and fellow Epic teacher, Andrew.  With Andrew as our tour guide, and Kate as our traveling companion, we took Gyeongju City by storm.   We first walked along the river to see the cherry blossoms and found ourselves with no way to cross except by "walking on water"  (not really, but we saw some Koreans do it and it looked like fun).  Next stop, Daelungwon.  These are huge tombs of ancient Korean rulers. 



Meat on a stick



After the tombs, we took a stroll through a huge park with more cherry blossoms, passed the oldest star observation tower in Asia and took a break for a meat on a stick.  Jesse went for the double  fried corn dog dipped in sugar, while Andrew and I went with some unidentifiable meat on a stick.  Kate, wanting to be different, ate a piece of fried immitation crab with ketchup on top :)  



cherry blossom

Feeling refreshed, we made our way to Andrew's favorite spot, Anapji pond.  This is the site of an ancient Korean pond and garden area which has been restored and stocked with giant goldfish.  Next, we went to the Gyeongju historical museum.  Our final destination was Bulguksa Temple.  Andrew couldn't go with us, but before leaving he told us it was too far to walk and recommended we take the bus.  Well, we tried to take the bus, but it was full so we started walking.  We walked 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) and saw a sign that said we still had 8 kilometers to go! 

Realizing our friend was right, it was too far to walk, Kate flagged down a taxi.  The taxi, trying to pull over, caused a multi-car pile up and then sped away, leaving us feeling awkwardly guilty and still without a ride to Bulguksa.  We briskly walked away from the scene of the accident (we can't be eye witnesses anyway not being able to speak Korean) and got in another taxi and made it to the temple. 



Anapji Pond



It was worth it!  In front of the temple was a huge park full of blossoming cherry trees and more meat on a stick vendors.  The park looked like a scene from a movie.  We walked through the park, took some pictures, and Jesse traveled from vendor to vendor sampling more double fried corn dogs.  

What a day!  Spring has arrived!!