Travel Diary: Then came the rain.

The 3rd night was spent eating chips and drinking wine at the balcony of the motel. The view there at night was pretty great and it looked a little something like this.




We didn't close the balcony door before we slept, I thought the breeze would help put me to sleep. I woke up the next day with the sound of the waves turbulently crashing through the shore. It was so strong I barely heard the sound of the alarm clock. When I went to the balcony, all I saw was this one giant haze and rain. We knew we were in the middle of the storm, and it got both of us worried. The huge downpour didn't come as a surprise, it was all over the news even before we departed. But being right in the middle of it was still terrifying, and we almost considered 'sleeping it off' in the motel. But we already made plans of visiting Roh Mu Hyun's hometown in Bong-ha, and I know how important it is to Chris so I rescinded the idea of sleeping till the storm wears off.


Bong-ha is about 2 hours away from where we slept in Namhae, but that's in a good weather. With the fog and the rain, it was longer. We had to stop at a resting place to get coffee and snacks. I took some pictures while we're there.

I guess you can call us lucky cause as soon as we arrived at Bong-ha, the rain halted to barely a drizzle. The first thing I saw right after we arrived was this huge portrait of the ex-president who died last May 23rd. I know how much Chris loved the ex-president, and I saw how sad he became right after he saw it.

As the skies momentarily clear, as if giving us one last chance to mourn and pay our respects properly, the parking lot started to fill. I didn't mind that I was the only foreigner then, and the only one carrying this.

The air turned eerie and tensed with people whose emotions were being poured at the sight of his tomb. It was a sad, sad day for everyone including me. There was never a man more worthy to be called a President than him, and it's just so sad that everything turned out the way it did.

Chris went to climb Bong-ha san, the mountain where Roh Mu Hyun allegedly committed suicide. I stayed behind, it was too much for me to handle. I waited for him under a Persimmon tree while he climbed to the very same spot where Roh Mu Hyun allegedly jumped to his death. I know that it's inappropriate to post this picture, I just want to give everyone a feel how it's like to be up there. It was scary, the rocks were slippery and dangerous with no barrier for safety, but according to Chris, he never felt closer to the President than when he was up there.

After the emotion-filled morning, we ended our visit to Bong-ha with a trip to this small restaurant. Before Roh Mu Hyun's death, the restaurant's main market were farmers and cattle raisers, so it's something none of the urban-dwellers could expect. Small, dusty, with narrow tables covered in tacky table cloth, and unsteady wooden chairs that squeaks as you move, but it's filled with warm people. We ordered Sokogi Gukbap. After we finished it, we saw a picture of the former President together with farmers eating the same thing we did. We heard he visited the restaurant a lot..

We drove to Gyeongju, a very famous tourist destination located in the north of Gyeongsang province. This city is known for being the capital of Silla Dynasty, the longest sustained dynasty in Asian History that ruled for almost a thousand years.

One of the most significant landmark in Gyeongju is Bulguksa, a Buddhist temple which is a masterpiece of Silla's golden age of Buddhist art. Chris paid in full while I got 1,000 won discount on my ticket. The receptionist thought I was a student (12-18 age bracket) and was asked to pay only 2,000 won. I bought a popsicle with the change. Wearing braces at this age sometimes has it's charm.

There's a beautiful lake inside, and you guys should see how the tree with vertically draped leaves sashays as the wind blows. It's fascinating, but in an eerie kind of way.

This is Seokgatap, a 13 century old stone Pagoda.

This is the largest temple there, and it houses one of the two gilt-bronze statues of Buddha.

Here's Chris posing for a picture before we left the temple.

About 4 kilometers away from Bulguksa, there is a place called Seokguram Grotto. It contains a monumental statue of Buddha carved out of stone inside a cave. It's located on top of a mountain, and the place was entirely covered in fog.

This is the start of the 20 minute climb to go to the top where the famous statue of Buddha is located. We weren't able to take pictures after this, the fog was so thick we could barely see a thing.

Just before the day completely turned into nightfall, we visited Anapji. It's a man-made pond which was part of the palace complex of Silla Dynasty. Of all the beautiful places in Gyeongju, this one takes the cake.

I'd give this place my highest commendation. And if these pictures aren't enough to make you visit the place, I don't know what would.

It was just after twilight then, and sky was perfect, and the whole place was illuminated with a hundred different spotlight. In my 28 years of existence, I've never seen a place more beautiful and enchanting at night than this one.

This is one breathtakingly beautiful view of the pond at night. Trees were lit and splendidly reflected in the water. There were spotlights everywhere that made it all the more magical. It's a place we could only see in our dreams.

Then came the rain again, only this time it was stronger, meaner, and more tenacious than ever. We wanted to stay longer, and wait till the skies become clear again, but the rain just kept getting stronger by the minute so we didn't have a choice but to cut our trip short.

We were more than impressed with Gyeongju that we vowed to see more of what it has to offer the next day.