Woke to heavy rain. This was the view from our room.
Made our way through the Busan metro system in peak hour and caught the KTX (Korean bullet train) to Gyeongju, where it was still raining.
Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla kingdom in ancient Korea, and home to many sites of historical significance. Unfortunately they are all outdoors, except for the National History Museum, so we made our way there after a noodle lunch.
And it was shut.
Usually it would be open on a Thursday but because it opened on a public holiday last week they gave staff a day off today. Plenty of other tourists milling around outside caught unaware by this. We had a look at a significant bell (eighth century) before heading back to town.
Also walked around and found some rice paddies.
Kids were fed up so we left them in our (rather small) room for a couple of hours and wandered around the local streets.
We have booked into a bus tour of the main sites tomorrow, and will have another go at the museum on Saturday.
Our hostel is literally fifty metres away from a park full of the burial mounds of Silla Kings dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries.
The hostel recommended a restaurant serving bibimbap and we went looking for it. Small and traditional. Another lavish spread for less than $50.00.
Not sure how much sleep we will get tonight. The kids have a bunk bed, but Sylvia and I have a futon and pillows full of rice.
kimchitraveller 