First sightseeing spot of the day was a trip down to the Halla Arboretum. Abor...what?? According to Dictionary.com - "a plot of land on which many different trees or shrubs are grown for study or display." Nice place to start the day, with lots of fresh air, greenery and a nice weather. Only problem is that the sun tended to be scorching, though once you get into a shade it becomes quite cold.

Lots of Chinese pine trees, lots of fruit trees also including the perssimon tree which is in season right now. Lots of interesting shrubs also, but not many flowers perhaps due to the fact that it is autumn now.



We later took a flight from Jeju Interational Airport to Pusan, though we didn't stay in the city but instead immediately set off for Kyongju city. Kyongju is actually a place where one can find numerous historical sites. This was afterall the capital of the Silla Kingdom, one of the 3 kingdoms which ruled Korea since 57 B.C. Click here for more about Silla, and here for more about the Three Kingdoms of Korea.

Thanks to Seo Dong Yo the terms Silla, Baekje and Gogureoyo were not too unfamiliar for me.

Anyway, we visited a national park (Tumuli Park) first which was really made up of numerous tombs shaped as little hills which belonged to the royalty of Silla. According to our tour guide, the reason for the tomb's appearance is because the Koreans believe that when one dies, he/she returns to the mother's womb.



Beautiful place and perfect picnic spot.


Only one tomb was excavated and the rest were left untouched simply because the government found these undertakings much too expensive. What a pity. This particular tomb was the only in the area that was excavated and has been converted into a tiny exhibition hall housing replicas of the relics that were found in the tomb. The real stuff are all in the national museums in Seoul and Kyongju now, unfortunately these places were not in the itinery... Annyway, this one is called the Flying Horse Tomb because of a mural of a flying horse found in the tomb.

We then took a 10 minutes walk towards the Cheomseongdae Observatory which was built by Queen Seondeok (632-647). Apparently many believed that it was built as a showcase of the Queen's power and had no practical use, because realistically speaking, an observatory should be built on top of a mountain for it to have any practical use. This one was built in the town centre. Nevertheless, if this was of real practical use, then it would have been the oldest, surviving observatory in the world.

We then set off for Daegu to stay at a hotel which was just beside an artifical lake built by, if I didn't remember wrongly, another king. Nevertheless, it's a beautiful lake. We happened to chance upon a festival by the lake on the day we were there so there was a carnival or sorts with a stage with magic shows, rock bands and singers. Obviously I didn't know who they are...



So that was that, the 3rd day in Korea. Beginning to appreicate the rich history of Korea. If you want to know more about the places and names I mentioned, just look up Wikipedia.org.

To be continued...