My Friend from the Philippines visited this weekend.  So, after a day at temple, we decided to walk through downtown Daegu.  Of course, something fun happened…  I got to see Cabaret performed in Korean, which is probably the next best thing to seeing Liza.

It made me miss my good friend Tom, who never lets a Liza moment pass without telling me about it.

Here’s the awesome video.

As an added bonus, here’s the video of when I actually got to see Liza doing Cabaret.

No related posts.

Donghwasa is probably my favorite temple in Korea.  I love everything about it.

So for Buddha’s Birthday, I decided to make a last minute trip.  It was very, very interesting, even if it wasn’t as awe-inspiring as the first time.  They were doing construction on the enormous 33m Buddha, so that was a mess.  And while I’m a lantern’s biggest fan, I don’t particularly care for walls of them that prevent me from seeing anything else.

In addition: I didn’t eat before I left.  My legs were extremely tired.  And, there were no seats on the one-hour bus ride home (not to mention that a group of really loud American college kids got on the bus right before me, making me a recipient of many angry stares as I was automatically lumped together with the other white people standing right beside me).

It did not help me achieve a state of nirvana.

But, I’m very glad I went.  It was a special day in many ways.

You can view the full photo set here.

*You can now click on the first thumbnail for a small pop-up lightbox that makes it easier to skim the photos.

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So, I’d been planning my trip to Gyeongju all week.  I was totally pumped because Gyeongju was the capitol of Korea during the Silla Dynasty (57 B.C. – 935 A.D.).  The Silla Dynasty (pronounced shilla) is the longest sustained dynasty in Asian history.  [More history after the jump...]

When I got to the bus station (very proud of myself for having directed the taxi in Korean), I bought my ticket.  I specifically said “Gyeongju”… but somehow, I ended up in Yeongju.  I was actually quite annoyed because I had taken special precaution to enunciate clearly and loudly as I had feared this might happen.

So, after arriving in Yeongju, I promptly got back on another bus and went to Daegu to search out the Outback Steakhouse I had seen on a prior visit… allowing myself to regroup while eating butter for the first time in two months.

After that I ran into two American servicemen drinking soju on the sidewalk at 1pm.  They continued to pursue conversation  (belts, soju, vacation, TV) despite the fact that there was absolutely no chance we might ever have anything worthwhile to say to one another.

I then proceeded to the “Lotte Department Store.”  This is basically an 8 floor mall with everything from Gucci to the Tommy Hilfiger.  And in addition to the stares that say “you’re-the-only-white-person-here” I was also graced with the up-and-down looks that say “you-look-like-you’re-going-hiking-in-Gyeongju-and-you-are-NOT-supposed-to-wear-those-clothes-when-you-are-shopping!”

I also have this habit of putting my sunglasses on my head when I’m inside.  This works well for me as a person, but not so much for my looks as it makes my hair stick out on the sides… all day.  So, I basically looked like a bum with hair going in every direction.

Then, I bought my third bus ticket of the day and finally made it to Gyeongju.  It was wonderful.  It was beautiful.  I’m so glad I didn’t give up, which I was this close to doing while I was gorging on my Outback mystery meat covered in Korean sauces.

The photos you see are the tombs of the Kings, Queens, and noblemen of the Silla Dynasty.  The tombs are the enormous mounds you see.  They were actually quite stunning to see in real life… I don’t think the pictures do them justice.

You can see the full set here.

Three Kingdoms at the end of the 5th Century

MORE HISTORY: During this time, Silla maintained close contact with the Tang Dynasty of China, thereby infusing many Chinese cultural traits — including books, art, Buddhism, and Confucianism.

Also, in 668, King Munmu became the first leader to unify the peninsula (before this time, there were three kingdoms).

And last but certainly not least — it is during this time that we have the earliest evidence of woodblock printing.  A Buddhist sutra was discovered inside of the Pagoda That Casts No Shadows dating from 751.  Please note that Europe did not replicate this feat until around 1440…

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Near the top of Mt. Palgongsan is Donghwasa Temple.  It was amazing — that’s all I can say.

The original structures of Donghwasa Temple were built in 493 A.D., and it was expanded in 832 A.D. — all during the 992 year reign of the Silla Dynasty.

You can read more about the temple here.  I’ll let the pictures do the rest.

See the full photo set here.

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I made it up Mt. Palgongsan this weekend — it’s on the outskirts of Daegu (map).  After searching for the correct bus for 2 hours (Korea’s tourism website had the wrong bus listed and the tourism center went to lunch right when I found it), I was starting to wonder if was worth it.  But, I eventually found the right bus, paid my $1.25, and after an hour I was there.  It was definitely worth it.

The mountain is home to a lot of cultural sites (which I’ll post about later), but right now, here are the photos from the mountain top.

See the full photo set.

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