Tobogganing down Tumuli, Gyeongju Part 4

Mian-hamnida  to all the Shilla kings and queens buried in the Gyeongju tumuli but I couldn’t help myself. The first thing I thought when I saw the smooth mounds in the Daereung-won Tumuli Park was: “Wouldn’t it be fun to take a toboggan and slide down a tumulus covered with snow?”

Purists and die-hard patriots would probably bar me from entering the city again for my irreverence. But hey, I’ve read in the Lonely Planet that even Korean tourists have been traipsing up and down the slopes when the security guards weren’t looking.

Unlike most graveyards, the ancient tombs for the royalty and nobility of the Shilla Dynasty have an approachable air about them. Sanitized by the archeologists’ excavations and the manicured lawns, the Daereungwon is more like a languid stroll through a park than an exciting exploration of people’s final resting places.

Even when one enters the Heavenly Horse Tomb ( Cheonmachong) and peers through the glass for a close-up look at reproductions of the famous gold crown ( now in the museum), there are no shivers down one’s spine the way one would feel exploring the Roman catacombs or the dark cramped spaces within an Egyptian crypt. But then again such comparisons are unfair.

Just go with an open mind and you might enjoy learning a thing or two about the difference between a stone-lined chamber tomb and a tunnel-type tomb or discovering the origins of the names for some of the tumuli such as “Bamboo Soldier Tomb” ( Chukhyonnung) , “Tomb of the Deceased’s Shoes” ( Singnichong), and “Tomb of the Auspicious Phoenix” ( Seobongchong).

For more information on how to get there, admission charges and opening times, click here.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeongju_Historic_Areas
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/kyongju/216
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264117&nearBy=accom&
http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=2988
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Heavenly_Horse_Tomb

Gyeongju Revisited, Part 1

On hindsight, I realise that I have done Gyeongju a great disservice. It was our  first visit to Korea so my travel companion and I unwisely planned a whirlwind tour of the country and allocated very little time to this city known as a “ museum without walls”. It does seem sacriligeous somehow to attempt to appreciate its 1000- year history in two measly days.

 So how much time should one spend in this ancient capital appointed by the Shilla kings? After going over the literature that I managed to collect while there, I think at least one week, if not a few months, should be devoted exclusively to this place because there’s really so much to see – from royal tombs to Buddhist relics to UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Of course, if you’re really strapped for time and you have 10,000 won to spare, there’s a private bus which departs twice daily from the Gyeongju Express Bus Terminal twice daily to the main attractions. Stops on the seven-hour long tour include Bulguksa Temple, the Folk Craft Village, Poseokjeong Pavilion, the Gyeongju National Museum, the Cheomseongdae Observatory and the Cheonmachong Tomb. ( tel. 054-743-6001)

A word of caution though - people assume from the claim that Gyeongju is an open-air museum that the whole place looks like some ancient city. The reality is that its many cultural treasures are scattered around the edges of the present urban centre. It's advisable to read up on the history of the Shilla Dynasty to appreciate more fully the sights.

source:
http://asiaenglish.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=312887
http://asiaenglish.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=312750