The bed was lumpy and hard and there was a
smoker somewhere close to my room and I'm sure I had more smoke in my room than
they had in theirs. Then I decided to have a coughing fit! Then my guts started
to do flick-flacks, and methane production was at its highest! So, after one of
the very worst night’s sleep ever, breakfast was at 7:30am. The coffee was ok
but had to use powdered creamer, some of which was so old it had caked and was
rock hard. We had toast, butter and jam, and the scrambled eggs with fruit -
tomato, pineapple, apple and kiwi fruit. That was it! We came to the conclusion
the hotel does not have a lot of westerners as guests, or any guests for that
matter.
We left the hotel 9:50am and headed back to the
temple we were at last night to see it during the day and also to visit
Tripitaka Koreana which is a Korean collection
of the Tripiṭaka (Buddhist scriptures, and the Sanskrit word for "three
baskets"), carved onto 81,258 wooden printing blocks in the 13th
century. It is the world's most comprehensive and oldest intact version of
Buddhist canon in Hanja script, with no known errors or errata in the
52,330,152 characters which are organized in over 1496 titles and 6568 volumes.
Each wood block is 24cmx70cmx 3cm and each weigh between three to four
kilograms. When stacked, the woodblocks stand at 2.74 km, measure 60km long
when lined up, and weigh 280 tons in total. The woodblocks are in
pristine condition without warping or deformation despite being created more
than 750 years ago. We then had lunch in the Monastery Dining Hall
with the Monks and all sorts of other people. The meal was very simple - rice,
vegetable curry, more vegetables, what looked to be French fries with very fine
julienned carrots, pineapple and watermelon, and a spicy soup. It was a buffet
so you helped yourself and whatever you put on your plate, you had to eat.
Needless to say, everyone was very economical in their selection. Talking was
forbidden as was taking photos.
Entrance to the Temple
A 1,200 years old withered elm tree
Mid entrance
Temple Square
Stone lantern
Three-storey stone pagoda - Birotap
Triptaka Koreana
Tripitaka Library
Us with Jessica, our guide
A very clean ladies restroom
After
lunch we had tea and coffee in the café, had a comfort stop and then boarded
the bus to Gyeongju and the Donggung Palace Temple and Wolji Pond (aka Anapji). This is an artificial pond built as park of
the Palace complex. Built in 674CE, it
is oval in shape, contains three small islands and measures 180m N-S and 200m
E-W. Pity it was overcast and rainy, as
it was rather picturesque.
It was then
back on the bus for a short drive to the Hyundai Hotel, a huge hotel that is
perhaps part of the Hyundai motor group?
My room, 1029, was quite luxurious with a balcony that overlooked a lake.
Unfortunately, the weather was still bad so the photos of the view are not real
flash. Unpacked, rang Greg, updated notes, etc. We met downstairs at 6:15pm for
pre-dinner drinks and then it was off to the Korean BBQ restaurant at 7pm. At
this place, you choose your meat from the “meat market”, pay for it and then
sit down. The meat is cooked on coal fired BBQ in the centre of the table and
eaten with salad and vege. We had beer and rice wine to wash it down. It was a good
night for all, including the driver. Post dinner drinks were in Jane and Ann's
room.
Donggung Palace Temple and Wolji Pond (aka Anapji) complex
Wolji Pond
Our Hotel - Hyundai Hotel
Lobby of Hyundai Hotel
My room - #1029 Hyundai Hotel
View from my balcony
Every hotel has these fire escape devices - you have to throw yourself out the window or off the balcony hoping that you have remembered to attach the harness to you and the wall!
Dinner - Korean BBQ
Triptaka Koreana
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