10 April 2023
Historic lake roller coaster
Wolseong fortress and Bomunho Lake
My goal today - squeeze as many of the sites of Gyeongju into a single day while using public buses. I think I did ok.
First up was the observatory which looks like a stone chimney, from 600 AD. Apparently it was used to gaze at the stars. Exactly how it helps you do that compared to just looking up, no one seems to know.
The second stop was the Wolseong fortress. The actual fortress is long gone other than the bases of some stone pillars, but you can walk all the way along the fortress walls so that was pretty cool for $0. There also seems to be a lot of newly discovered ruins in the process of being constructed here...
The third stop was Donggung palace and Wolji pond. A re-creation of a 7th century palace. This one had a $3 entry fee. I guess the pond was ok, but if the buildings here are what the palace was really like, it must have been cold in winter, there are no walls!
I then boarded a bus, in the wrong direction, got off, crossed the road, and went the other way and ended up at Bomunho lake, site of the 2025 APEC summit, and site of a hudred or so resort style hotels and golf courses. Most people stay in this area when they come to Gyeongju. Everything here is new and has an entrance fee.
First of all I walked past Gyeongju world, incorporating California beach. Unfortunately this was the type of amusement park with an entrance fee, not just a ride fee, so I could not go in to watch someone get decapitated by a roller coaster.
Then it was time to look at the pagoda hotel and finally, wonder what the hell is actually going on at the Gyeongju expo park with the $20 entrance fee that I was obviously not going to pay that seems to be going about as well as all other expo parks. Something Osaka has to look forward to.
If you were thinking about starting the day with a coffee, think about 12 noon, as that is when most coffee shops open. Also apart from the weird sign and spelling error, what does that slogan actually hope to achieve?
I walked through a park with some nice trees, trees with leaves.
Obviously, there were funeral mounds. Lots of entombed kings.
Historic relic #1, Cheomseongdae observatory, from about 600 AD. I thought the word Seongdae meant pig for some reason, but evidently not.
The tulip game nearby is top notch, and popular with cyclists.
I wandered into an enchanted forest, first up some old unmarked stone relic inside a mini shrine.
The actual forest here was pretty gnarly.
This is actually a covered bridge, much like the famed bridges of Madison County.
It was now time to ascend the fortress wall at Wolseong. I am somewhat surprised they let you climb on it because all the flat plain grass areas are off limits. The moat is new and about 30cm deep. I guess if you hate getting your feet wet it might be a deterrent to invading hordes.
More fortress wall. More blue sky today, also about 20c again, and no wind. Hence a bit more pollution but not too bad compared to previous days.
Blue plastic heralds an area of new ancient ruins on the process of being re-constructed. There is a huge amount of historic construction going on all across Gyeongju, perhaps to coincide with the upcoming APEC summit.
Unmarked tombs. With cool trees.
Now it is time for the Donggung palace and Wolji pond. These are not old buildings. The pond was pretty nice though.
A lot of blossoms floating in the pond. More blossompocolypse later.
OMG it is the convention centre where the APEC summit will be held. You can pay to go in and see the seats they are planning to install.
Gyeongju world. I saw no evidence the roller coaster was actually running.
Gyeongju world on the right, California beach on the left. I assume they are ticketed separately, or perhaps you can get a combo pass. I got neither.
A pagoda. Actually it is a hotel. Albo (Aus PM) will probably stay in the pagoda hotel next year.
This drain leads up to the edge of the mountains I was on yesterday. The main parts are off to the right, but a longer trail option I could have taken would have come down to here.
Now for some pics of the all but abandoned expo park. The main attraction is this tower with the cutout of the aforementioned pagoda hotel. Presumably there is somewhere to line up a photo to get the pagoda to fill the hole.
The other main attraction appears to be this vast concrete area with the re-creation of the observatory from earler, and another conference hall. I will never know the truth as I, and everyone else, refused to pay $20 to find out.
Instead I doubled back past California beach. There is no evidence the water slides are operating.
Now for a tour of the actual lake. Lake Bomunho, and its many blossom filled trees.
If you suffer from hayfever, here is your chance.
I crossed the lake on a floating series of bridges and examined the quality of the swan boats. They appear to have motors rather than pedals. Boooo!!!
It is no Hangzhou west lake (refer to my 2 visits there), but it is still pretty nice.
And then as I headed back to the road to find a bus stop, a giant water wheel appeared. Why you may wonder?
It generates this fake waterfall. It seems to exist to keep you entertained while you wait 5 minutes for a bus. So.. that's all for now! That was a lot?