33. Ji-whan and Jae-min

In Gyeongju, my couch surfing experience was an unusual one. Professor Hank Chay of the Gyeongju University arranges for his students to accommodate couch surfers - to the mutual benefit of all involved. The students, in my case Ji-whan and Jae-min, get to practice their English for a couple of days, while the couch surfer has the best, most authentic experience possible. I had been exceedingly complicated, delaying my departure time from Daegu more and more (so I could spend some more time with Martine and Ross, see some more of the sights, and have yet another delicious meal). But when I finally arrived at the Gyeongju bus terminal and called Ji-whan, he and Jae-min were there within minutes. We took a taxi to Ji-whan's one-room apartment, dropped my stuff and exchanged some presents (red ginseng tonic and Swiss chocolate), and started right away into the sightseeing, of which there is a lot to do in Gyeongju.
Anapji pond is the reconstruction of a Silla-era summer palace, and it looks truly pretty - especially at night.
A nearby restaurant serves the town's best Boribap, and after this yet again delicious meal we drank brotherhood with Dongdongju, a sweet rice-drink that somehow reminded me of the Swiss "Suuser". Later that evening, we went to play some basketball, a traditional Korean sport, played with a large ball and one or two hoops fixed to a rectangular board... oh, you've heard of it?
The next morning, Ji-whan took me to the Jimjil, a Korean bathhouse, with showers, a sauna, a hot pool, a very hot pool, and a refreshingly cold pool, all of which we used in the proper sequence. Refreshed and clean we started into the day, and went to visit two of the most important cultural sites in the vicinity of Gyeongju: the Bulguksa temple and the Seokguram grotto. On the way there we decided to strengthen ourselves on Beondegi, stewed silkworm pupae. Unusual, to say the least.


As I've mentioned before, Korean Buddhist temples all have a relatively similar layout. One of the recurring features is the well, where devotees wash their hands and use the red and blue ladles to drink the cleansing water.