David woke up early and decided to let Caitlyn sleep as much as possible to stay as healthy as possible. Caitlyn eventually woke up, and while the chills were gone, Caitlyn’s throat was feeling pretty sore and she felt exhausted. We took a Covid test, which luckily displayed a clear negative, and which made us breathe a sigh of relief! We talked about it and decided it would be best to hold off on any activities today and hang out in the room. David offered to go get drinks, snacks, and food and bring them back to the room. We hung out in the room for a while, resting and taking it easy. Our bodies were extremely sore as this bed was very hard and had no give whatsoever. As the day went on and her symptoms started improving a bit, Caitlyn decided that she wanted to stretch her legs and back and try to go see the last big item on our list – the only burial tombs that you could actually enter. We eventually got dressed and left, taking it very slowly to not wear Caitlyn out too much.
We took a lot of breaks making our way to our destination, while opting for the scenic and quicker route through the burial mound park.
We eventually decided to grab some lunch, and Caitlyn wanted more simple foods, which is not easy with Korean cuisine. We found a ramen spot that we decided to try. Caitlyn got the basic ramen and David got the chicken side dish and some gyoza. The chicken wasn’t bad, and came with mayonnaise like in Japan (the best way to eat it!). The gyoza was pretty disappointing, but being in Korea we will cut it some slack. The ramen had a great broth and good pork and egg, but the noodles seemed more like angel hair than anything authentic. We made sure to get a lot of fluids, and quickly ate and headed out.
The entrance to the park, called the Daereungwon Tomb Complex, was only 15 minutes or so away, so we headed in that direction. It was an absolutely beautiful day, without a cloud in the sky, nice mild temperature, and low humidity. We get to the park entrance and start exploring.
There were a few stops along the way, mostly other tombs but also a pond and some monuments.
We arrive at the tomb, named Cheonmachong, and pay the 3000 won price per person for entry to Cheonmachong itself.
Upon entry, you quickly see the main burial area behind glass. There were two dilapidated wooden boxes, one holding items, and one clearly where the owner of the tomb laid. The surrounding are was adorned with golden items, weapons, glasses, and tons of other items.
After looking for a while. We rounded a corner to the right which contained both actual items excavated in the tomb as well as some replicas. There were neat videos showing how the ancient craftsmen created some of these intricate items. After seeing the display cases, we got back to the front, but on the other side, where a video screen played videos such as how the tomb itself was likely built. Caitlyn was feeling pretty tired, so we started heading back to the hotel.
Along the way, we stopped to get some freshly squeezed juice from a small shop. Caitlyn ordered a peach and plum juice. Which turned out to be more like a smoothie, but was still nice and full of fluids and vitamins. Right after we left, Caitlyn took a few steps and suddenly got intense shooting pains on her left ankle. She was really not able to weight bear normally, but we eventually got a rhythm where she could hobble on the outside of her foot and get up to a reasonable pace to at least make it back to the hotel. We got back midafternoon and laid down for the rest of the evening, taking it easy. David helped finish the remaining soju in our fridge, and ran out to the convenience store for some teas and throat medication for Caitlyn and some hot chicken for a small dinner. Thankfully, Caitlyn’s foot did get better, so we had one thing going for us! We put on some TV on the iPad and slowly drifted off to sleep, hoping that tomorrow Caitlyn would feel better.
David’s thoughts of the day: While it was a bummer that Caitlyn feels sick today and we really had to limit what we did today, this was a good day for it. We have done most of what we wanted to do in Gyeongju, and it wasn’t a bad idea to have a slower day when most of our days are long and 9+ miles walked a day.
Caitlyn’s thoughts of the day: I was expecting to get sick at SOME point on this trip (especially because I always get some kind of stomach bug when I travel out of the country….always) however, I was not expecting to be hit with a cold before a stomach bug or GI distress. ESPECIALLY with all the crazy and new things we have been eating. We brought plenty of meds for GI related illnesses, but unfortunately none for colds!
Steps walked: 10,382
Miles walked: 4.94
Total miles walked in Gyeongju: 24.22
Bluming Travelers 