Busan, South Korea - Tour Overview

This is a summary of the day.  The posts following detail the day.

The sail in was interesting in that we could see new tall apartment complexes in the areas of smaller one and two story homes.  The ship docked at Busan and I boarded the bus for my long day in South Korea.  We drove through the city and headed along the highway to Gyeong-ju, the old capital of the Silla Dynasty.  The capital is designated one of the world’s 10 most significant historic sites by UNESCO, and I was excited to see it all.

The guide decided that the first stop was at the Bulguksa Temple in order to avoid crowds.  The walkways and courtyards were decorated with lanterns in preparation of the Buddha birthday celebration and it looked festive.  As we crossed the bridge to the main complex, we could see the temple and hear the sound of the worship services.  We were allowed to take photographs of the buildings, but not Buddha statues inside.  The Temple was located in the hills so steps were abundant.  The buildings are refurbished but the stone steps are the original.

We stopped for lunch at the Commodore Hotel. The buffet featured South Korean food and had an extra appeal of French pastries for dessert.  The after lunch show was beautiful with the music, dancing and costumes.  

After lunch we traveled to Tumuli Park.  It is the site of about 20 tombs from the Silla Dynasty (668 – 936 A.D.)  The tombs are in the mounds that look like little hills.

We returned to the ship about 4:30 and enjoyed the departure from the room balcony.  The little tug boat put on a great show!  We now have one day at sea to rest and relax.