Nic Trips

Since last year I tried to climb this mountain, but wasn't able to finish it before dark, I decided to give it another try this year and start much earlier in the morning! Sinbulsan is not the tallest mountain in Ulsan, but it is one of the toughest mountains to climb in because it is so steep. The Korean word for hiking, "등산" (deung-san), literally means "mountain climbing" and this is one hike for which that meaning is as literal as can be. I mapped out our trail afterwards using Google Earth so you can see it in the image above. We started to the left and went around clockwise. Our base starting point was at an elevation of 70 meters (230 feet). The peak is 1,159 meters (3,802 feet). We hiked for 6.5 hours (4 hours to the top, and 2.5 hours back down), and only covered a distance of about 5.4 miles (8.7 km). The hike started of slowly and steadily, with a stream and a nice waterfall called 홍류 폭포 (Hong-ryu Waterfall). Shortly after leaving the...

  The Seoul Lantern festival was started in 2009 and is an annual festival held in November along the manmade stream Cheonggyecheon (청계천). It lasts two weeks and brightens the stream with it's paper lanterns of various sizes and styles. It runs the 1.9 km stretch from Cheonggye Plaza to Supyo Bridge. Each year, the 4 sections of the festival will be currated according to the various theme chosen that year. The 2015 festival that I attended had themes as follows: Theme 1: Amazing World heritage in Seoul Theme 2: From local governments and overseas invitation Theme 3: Corporation and the character Theme 4: Light Art author show The pictures below were taken from my favorite section: the world heritage theme. Here there were first many lanterns depicting the famous things or places of Korea, then there were a few lanterns to represent other countries... Japan's Lantern India and China's Lantern USA's Lantern The lantern above depicted a common...

Korean food has become my favorite food in the world since my first month of living here! Many of the tastes that were very different and new to me I was unsure about at first, but have since grown on me to the point of craving them! Even the cold, spiciness of kimchi (김치), a taste that I thought I would never grow accustomed to, has become sometime I reach for willingly for every meal. I find myself wanting the taste in between bites of other foods just as the native Koreans do. I have know for sure for a long time now that the things I will miss about Korea the most when I leave is the food. The typical Korean meal always consists of a main dish of some type of meat (most commonly pork or beef, but also fish or chicken), soup, rice, and a plethora of side dishes called banchan (반찬) that will always include kimchi. Let me point out the parts of the meal pictured of above... First, you can see the soup in the large, hot stone pot at the center. Inside is a type of stew ...

Cheomseongdae (첨성대) is the oldest astronomical observatory in East Asia. It has been dated to the 7th century, during the Silla Period, whose capital was Seorabeol (now Gyeongju). Cheomseongdae means "star-gazing platform". The tower is 5.7 meters wide and 9.4 meters tall. The site of the main palace, called Banwolseong (반월성) (literally meaning "half moon fortress"), at Silla's capital in Gyeongju is currently just an archeological site. However, one part of the palace grounds was restored from 1986-1975: Donggung Palace (동궁). It was originally constructed in 674 and consisted of Imhaejeon (임해전), which was the crown prince's palace and quarters, and Anapji Pond. Though there used to be 5 pavillions built around the outskirts of the beautiful pond, only 3 were remade during the reconstruction project. The are believe to have been used for parties or gatherings headed by the kind or crown prince. Now, Anapji Pond is a favorite visiting site a...

One of the other popular sites to see in Gyeongju are the Royal Tombs of the Silla (시라) Era. Filling the area just south of Gyeongju is a park full of the dirt mounds marking the burial sites of members of the royal family. Most of the tombs are signified by stone markers, like the one pictured below. Although several of the tombs are in an open, public park, most of them reside inside the Daereungwon Tomb Complex. It has an entrance fee of a few thousand won, but the scenery inside is wonderful. The main view point of the complex is Cheonmachong (천마총). This is the tomb of an unknown king that was excavated in 1973 and rebuild with an entrance to allow viewers inside. This way people could learn more about the construction of the tombs. In the typicall Silla style, the center is consrtucted of a wooden-lined chamber that runs east to west. This chamber is then covered in a thick layer of boulders and stones before being smoothed over with a thinner layer of dirt/earth on t...

Less than an hour bus ride north of Ulsan, just southeast of Gyeongju is Bulguksa (불국사). This temple is one of the most famous of Korea. I've been here many times now, in all seasons, but the colors of fall are by far the most beautiful. Bulguksa is located on the side of Toham Mountain (토함산). According to Wikipedia... " It is a head temple of the  Jogye Order  of  Korean Buddhism  and encompasses seven  National treasures of South Korea , including  Dabotap  and Seokgatap  stone pagodas, Cheongun-gyo (Blue Cloud Bridge), and two gilt-bronze statues of Buddha. The temple is classified as  Historic and Scenic Site No. 1  by the South Korean government." Bulguksa is home to two stone towers, or stone pagodas, which stand in the main courtyard of the temple. Above is Dabotap (다보탑). The other is Seokgatab (석가탑), but it is currently being restored. Bulguksa has been restored and repaired after many damaging incidents over th...