Ho-bak so, Miryang South Korea

Ho bak so is in a valley in the eastern park of Mirayng.  In this valley there are a couple of temples, some hiking trails, small waterfalls and 'the freezing place' which is a collection of rocks that release cold air during the summer and steam during the winter.  It is not that far from Ulsan as there is a new highway which almost directly connects you to this place.  All you have to do is take highway 24 west past Eon-yang(western park of Ulsan) and exit the highway after Gaijsan tunnel, which is a 4 km long tunnel.  There is a beautiful area, but it might be better to go here during spring or autumn, as it can be quite busy during the summer.  When you get here it is best to park at the first parking lot and not risk driving all the way to Ho bak so, it is best to walk the remainder 2 km.

At the start of a hiking trail.

A waterfall.

One of the temples.

Mrs. Ulsan at the freezing place.

Baek young sa. Temple in Sang-an dong, Ulsan South Korea

Baek young sa is located up a hill in  Sang-an dong, Ulsan.  It is easy enough to find it as there are ample signs to lead you to it.  The temple itself is under renovations right now and will look very nice when completed.  Also the location of the temple gives you some excellent views of the city of Ulsan.

King Munmu the great's underwater tomb, Gampo

In eastern Gyeongju along the coast you will find the small village of Gampo.  If travelling form Ulsan, just take the highway to Jangja beach and keep going north you will eventually get to Gampo.  Gampo's only claim to fame is being the home of King Munmu's the geat underwater tomb.  Historians are not sure if his ashes were interred within the rock formation near the coast or if they were only scattered there.  The beach itself is pretty nice and worth a visit in the summer.

Mrs. Ulsan sitting down for a snack.

The resting place of King Munmu the great.

The king's resting place from a different angle.

The rock formation.

Juk dong seafood market, Pohang

Pohang is a fairly large industrial city north east of Gyeongju.  You can take expressway 20 to the city.  Highway 28 will take you to the north of the city, while highway 20 will take you to the south.  They are building a new expressway that will take you all the way from Haeundae(eastern Busan) to Pohang, but only the portion from Haeundae to Ulsan is completed.  A piece of advice, try to find a parkade near the market and just walk around, it can be very difficult to find a parking spot on the side of a road in this area.

Clothes for sale.

Fish for sale

Chicken for sale.  At a seafood market?

Fish hanging out.

Crabs, crabs, crabs!

Octopus

Our lunch.

Shark meat.

Stingray!

more shark meat.

Tongiljeon Unification Hall, Gyeongju

South of Gyeongju, and just off of highway 7, between Gyeongju and Ulsan you will find Tongiljeon Unification hall.  Assuming you don't miss the turn off on highway 7 it is easy to find this place.  It was built in the 1970s by Park Chun Hee to commemorate the Silla Kingdom unifying Korea almost 1400 years ago, as it is built on a site that was used by Silla Kingdom to train it soldiers for the mental toughness to win wars.  It is a beautifully built building with great artwork and stone work, well worth a visit and to spend an afternoon there.  You can also get some nice views of southern Gyeongju from there.

The layout of the hall

View from the outside

The entrance

Mr. Ulsan in front of the entrance

Mrs. Ulsan walking up to a memorial

Part of the structure.

The inner hall.

Mr. Ulsan inside the hall.

Mrs. Ulsan in one of the corridors.

Mrs. Ulsan.

King Muyeol.

Some of the artwork.

Hiking around the neighbourhood.

Mrs. Ulsan and I have starting hiking around our nieghbourhood.  There are some beautiful trails that lead into the mountains with some great vantage points of the city.  It is an excellent way to spend an afternoon.

Map of the hiking trails around our neighbourhood.

Mrs. Ulsan ready to go.

Part of the trail.

Mr. Ulsan in his hiking gear.

Where we are heading to.

Part of the view from the top.

Another part of the trail.

Mrs. Ulsan taking a break.

Distance to our neighbourhood from the top.