Day 81 – Sokcho to Gyeongju
Due to having one of the most expensive bus trips we were going to take in South Korea, we decided to have a big breakfast at our hostel in Sokcho. We left Story House and walked to the Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal. We bought a few snacks for the bus ride on from a small convenience store.
We boarded the bus, and for the first time in Korea, we were helped to place our luggage under the bus. The bus started to depart on time at 8.33am, but there was an elderly couple hobbling through the bus to their seat. The driver didn’t wait that extra minute to let them sit down!
The bus stopped for around 30 minutes really early into the journey around 9.40am. We stayed in the bus as we didn’t know when the bus would leave as the driver just left with most of the passengers. There was around 20 who left. Only one other person was on the bus with us. The bus drove to a close by pick up zone and loaded more travellers after 15 minutes.
There was another break at 12.11pm and this time I ran to ask the driver how long we had. He said 12 minutes. There wasn’t too many options of food so we just bought some chips. Also the bus left at 12.20pm so we were glad to be back on the bus.
We arrived at Pohang Bus Terminal at 2.16pm, just less than 6 hours later. Here we checked the ticket machine and saw that buses leave for Gyeongju every 15-20 minutes so we decided to have lunch at a local Korean shop. We had some Sushi and Udon noodles, which was super cheap and filling. My favourite combination.
We bought a ticket for the 3.05pm bus and had to ask around for the platform as it wasn’t printed on the ticket. Once we got there (platform 4) we put our bags under the bus and then waited in the bus until 3.19pm. The journey was short, we us arriving in Gyeongju at 4pm. We checked into the Apple Motel which was very cool. A bit pink for my taste but otherwise good. We went to a supermarket 500m away and bought supplies for dinner and the next few days as we planned a route through the area.
Exhausted by the bus rides we watched a few English movies before falling asleep.