Checked out of the Grand Hotel after another buffer breakfast - our first stop was the very impressive burial mounds of the Silla kingdom at Daereungwon, Gyeongju. Made me think of Sutton Hoo but on a far bigger scale. Plenty of school children as usual, and also a film crew shooting scenery for a TV drama. Lovely trees and settings, I was puzzled why these rich graves hadn't been robbed in over a thousand years except by the Japanese in the early 1900s. Another communication thicket with the guide, didn't get an answer I understood. The tumuli were a brick cell for the artefacts and ashes, then river rocks piled up, then Earth on which grass was grown - as instanced by the Cheonmachong Tomb one could get into.

A trek to see the Cheomseongdae Royal Observatory from the reign of one of the rare Queens of Korea (Queen Seonduk) - not a mammoth structure and curious as the doorway was well up the building. We then got taken to the Gyeongju National Museum to see some of the tens of thousands of items recovered from the burial mounds - the stars being the golden Royal crowns which were worn only in death.

A break for lunch at which my trying for a lighter lunch only got me Korean fast junk food - yeuch.

We then saw King Wonseong's burial mound, guarded by 4 lions and twelve zodiacal beasts. It had an altar in front at which our guide told us the descendants of the Silla Kings still offer celebration at each year in their ancestor worship. Finally we went to the photogenic Bulguksa Temple, festooned with coloured lanterns with prayers attached for Buddha's birthday. This has a restful lake, a golden pig you can touch to increase your chances of making it rich, some nationally treasured Buddha statues - and a film crew at work too.

Finally onto the Hotel Commodore which is the smartest on the outside of the hotels I've stayed in. The window may have tried to fall out when I opened it, there weren't free bottles of water, but it has a great lake view. Getting into the rooms did require a demonstration using a model lock they had at the front desk - you press a button to get red light, wave the card over the lock, a big whirring noise and hopefully green and you can enter. Our guide helped me post cards at the desk then led some of us to a family run (young wife with child on back) Korean place and helped us order food, I had Tteok Galbi which proved to be a meat patty and rice and the usual accompaniments like kimchi and black beans and lotus root. Nice being in a group, I felt outclassed by how travelled my companions were. We shared some soju, I was curious what it was like after seeing it so much drunk in the TV dramas. Medicinal strength but I didn't feel light headed afterwards. We had a small walk down to the lake, quiet and relaxing.