We'd decided to try to figure out the bus system, so we walked down to the nearest bus stop and waited (and waited, and waited). After about 15 minutes we noticed that taxis drove along this relatively remote stretch of road, so we just hailed one down instead of taking the bus. We really lucked out with this driver: not only did he speak surprisingly good English, but he was very helpful and friendly. We asked him to take us to the information center, and he first took us to a very small booth near the express bus terminal. When we showed him our map and pointed out the place we wanted, he asked us a couple times why we wanted to go there. About the time we arrived, he was able to explain that the center was in a small strip mall that no taxis or buses went to. He agreed to wait while we made a quick trip inside.
We didn't get much information that we didn't already have, but the staff did point out a phone store that might have what I was looking for. Our driver took us up there, and despite the wait and backtracking the fare was only about $10. The store turned out to be a bust - the only cable they had didn't work when I plugged it - and the few other possible stores on the block didn't carry anything for Apple products.
The nearest location within walking distance was the Daereungwon Royal Tombs park, which was full of enormous grassy mounds covering the tombs of ancient kings and queens. (Gyeongju was at one time the capital of the Silla state, one of three kingdoms during the Warring States period and the eventual uniter.) We had to pay 6,000 won each to enter the park, and I unsuccessfully tried to convince the ticket woman that my parents should get the senior discount; apparently it doesn't apply to foreigners. One of the tombs, Cheonmachong, had been excavated and opened to the public, though no photography was allowed. It was named after a famous painting of a cheonma, or eight-legged flying horse (a sort of Korean pegasus). One of the most impressive things we saw there, actually, was a crew of workers mowing the grass on the mounds. It took three people to work the mower: one pushing, one pulling forward, and one above them pulling the mower up to keep it from rolling down the hill. The rest of the park was also quite nice, ending with a winding path through a small forest.
After that, we went looking for Cheomseongdae, the famous observatory that is the oldest surviving observatory in Asia. It was supposed to be very close, but we couldn't quite figure out where to go from the park. We asked a woman on the street, who thankfully was able to point us in the right direction. The observatory was in a big open field that was packed with tourists and students, presumably on a field trip from various nearby schools.
Cheomseongdae was also near a huge field of rape flowers, which we walked through to get back to the road. It was lunchtime by that point, and it was beginning to look like rain, so we wanted to find a place to eat quickly. We choose a fairly standard-looking Korean restaurant, which (unfortunately for my dad's poor knees) had the low tables and floor seating that are common in many traditional Korean restaurants. We ordered bibibap for me and dak galbi (stir-fried chicken) for my parents, but the waitress misunderstood and brought Mom and Dad galbitang instead, which is a soup with beef short ribs. They still thought their food was good, though they did have some trouble picking up the hot ribs with chopsticks. They were becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of food served at each meal, and were growing more and more reluctant to eat at traditional restaurants even though they liked the food.
After lunch we went to find Anapji Pond, an artificial pond that was part of an ancient palace complex. We had to pay to get in here, too, though I forget how much it was. The surviving pavilions are all quite nice, though the water was an unpleasant algae green. We did see a lot of koi swimming around in it, though. We made a brief stop in the gift shop, then headed to a nearby bus stop. We caught a bus back to the express bus terminal, and I took the bad iPhone cable back to the convenience store I bought it at. I wasn't able to get a refund, but I was able to exchange it for a different, slightly cheaper one. It was still a gamble, but I didn't have much choice.
Next, we picked up some food for dinner at the supermarket (some fruit and vegetables that Mom washed and cut up raw, as well as a few other small things) and took a taxi back to the hanok. The driver started to make the same bad turn that the one the day before had, but we stopped him and made sure he took us up the right road all the way to the door. I crossed my fingers and plugged in my phone, and wonder of wonders, it started charging! (Ultimately, I had to go to an Apple store in Seoul a couple weeks after our trip to get an official charging cable because this cable barely worked with my computer, but it worked fine for charging at an outlet.) This would make Tuesday's traveling somewhat easier, thanks to having internet access again.
