As always my trip started at the train station. I bought my train tickets one week in advance on the letskorail.com English website. You need to select Cheongnyangni Station as your departure and Andong Station as the arrival destination. The train that goes to Andong is not a speed train so prepare yourself for the 3 hour trip.

The best time to visit Andong is fall as all the fruits are ripe and the forest becomes a red ocean of foliage. Even though most of the people travel to Seoraksan Mountain for the best foliage, I recommend that you consider Andong for your autumn trip. It is less crowded and a very calm and beautiful place.

The first place I visited was Yeggi Village. It takes an hour to get there by bus. You can easily take this bus from the bus stop near the train station. In this province, all the buses follow a schedule and are not very frequent. It is better to get the bus schedule from the Travel Information Center nearby the train station. You should not rely on apps here as they usually don’t show the arrival time of the bus if the expected time is far away. The village is very small but nice. The villagers decorate walls with cute murals and open cafes and restaurants to draw the attention of tourists. But this place is still a secret gem known only among locals.

It was very nice that the hotel owner is able to give free admission tickets to the Bongjeongsa Temple. It took me about 15 minutes to get to the top of the hill where the temple is. It is better to wear comfortable shoes to enjoy visiting the Bongjeongsa Temple. The temple is a Unesco heritage site as it has the oldest wooden building in Korea and the stone seated Buddha. This statue is presumed to be made in the 9th century. Geungnakjeon - the oldest wooden building in Korea with the 3-storied pagoda in front at Bongjeongsa Temple is believed to have been made during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392). Interesting fact: during Elizabeth II visit to Korea in 1999 she visited this temple and took part in temple ceremonies. It is very calm and relaxing to sit and observe nature from the temple. I would love to go there again for the temple stay or just to visit.

For lunch I headed back to the Andong Station area. There is Andong food street nearby the station where you can find any type of food. There are also vegetarian options. I usually go for bibimbap – a mix of rice, red pepper paste and vegetables. It is usually meat free. Also, traditionally along with the main dish you will get many Korean traditional side dishes such as kimchi, eggplant, seaweed, etc.

To bring Andong with me back home I bought apples and apple pie as a souvenir.

Jukheon Traditional House is placed within walking distance from the Bongjeongsa Temple which makes it the best choice to stay if you want to explore the temple. I decided to dedicate the second day to the Bongjeongsa Temple exploration so Jukheon Traditional House was my choice for the bed and breakfast. It was quite easy to find a way to the Jukheon Traditional House from the Cheondeungsan (천등산) bus stop. The house has a big yard outside and a small inner yard. Next to the house is a historic house exhibit and some traditional farm tool relics. It is very interesting to stay in a place with historical meaning.

The owner and wife met me at the front door and introduced me to the house rules and facilities. The owners are nice middle-aged Korean people. The owner speaks English very well. He showed me my room. The room has doors and windows made of wood and traditional Korean paper. All the rooms in the house are built in a traditional Korean style - it has floor heating, a small cabinet, and floor bedding. The shower and toilet are separate and are for common use. I was provided with a towel, shower gel and shampoo. But you should bring your toothbrush as it is not provided. Despite the room size being small, it was very cozy and warm at night. Even though it is a traditional house, it has free WiFi and electric sockets. I used it to charge my devices and planned out my schedule for the next day. After a hot shower, I went to bed.