(no subject)
So vacation this year was South Korea; my brother-in-law is stationed there until early July and my sister was able to join him, so off we went- me, my dad and our brother- at the end of March.
I wasn't sure I'd like South Korea, but I did. We spent a lot of time at Osan Air Force Base, but we also got to see some Buddhist temple which mysteriously I can't seem to google though for heavens sake the USO found out about it somehow, the Korean Folk Village- very nice and a nice welcome to South Korea (we saw these two the first day we arrived) some of Seoul and the DMZ.
In Seoul we took an excellent bus tour of the city- you pay about $10 and can hop off and on at will and there are headphones to listen to a tour of the city as you travel and visited the N Seoul Tower, Changedeok Palace and wandered around the streets a bit. Also we hit up an Austrian restaurant (really!) in the Itaewon neighborhood for dinner. We also took in the Korean War Museum and the National Museum which is huge. We did half of one floor of the National Museum and that had all I wanted to see there so I was happy.
The DMZ is...sobering. It isn't until you get there- and you can only visit as part of a tour- that you really realize that North Korea would like nothing better than to pour back across the border. We saw the Third Tunnel- and they don't tell you that the tunnel is 1/4 mile long and at a constant 11% grade! Also an area where they watch over North Korea (The Mount Dora Observatory- observing North Korea, not the skies), the Dorasan Train station where everyone trampled over to get a stamp of the DMZ in your passport, and Panmunjeom.
Panmunjeom is where all the peace talks are held and before you can go on the tour there you have to sign a disclaimer stating that you're aware that hostilities could start again at any time. You have an armed escort the entire time and do exactly as they say.
You get to enter one of the buildings formerly used for peace talks (they have built a fancy new place) and, if you want, get to go to the north end of that building and thus be officially in North Korea. You can also get your photo taken with a South Korean guard in there to prove you were there.
We also lucked out big time and saw Manchurian cranes in the DMZ. unfortunately they were in an area where photos are forbidden and as there was the huge armed guard practically right next to me I didn't think I could sneak a photo. But I saw them.
I wasn't sure I'd like South Korea, but I did. We spent a lot of time at Osan Air Force Base, but we also got to see some Buddhist temple which mysteriously I can't seem to google though for heavens sake the USO found out about it somehow, the Korean Folk Village- very nice and a nice welcome to South Korea (we saw these two the first day we arrived) some of Seoul and the DMZ.
In Seoul we took an excellent bus tour of the city- you pay about $10 and can hop off and on at will and there are headphones to listen to a tour of the city as you travel and visited the N Seoul Tower, Changedeok Palace and wandered around the streets a bit. Also we hit up an Austrian restaurant (really!) in the Itaewon neighborhood for dinner. We also took in the Korean War Museum and the National Museum which is huge. We did half of one floor of the National Museum and that had all I wanted to see there so I was happy.
The DMZ is...sobering. It isn't until you get there- and you can only visit as part of a tour- that you really realize that North Korea would like nothing better than to pour back across the border. We saw the Third Tunnel- and they don't tell you that the tunnel is 1/4 mile long and at a constant 11% grade! Also an area where they watch over North Korea (The Mount Dora Observatory- observing North Korea, not the skies), the Dorasan Train station where everyone trampled over to get a stamp of the DMZ in your passport, and Panmunjeom.
Panmunjeom is where all the peace talks are held and before you can go on the tour there you have to sign a disclaimer stating that you're aware that hostilities could start again at any time. You have an armed escort the entire time and do exactly as they say.
You get to enter one of the buildings formerly used for peace talks (they have built a fancy new place) and, if you want, get to go to the north end of that building and thus be officially in North Korea. You can also get your photo taken with a South Korean guard in there to prove you were there.
We also lucked out big time and saw Manchurian cranes in the DMZ. unfortunately they were in an area where photos are forbidden and as there was the huge armed guard practically right next to me I didn't think I could sneak a photo. But I saw them.