Seoul has Soul

It took us three hours to get to Seoul from Andong. We thought we knew where our hotel was but it turned out a lot hard to find, guess it didn't want us to know it's Bizness. We stayed right next to Insadong which is a fantastic place for souvenir shopping and eating. 

Eating in Korea is tricky because sometimes you don't know what you are putting in your mouth. Nick knew what he was getting into and you might not believe me when I say this but the picture is my witness. He asked for that green leaf in his hand...................

 and then he ate it! Miracles happen, you all just witnessed one!

Tasty cream and chocolate filled Churros

 More food!!! We love our food. YUM!!!!

You should remember this amazing Oreo bingsu from a previous post. Mom and Don enjoyed it immensely....

Well maybe a little too much, "I can't feel my eye" (Don) HAHAHAHA We laughed for days just repeating that line! We couldn't count how many times he stopped eating because of a brain freeze, guess he enjoyed it.

 The famous mirror picture!

 We walked a lot in Seoul and it was worth it to see these places.

The two pictures sandwiching this description are of the old and new Seoul City halls. The old city hall is the cube building and was built by the Japanese during the occupation previous to World War 2. The new one is the Glass building that looks like a Tsunami wave.  I wonder what the architect is trying to tell us.  Maybe you can leave your theories in the comments.

Of course we had to take them to the Temple, our favorite place in Seoul.

We found an awesome bench in the subway. If you can't read the English print it says, "You are not alone." but I would think if you have friends that look like that, loneliness isn't your biggest problem.

We walked by an old Palace.

 Don stopped to admire the bumps for the blind people.

 He also stopped to check out this Golf place!

 Before we knew it we were on the train headed to Mokpo.  Nothing like the Korean KTX to get you there in style.

DMZ (DeMilitarized Zone)

We were picked up from our motel at 7:50 am and dropped off at our tour bus. We chose to go with the COSMO tour group because we had heard good things about them. Our tour guide was hilarious and he seemed to know all the answers to every question. 

Our first stop (35 minutes) was the third infiltration tunnel. North Korea dug tunnels through the DMZ in the 1960's and 70's with the intent to invade South Korea. Only four tunnels have been found and they believe there is more undiscovered.

The hike down to the tunnel wasn't so bad but we dreaded the climb up. They wouldn't allow pictures here but there wasn't much to capture. We put on yellow hard hats and headed down the hill. When we reached the bottom we walked into the tunnel. My mom and I were the perfect height so we didn't hit the top at any point. Don however walked down the tunnel in a squatting position and still hit the top a several times. Right behind us was a boys Volleyball team with all of the members over 6" ... laugh laugh!

Making the climb up was the hardest part but we made it!! We were all sore the next day!

Second stop (20 minutes) we went to the observatory. The picture below is of North Korea!

Third stop (20 minutes) we went to a  special train station. This is the last stop before you get to North Korea. The train doesn't run pass this point.  It was built in the early '00s with the intention of allowing some trade and travel by train to occur between the two Koreas but it has only seen four freight trains pass by as the North closed their boarders to the trains a year after the railway's completion blaming the south of doing something unsavory.

 Going to North Korea!! LOL

I forgot that we had one last stop. We thought it was a Ginseng factory and we were going to learn how things were done but in reality is was a living infomercial for Korean Ginseng. They put all of us in a small room with a bunch of sales men and then explained to us what the product was that they were selling. As soon as they finished we walked out and went back to the bus disgusted at their misuse of our time. We were there for a total of 45 minutes. Longer than we spent at the any other stop. Our displeasure with this last stop will be reflected in our review for the tour company.

On the plus side they dropped us off in Itaewon, Non-Asian-Foreigner central, for lunch. Where we enjoyed some fantastic hamburgers, although these also turned out to be too spicy for Mom's liking.  Oh Korea, what are we going to do with you?  The day turned out to be really fun and eye-opening, although I feel like we missed something out of our trip there.  The DMZ just seemed like it wasn't as big of a deal as it really is.  We only did the half day tour; the longer tour takes you to the actual boarder of North Korea and lets you cross the line.  If we were to do it over again we would have gone with that tour and skipped the ginseng place.  Oh well, we'll keep that in mind for future reference. 

Andong and All its Rainy Glory

And now we begin the Korean exploration part of our vacation!

We started our adventure by taking the bus to Daegu and then grabbing the very next bus to Andong. between the two busses I had some time to show Mom and Don around a semi outdoor Korean market and we can say it didn't disappoint for Korean-ness.

The bus

beans and grains

Bull frogs being sold at the market.

We made it to Andong and waited a while for a bus to the Hahoe Village in the pouring rain.  Monsoon season this year has been a doosie, nothing like last year. When  the bus got to us it was filled to the brim with people.  The bus driver did the obligatory stop but when he opened the doors he just looked at us and gestured "no." Luckily an enterprising Korean Girl decided to help us out by getting a taxi for us instead of waiting over an hour for the next bus. Thank heavens for Korean Hospitality.

We ended up beating the bus to the entrance to the village because our taxi driver was so awesome! The bus dropped us off at a ticketing center where we then caught another shuttle to the actual village. We then hoofed it to our lodging in the rain but right as we got there it started to downpour. We thought it'd be a good idea to just hang out in our room and watch the rain until it faded and then go look for dinner rather than get soaked; but the rain just came in waves, it would lighten up just to begin drenching everything again. We finally decided to head out and explore despite the precipitation but that proved to be a saturating endeavor as the rain came down so hard the water soaked through our umbrellas. Rain was coming down, up and sideways. There was so much water you could get washed away in the rivers flowing down the streets.

Despite all this our little room was so perfect.  I could imagine some old men just sitting there watching the rain come down while they talked about frivolous things.  It was fun for just the one night to sleep on the floor and live in a Folk Village despite the fact we had some nice modern amenities to make the time spent more pleasant.

Even with all the rain people were having a good time and we were able to get some good pictures.

 The church in the Village.

We didn't get many pictures before we turned around because the rain was ridiculous and we were soaked. After it slowed down later in the evening Nick and I went out in search of food but apparently the shop owners figured no one would be crazy enough to venture out in the deluge so they closed up shop and we ended up just walking around the village.

The river was high but people still took the small ferry across to climb the cliff. We saw people up there taking pictures right after the hard rain.

 A beautiful tree in the area.

Beautiful picture!

Our place was perfect. It has been owned by three previous generations of one family and is currently owned by a fourth generation son. He lives there with his mother, his wife, and his four month old baby. They brought by some fresh homemade kimchi and it was the best kimchi I have ever had! After dinner they brought the baby by for us to oogle over. She was beautiful.

 Saying our goodbyes :(

 The Mask Museum

Nick looking like he belongs in a mask.

We had a great time in the village even though it was raining like crazy. I wish we had more time to look around and explore more but we had to get to Seoul to begin phase three of our adventures!!!

Vacation Part 1!

Changnyeong, Gyeongju 경주시, Changnyeong English Village

Valerie and Don arrived late Thursday night. Their plane was one of the last to land before the airport closed. As they went to the restroom before our long journey to CEV we were approached by a taxi driver asking if we needed his services. I have learned the hard way that if they are asking DON'T GO. We tried to ignore him because his asking price was too high. I haggled with him and he wouldn't budge so I bluntly told him we would find someone else to give us a ride. He followed us pointing to his taxi "come on this way" I told him we would go for 90,000 won (He wanted 100,000 won) He said fine, so we followed him to his car. The whole way home he would come up with funny ways to tell me that he wanted 100,000 won instead of the 90,000 we agreed on. I was getting annoyed, Don and Valerie were laughing really hard. 

Friday we rested and wandered around our little area.

Rice!

They couldn't get over how beautiful it is here!

On Saturday we attended a taekwondo competition and exhibition and watched our friends compete. Most of them did well.

 My Korean sister, Yu Jin

 A student I had during Summer intensive program, Tom

Performing a poomsae on the right is another one of my students Jay.

 Some girls from Summer Intensive and Cyber School

 MONKEY FACE!!!!! With Sohee, Master Park's Daughter.

 Sohee took pictures of "Mother" and "Father"

Our Taekwondo show group performed for the Governor and other visitors.

Right after the show was over we took pictures with the Governor and other important people, sorry no pictures of that yet. Then Richard and Suzi took us to Gyeongju to show Mom and Don some beautiful historic sites.

First stop was the Bulguksa Temple.

Second stop was a Buddha carved into a cave on top of a mountain. You were not allowed to take pictures of him but the area is beautiful.

Third stop was dinner because we were starving. Richard and Suzi took us to their favorite local restaurant and we ate like Kings and Queens.

Suzi taught me how to pick out the bones and cut up this AMAZING dish. The Kalbi (beef) was Delicious! 

Fourth and Final place was the Anapji pond. It was sardine-can packed full of people.

We got home around 11 :30 PM and went straight to sleep!

Sunday our school opened for 2 hours to give a tour to a group of taekwondo students from China. We were excited to see that our taekwondo friends came also.  Mom and Don got to see our school and help out in the fun-educational learning. 

 The group that came.

 Don, Valerie, Master Park (Taekwondo teacher) His wife Jung Mi, Lauren, Nick, and Sohee

Nick, Don, Valerie, Richard, Lady from China, Suzi, Principal from China, Lauren, Owner of taekwondo gyms here and in China.

Mom and Don receiving a gift from China. They were so surprised!

 Nick's activity in Camp Mart.

 Lauren's activity in Airport and Hotel.

Mom made a Chinese friend "Vivian"

We had such a great time the last few days hanging out around our area. Next stop is Andong and Seoul. Can't wait to share more picture. Please leave comments!