It was my first time going to Seoul and my first time on the KTX (Korea Train Express). I ended up in first class because all the regular tickets for the time I wanted were sold out. First class was awesome! I had my own seat and more leg room than I'd ever need. The trip took about two hours, which wasn't bad at all. Sandy met me at the station and we went back to her apartment where she lives with her dad. We took it easy for the rest of the night because we had to be up early on Saturday for the DMZ tour.
In case you don't know what the DMZ is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Demilitarized_Zone
Saturday morning we got on a bus to take us to the DMZ. Our tour guide was a 30 year old Korean guy who spoke pretty much perfect English. I was really impressed by his ability to understand English as well. There was a guy on the tour whose English I could hardly understand. On the way to the DMZ, he told us some interesting things about Seoul and some history about the DMZ and the Korean war. He also pointed out places where you could see North Korea. You can actually see the difference. The mountains in South Korea are green and the ones in North Korea are brown. Apparently it's because North Korea still uses a more old fashioned heating method and they don't replant the trees they use.
There was a stop along the way before the actual DMZ that had some food and a few shops, along with some monuments and stuff. At one point, Sandy called the tour guide "ajussi", which kind of means "sir" but usually refers to an older man. He suggested "oppa" instead, which means like "older brother".
These flags had messages written on them, I'm assuming for the people who fought in the war.
We broke this rule...
At the next stop, we went in a museum type building that had some scenes behind glass that depicted things like North Koreans digging tunnels and South Koreans patrolling the borders. We also watched a video about the Korean war and the DMZ. After the video, we were able to go down into one of the tunnels the North Koreans had dug. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the tunnel. It was a long way down a ramp and then we walked the tunnel for a while before coming to a closed off section and turning around to go back. It was a little eerie since the tunnel was narrow and there was no way out except the way we had come. According to our oppa, the North Koreans spread charcoal powder on the walls of the tunnel so they could claim they had been mining charcoal. We could still see the powder in places, as well as holes with yellow circles around them that they had supposedly put dynamite in. We were given hard hats, which was good because at places, you had to duck to avoid hitting your head.
This shows how they patrol the border. Apparently they flip those strips to either red or white to show that that length of fence had been patrolled.
After seeing the tunnel, we went to an observation deck where we could look through binoculars at North Korea. There was a yellow line about ten feet away from the end of the platform that you had to stay behind to take pictures. There were soldiers who would make you delete the pictures if you took them from across the line.
North Korea. I zoomed in all the way for this picture.
The final stop on the tour was a train station. It was strange. I think he said only a few people use it and they're hoping to use it when/if North and South Korea ever...go back to being friends I guess.
A memorial at the train station.
Sandy and me with a soldier at the station.
After the tour, we got bibimbap for lunch and then went back to Sandy's. She and her dad went to church so I went to a mall in Seoul. I there was a bookstore there where I found tons of Girls' Generation stuff. It was kind of like Christmas... When Sandy and her dad got back we all went and ate burgers and then Sandy and I hung out at this park where there was an outdoor concert going on nearby.
This weekend, Sunday was a rugby day! Sandy joined a team called the Seoul Sisters, which is made up almost entirely of other foreigners. We met at a hotel and took a bus about two hours away for the game. Since there aren't really any other women's rugby teams around, the team splits up and plays themselves a lot of the time. This time, we did that...but we also played middle school boys. Two firsts for me this day... I played in the backline, and I played against boys. I think we played better than the boys but they were so DAMN FAST. If they ever got the ball away from us, it was game over. In the end, they beat us but it was a lot of fun.
Running to help Sandy!
Seoul Sisters
This team was a lot of fun and I'm super excited because they've invited me to go to the Philippines with them for a tournament in November! It's only for a weekend so it'll be kind of crazy but I couldn't refuse!
As promised... miss A's new song!
Artist: miss A
Song: I Don't Need a Man
Album: Independent Women Part III
Released: October 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment