New Friends and DMZ Trip

Yes! I finally have time to post this!

Last weekend was pretty exciting and eventful.

It all started on Saturday night (19. March) when some of Thula's friends were coming to visit her. I went with to show her how to get to their meeting point. They were late, but ended up being worth the wait. When they arrived, they had a proposition I didn't imagine.

Wanna go to the DMZ (DeMilitarized Zone-between the 2 Koreas) the following morning?

Heck yeah!

I've wanted to go ever since I arrived to Korea, but had no idea how or when. I was going to hang out with a former student, but then I called her to see if she would like to come with. Bless the child, she said yes! Hooray for people who can afford to be flexible! That night, we ate at "All That Barbeque" (I've shown pictures of it. I finally got to eat there! YEESSSS!) and enjoyed it thoroughly. What a bunch of unexpected blessings!

First, I'll show you the pics from Saturday night, then we'll go on to Sunday.

This item at the all-you-can-eat buffet was quite amusing.

The group!

R to L: Bo, Omar, Thula, Tiffany, and yours truly.

Now all of these are from Sunday, 20. March . . .

Not what I expected to see in a cafe (in the express bus terminal).

We took the bus up to Seoul, but had to take the subway from the Express Bus Terminal to Seoul Station (where we would meet our DMZ tour guide).

Anna (our illustrious tour guide)

The van stops here. We get to walk around and then get on the official DMZ tour bus.

Peace Bell.

Huge Peace Bell.

During the Korean War, this bridge was blown up; but many people still crossed the river on what was left of this bridge to enter freedom in the South.

Can you read the white sign?

Whoops.

Interesting.

The Peace Bell again.

Yeap, I'm here.

The train line that runs through the DMZ into both Koreas.

We were here.

The observatory on the top was pretty cool. Too bad it was cold, rainy, and windy . . .

This has the words to the national anthem of Korea (the South, I presume).

From the observatory on the roof, facing north.

Thanks Sally, for the picture!

Thanks to the South Korean soldier who took this picture!

The Peace Bell from the observatory.

Facing south.

Prayer banners (?)

to see what's left of a train that was attacked (don't remember by who).

We couldn't go on the actual bridge, but this was a close as we could get (down to the end).

A pool in the shape of the Korean penninsula (both Koreas).

At the end of the bridge.

On to what's left of the train.

whoa.

Wanna snack? Try squid on a stick! (I wouldn't, thank you).

On to our next stop and some info of it: in Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese (dunno if Cantonese, Mandarin, etc.)

Anna pointing where the 2km No-Man's-Land portion of the DMZ starts in South Korea. There's another 2km stretch on the North Korean side as well.

We were presently at a train station right before it (it's the red circle beside her hand).

Dorasan Station.

WHAT?!?! A train system from Korea to Portugal?!

So, if North Korea was open to the rest of the world, I could travel to London by train?!

Dang, what an opportunity!

Okay! North Korea, here I come! (joking, of course)

Next Stop: Dora Observatory.

Mission: See the DMZ and beyond--that is, North Korea.

We couldn't go very close, but from where I was allowed to stand, that thing between the 2 central binoculars is the North Korean flag, on a 165 m tall pole.

The only way we can see North Korea.

The Photo Line. If we took pictures one step beyond this line, we risk getting shot by snippers (or so I was led to understand).

Next Destination: The 3rd Tunnel.

The North Koreans have built a bunch of tunnels to get to Seoul and attack it. This is the 3rd of 4 that have been found--so far.

But first, let's play with the statues!

Sally and I trying to push this ball together.

C'mon! Put your backs into it!

Group picture.

L to R: Sally, me, Hae-Sung, Bo, Tiffany, Thula, and Omar.

Okay, all silliness aside.

The entrance to the 3rd tunnel. It's a 350m walk down (and up) on an 11 degree slope. 250m further, we get to the DMZ border. Man, the 350m climb back up killed us! It was our workout for the week.

Our tour bus We were only about 12 passengers total.

The last stop: Unification village.

Mission: Souvenir shop (like soy-bean chocolate, North Korean Soju (Korean vodka), ginseng, etc.)

Interesting fact about this village: Since this is the closest South Korean Village to the DMZ, the residents have 2 benefits from the government:

1. don't pay taxes, and

2. the men are exempt from mandatory military service.

After this very interesting tour and look into the delicate thread between 2 strong governments, we were starving and fixed that in Coex mall in Yongsan station.

Vietnamese cuisine. It was okay, but it could've been better.

Next, off to a cafe! Cafe Pascucci to be exact.

Thula takes a picture as we sit down with Michael and wonder at what we want.

We surround the menu, and Tiffany shows something she seems happy about (the mall directory).

From here, we leave . . . and so must I.

Til later.