Day Twenty Seven – the DMZ

Bus tour to the Demilitarised Zone between South and North Korea. I booked a tour run by the United Services Organisation as soon as we arrived in Korea, as I had read that this was the only tour that went to the Joint Security Area. This was a good move as the JSA was the highlight of the trip.

First stop was the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel, one of four known attempts by the North Koreans to tunnel under the DMZ. Photography was quite limited in this area, and no photos were allowed in the tunnel. To get to the North Korean tunnel you walked down the interception tunnel dug by the South, at quite a steep angle, for 360 metres. You could then walk 170 metres along the 3rd tunnel. The interception tunnel was wide enough to walk upright, but the 3rd tunnel required us to walk hunched over (and wear hard hats).

Then to Dora observation point where you can see out over North Korea, and the “peace village” they have inside the DMZ. The South also have a peace village – theirs actually has people living in it. We saw no signs of people on the North side at all, and no vehicles on any of the roads.

We had a brief stop at Dorsan train station. This was constructed in 2002 in anticipation of regular rail travel between the South and the North. It has never been used, but remains ready. We paid 50 cents for a rail ticket to go onto the platform.

We stopped for lunch at the transit point where South Koreans cross to work in the joint industrial area just inside the North Korean side of the border. This was not very interesting, and we probably would have preferred more time at the observatory and railway, which were both short stops.

We did however get offered to try some alcoholic beverages infused with wasps. We declined.

After lunch we were taken to Camp Bonifas, the US/Korean military base, and handed over to the US Army to complete the tour, which was to the JSA. There was quite an extensive security briefing, and we were given detailed instructions on what to do (walk single file, only stand in designated areas etc) and not to do (take pictures, point at the North Korean soldiers, defect etc).
There was a lone North Korean soldier (“Bob”) watching us, and about a dozen US and Korean soldiers guarding us. We were allowed inside the negotiation hut, and briefly crossed to the North side of the table. The whole environment was surreal. We also stopped for a much closer look at the North’s peace village with its 160 metre flag pole (3rd largest in the world).

This will probably be the last post of the trip. We are flying home tomorrow. Celebrated our last night in Korea with a a dinner of shellfish. The trip has been wholly memorable, and the DMZ tour was an excellent way to round it off.

Day Twenty Six – Seoul

Spent the morning at Chandeokgung Palace. Rather than wandering around by ourselves we took a couple  of guided tours, partly because we wanted to visit the Secret Garden, which you can only do as part of a tour. The Palace itself was similar to others we have seen, but on a grander scale. The garden was the real highlight – 400 acres of woodland in the middle of Seoul.

After lunch we spent time in the Hanok village near the palace. This is an area that still retains a lot of traditional housing, although it is quite touristy.

Ben and I headed off to have a look at the War Memorial as it was our last opportunity (full day tour to the DMZ tomorrow. Unfortunately my phone ran out of charge so not too many pictures. A lot to see.

Day Twenty Five – Seoul

Went for a bike ride along the banks of the Han River this morning, which was enjoyed by everyone. I should mention that apart from the occasional wet day the weather has been excellent right through our trip. Mid-twenties and sunny almost every day.

These are gun emplacements near one of the eighteen bridges across the river. Apparently all of the bridges have explosives set around them so they can be rapidly destroyed in the event of an attack from the North.

The afternoon was spent at the vast Lotte market/Lotte world shopping complex. It included an indoor theme park where we left the kids while Sylvia shopped. The theme park was a bit of a rip off. The rides were apparently good, but some were closed for renovations and others for a monthly check, so the queues were very long on the remaining rides.

Dinner was (very spicy) char-grilled chicken feet. Tasty.

Day Twenty Four – Seoul

First full day in Seoul.

We took a trip on a hop on hop off bus. It was supposed to take us to “traditional Seoul” but most of the drop off points were for some fairly uninteresting markets. We did get to see the changing of the guard at Deoksegung Palace, which was the highlight.

We also had a look around the Seoul Design Centre while trying to find the ticket office.

We eventually gave up on the bus and took a trip in a taxi to N Seoul Tower, for some views over the city.

In the evening we visited the area around Hongik University – Sylvia wanted to eat the local specialty of bbq cow stomach (accompanied by lung, raw liver and raw tripe). I enjoyed everything except for the tripe. Ben got into it too. Bronte not so much.

We rounded the evening off with a cake for Ben’s birthday. His birthday is still a week away but he will be in South Africa in a week, and he took a fancy to a particular strawberry sponge.

Day Twenty Three – Seoraksan to Seoul

Caught the bus back to Seoul from Seoraksan, via Sokcho, the coastal,town near the Seoraksan National Park.

Turned out there were two bus terminals in Sokcho, and we caught a different bus back to Seoul, which deposited us near a different metro line. Took a while to get to our hotel as we had to change lines twice.

Not much else to report today. We had a short look around the area near our hotel after checking in, including a look at some live music.

Day Twenty Two – Seoraksan National Park

A day of hiking in Seoraksan.

Our first walk was to see a famous boulder, Heundeulbawi, that rocks back and forth if you push it, and then further on up a cliff face (a climb of 800 stairs) to Ulsanbawi, an area of exposed rock at the top of a mountain. The views were spectacular, but there were precipitous drops on all sides. And a large raucous crowd on a small viewing platform. About four hours up and back, and quite a challenging climb, but worth the effort.

We then caught the cable car up to Gwongeumseong, which was a popular spot, presumably because you didn’t need to hike to reach it. There were more families. No security rails and again,sheer cliff faces into the valley below. Surprised at the number of people taking selfies while standing a few centimetres away from instant death. Even the kids baulked at climbing to the top of this one. Pretty though.

Finally we took a more sedate route alongside a creek to see more rock called Biseondae. The scenery was beautiful. The kids spent some time exploring around the creek and climbing rocks. About two hours up and back.

Seoraksan is possibly the most scenic place I have ever visited. A shame we only have one day here. There are several other walks we could have done, including to the main peak in the park. We have already started talking about when we might come back.
Dinner was also spectacular in a different way. We went to a restaurant called Sockcho Jeonbok Haemul Ddukbaegi, which I found a review for on TripAdviser. Ordered the abalone and octopus hotpot. Our food was still moving when it was cooked (the octopus was dead, but moving reflexively). A startling experience, but delicious.

Day Twenty One – Gyeongju to Seoraksan

A day of travel. We have relocated from Gyeongju in the Southeast to Seoraksan National Park in the Northeast, about 70k from the border with North Korea.

We decided to travel via Seoul. If we had travelled directly from Gyeongju it would have been a seven hour bus ride. Instead it was two hours to Seoul on the KTX. One of the KTX trains passed through our station at full speed while we were waiting, which gave the kids a buzz.

Then just over two hours on a bus to Sokcho, a coastal town adjoining the National Park.

Sylvia bought traditional Korean bus ride food for the journey.

Our hotel is quite large (150 rooms) and inside the national park. It has seen better days. It was probably quite opulent when built in the 1970s, but appears to have not been renovated since. As far as I can tell there are only four rooms in use, and we have two of them.

It is a little like staying in the hotel in the Shining.

Still, after our shared shoebox in Gyeongju it is quite luxurious.

Day Twenty – Gyeongju

Hiked up Namsan this morning, a mountain overlooking Gyeongju, with Buddhist relics and carvings scattered throughout the walk. Panoramic views over Gyeongju from the summit.

We took the regular track up, and the “advanced” track back down. Quite steep and requiring the use of ropes in places.

On the walk back to the bus stop we found a restaurant specialising in rice with thistles. I had never eaten thistles before now, but surprisingly tasty. Our meal cost about $40.00.

In the afternoon we revisited the Gyeongju History Museum. It was open this time. Spent a couple of hours looking at artefacts from the Silla kingdom, including quite a lot of gold. Not really a national history museum as focussed on local discoveries, but worth a look.

Travelling up north tomorrow, to Sokcho via Seoul, so we can go hiking in Seoraksan National Park. Likely to be a day of travelling again.

Day Nineteen – Gyeongju

Sleeping on a futon is rubbish. Especially when this is your pillow:

Gyeongju was a little more lively today. For a start it had stopped raining, so there were more people outside. There was a local street market so we had a look around after breakfast. This one was more rudimentary than we have seen elsewhere. In many cases the “stalls” were old women squatting on the footpath with home grown produce. Gyeongju seems less developed than Busan or Seogwipo, at least in the area we are staying.

Most of the day was spent touring some of the main sites. Gyeongju is referred to as an open air museum,  and it is a fair description. There are (quite ancient) tombs, temples, walls and shrines scattered throughout the city.

Our stopping points were:

1. The tomb of King Taejong Muyeol, credited with laying the foundation for unifying Korea in the seventh century.

2. The heavenly horse tomb. This was a royal tomb but they don’t know who was buried here. It has been excavated and you can go inside (but not take pictures). Interesting to see the construction techniques. Under the soil it is mostly carefully layered stones (to prevent tomb robbery).

3. Anapji Pond. Site of a royal palace, where 30, 000 artifacts were found when they drained the pond a few years ago.

4. Cheomseongdae astronomical observatory. Seventh century observatory and regarded as the Korean Stonehenge. I found this especially interesting. Also the location of our lunch and some rather large ice creams.

5. Seokguram. A Buddhist grotto atop a mountain. Seventh century also.

Day Eighteen – Busan to Gyeongju.

Woke to heavy rain. This was the view from our room.

Made our way through the Busan metro system in peak hour and caught the KTX (Korean bullet train) to Gyeongju, where it was still raining.

Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla kingdom in ancient Korea, and home to many sites of historical significance. Unfortunately they are all outdoors, except for the National History Museum, so we made our way there after a noodle lunch.

And it was shut.

Usually it would be open on a Thursday but because it opened on a public holiday last week they gave staff a day off today. Plenty of other tourists milling around outside caught unaware by this. We had a look at a significant bell (eighth century) before heading back to town.

Also walked around and found some rice paddies.

Kids were fed up so we left them in our (rather small) room for a couple of hours and wandered around the local streets.

We have booked into a bus tour of the main sites tomorrow, and will have another go at the museum on Saturday.

Our hostel is literally fifty metres away from a park full of the burial mounds of Silla Kings dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries.

The hostel recommended a restaurant serving bibimbap and we went looking for it. Small and traditional.  Another lavish spread for less than $50.00.

Not sure how much sleep we will get tonight. The kids have a bunk bed, but Sylvia and I have a futon and pillows full of rice.