Part 2, Week 31: August 19-25
- Katie and Webster
- Aug 26, 2019
- 10 min read
This week we explored Seoul, South Korea before arriving back on Canadian soil this weekend in Vancouver.
On Monday we spent the day doing nothing! It was wonderful! We enjoyed some time at the rooftop pool, had a nap in the sun, enjoyed some more time in the pool and just relaxed. We had initially scheduled in a full day of relaxation in Seoul, but once we began to plan our few days there we realized it was better spent in Bangkok.
In the evening we headed to a local market to buy some last minute souvenirs. We have been working on our bargaining and after being in Thailand for two weeks, we have begun to realize the actual prices for things. We managed to get everything we were looking for, at less than half price!
On Tuesday we had a full travel day. We woke up extra early to head to the Bangkok International Airport. We heard that customs can take a while leaving Bangkok and wanted to make sure we had enough time before our flight left. We ended up breezing through security and customs so we spent most of our time at the lounge. The Bangkok Priority Pass lounge has been one of our favourites. They had a great coffee bar, fresh fruit, lots of cold drinks, and even ice cream! We took a 6 hour flight from Bangkok, Thailand to Seoul, South Korea. With the time change we landed at 6pm, and arrived at our city centre hotel by 8pm.
Since we both had a long nap on the plane we wanted to explore the local area. We ended up having dinner at a Korean BBQ place called Wangbijib. We picked out meats and were able to cook them fresh at our table. It was very cool!
On Wednesday we headed off on a full day tour to the DMZ and JSA. The demilitarized zone falls 2km on each side of the North and South Korean border. In this area, although armed guards are actively patrolling, both sides exist together. We drove from the Seoul city centre for about an hour towards the border until we reached an abandoned train station. The station was used in the past to connect South and North Korea but has since been closed off. It is the last stop in South Korea, and the first stop before North Korea. Once the track opens again, Koreans will be able to travel by train all the way to London! Although it is not used, it is well maintained, staffed and ready for action. It is a sign of reunification, a gesture that when the two countries cooperate, that they will be ready, with transit options, for their people to move between the nations freely.
Afterwards we headed to Camp Bonifast, a US Army base in the DMZ. At that point our group left our coach bus behind and transferred into a military bus escorted by US Army soldiers. We had to show passport ID and verbally confirm we were not going to defect into North Korea while on the tour. Then the US soldiers took us into the JSA. On the South Korean side there is a building called Freedom House, we waited patiently inside Freedom House until the South Korean military was ready for us. Before we left the building we were told that North Korea also runs tours on their side of the JSA, a place literally divided by a line drawn on the ground. We were asked to not wave, make any hand gestures, or yell anything at the North Korean military or their tour guests. Once we went outside we stood on the steps facing the iconic blue buildings and North Korean building seen in hundreds of photos. Hundreds of world leaders have been there, most recently including Donald Trump when he met with both North and South Korea. There were South Korean guards facing us, looking very tough. Their job was to make sure no one ran over the line to North Korea. On the Northern side, they had guards doing the same thing, making sure no one ran over the line. In the past, all military, guards and other officials in the JSA would carry loaded weapons. But as of Nov 2018, they signed an agreement that no more weapons would be used in the JSA. This is to protect the tourists who come in for tours daily, but also to show a sign of peace and trust. Just as we were warned, the North Korean tour guests, began to wave and make hand gestures towards our group. Again, the guards told us to please not make any gestures towards them. It was so interesting to be literally 50m from people who are living in a third world country with such oppression. We were instructed to wear very specific clothing, as North Korea uses pictures of tourists as propaganda for why the “outside” is bad. We couldn’t wear open toed shoes, ripped jeans, baggy clothing, sleeveless clothing, the list went on forever. Some people think the North Korean tourists are actors who dress up in different clothes every day and appear as citizens who have the option to take part in this “entertainment” experience. Upon the group exiting from the North Korean building, there were South Korean military using long lenses to take photos of everyone there. We then headed into the blue building on the left side of the “line”. All the blue buildings are United Nations buildings and these are half in South and half in North. In the middle of the room there was microphones on the conference table indicating where the “line” outside separated the countries. Stepping over the line meant we were technically in North Korea. The microphones are on 24/7 and are monitored by the North, South and the United Nations. We spent about three minutes in North Korea on their side of the line and the blue building. Afterwards we headed down to see the tree planted by North and South as a sign of peace, and a blue bridge where world leaders have met in political negotiations in the past. It was so interesting to be escorted by the US military, who really is an outsider looking in, and hearing their perspectives. It was an experience like no other, full of tension, stillness and fear.
We made a quick stop at a local lunch spot before heading to a tunnel found under South Korea. We couldn’t take pictures as it is assumed that North Korea created them. They assume they dug under the border in hopes of reaching the cities and causing harm. Thankfully they have found four tunnels, four attempts. But they assume that there could be as many as twenty others heading towards Seoul. Then we headed to a rooftop observatory to look into the villages in the DMZ and along the border. There are two villages, with normal people, who live in the DMZ. There is one village of South Koreans and one village of North Koreans. In order to keep their residency in the DMZ they must have proof of residency in their family prior to the war and they must sleep in the village for 285 nights of the year. Since these people live on land technically owned by no one, they don’t pay taxes. Most of them are farmers and since the population is dwindling in the area, they are able to make upwards of $100,000 USD per year because of the vast amount of land they have to farm. There isn’t a grocery store, gas station, school or doctors office in the DMZ so these people do need to come into the city centre frequently. We briefly drove through the South Korean DMZ village and then were able to look into the North Korean village at the observatory. The village has the worlds fourth tallest flag pole and lots of signal jammers so communication can not be made with the Southern side. It has also been reported that it is a staged village - that no one actually lives there. The US Army told us that the windows and doors are painted on the houses in most cases and the lights that come on automatically at night shine from the top of the house all the way to the bottom, meaning they are empty, no floors or walls inside. Very interesting...
We ended our day with a long drive back into Seoul and some yummy treats after dinner! This dessert is famous in South Korea and is known as a “snowflake”. It is ice finely chopped into a bowl and then there is a thin layer of toppings and whipped cream on top.
On Thursday we started our day at a local mural village. This was a “hidden sight” that Webster read about online so we thought we would check it out. We were kinda sick of touring temples, museums and palaces so this was a good alternative in the city. We took the bus from our hotel for about 20 minutes up to a mountain. Then we climbed up even further until we reached this little walking village. It reminded us of the old little streets in Venice where all the houses are very close together and you need to climb up and down and over to get there. The people in these villages had painted their houses, the retaining walls around them, and in some cases even the mountain itself with murals. It was really neat to see all the effort put in to one little community. Many of the home owners had begun to sell little knick-knacks as the groups of tourists started to arrive. As many of them were older and we assumed retired, it was a great way for them to make a little extra money.
After the mural village we headed to a famous market called Gwangjang Market. It was featured on the Netflix series Street Food and Webster was dying to try some local specialities from the show. We wandered through the market and found the stands that were highlighted in the episode. He enjoyed a mung bean pancake for $3 and chatted with the owner who was interviewed on the show.
We spent the evening wandering around the Myeongdong area of central Seoul. The streets were lined with food vendors, lots of lights and lots and lots of tourists.
On Friday we had a little sleep in before heading to Gyeonbokgung Palace. This is the biggest and most extravagant palace in Seoul. It wasn’t as busy as we expected so we spent a few hours exploring the grounds. There were multiple sections of the palace each gated off with walls for protection and privacy. The king, who used to inhabit the walls, would live separately from the rest of the family and the staff would also have separate quarters. There were also entertaining spaces, places to pray etc. The most interesting part of the experience was seeing all the locals (and tourists...) wearing traditional Korean dress. They had huge ball gowns on and looked just wonderful, like they stepped out of a storybook!
Then we headed to Gangnam. I’m sure everyone has heard the very popular song Gangnam Style by Korean artist Psy. Since the song is so popular, and was written about an affluent neighbourhood in Seoul, they have honoured Psy with a statue. We enjoyed taking some funny photos and videos dancing to the famous song.
Then we headed into a big famous mall, COEX Mall, to see the starfield library. The library is in the middle of the mall but has more than 50,000 books in stock. It was really neat because people were just enjoying some quiet reading time, using it as a study space or having a coffee at one of the cafes. The tall bookshelf has become a bit of a tourist attraction with its lights and size.
To finish off our time in Gangnam, we headed to a road called K Star Road. K-Pop, Korean pop music has become one of Korea’s main exports. Their bands are becoming worldwide sensations. The road had bear statues for each Korean band who has risen to fame. The most famous band is BTS. They are a boy band who have performed at many American music festivals and award shows. We found their statue and many others to take photos with!
In the evening we enjoyed one last Korean BBQ experience. We had pork and beef cooked on our table right in front of us! It was delicious and a great way to celebrate our last Asian stop.
On Saturday morning we woke up early for one last Korean treat before heading to the airport. We boarded an Air Canada flight directly from Seoul to Vancouver. We arrived a little bit earlier than expected. The flight only took about 8 hours and 45 minutes. I slept for 6.5 hours and Webster didn’t sleep at all! We landed at 9am on Saturday local time in Vancouver with a full day ahead of us!
We arrived at the hotel and thankfully our room was ready for us. We had a quick power nap before heading down to the waterfront to explore the city in the afternoon. We walked to the sports stadiums so Webster could be a fan and see where the Vancouver teams play. Then we walked along the water to the science centre and took some photos of the boats passing by.
Then we spent some time wandering in the huge downtown mall. They had tons of great shops to look in. We stumbled upon my favourite burger place, Five Guys, and had an early dinner.
We managed to stay awake until 8pm (which is 29 hours after we woke up for our never ending day), and then crashed for a LONG sleep on Saturday night.
On Sunday we woke up bright and early, before 6am. We were ready to start the day and we enjoyed a nice Tim Hortons breakfast to get us back in the Canadian spirit.
Then we headed to Granville Island to wander around their afternoon market. We took a bus to the island and walked under the bridge. Then we wandered through the touristy shops, seafood restaurants and wooden boat building conference until we reached the market. We got a coffee and sat along the water watching the boats go by.
Then we headed to Stanley Park for the afternoon. Stanley Park is a huge sectioned off piece of Vancouver that has been protected as public park. We walked along the sea wall to the totem poles and the bridge. It was a beautiful day, about 18 degrees and sunny - great weather!
We spent the late afternoon having a little nap and welcoming everyone else to Vancouver! After a 2.5 hour delay, our group of 7 arrived from Toronto! It was so nice to see everyone and catch up over dinner.
This week we are heading on an Alaskan Cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage. It will be so nice to spend some time with everyone and relax after our busy few months.
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