this is a switch! |
Today was full of wonderful and
amazing things and at least one shocking thing – SNOW!!! I knew the
temperatures would be in the single plus digits on this trip and brought
clothes for the weather, but snow…I didn’t expect that. Apparently this was the
first snow in Seoul (or the first significant snow fall – I couldn’t quite
understand) for 5 years.
The first interesting thing today
was going through a lock to get to the harbour for the port of Inchon, Korea
(the port for Seoul.) We’ve gone through many locks on river cruises which I’ve
never tired of, but I’m quite certain we’ve never been through any on an ocean
cruise ship. Again it was very interesting. I was out early watching and taking
photos of the action on the balcony and knew it was chilly – I’d have said
around 5 degrees.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTEc59oQ1q26YK-5Th9BVWor0Xw3BFLDBSpGpq4xyzdjgH2QJR8dq0IPs-DanyTeYuBED3-88QTKzblWC275MZh2F7bj-ZbMEyYIYxhMwZi3C_JSlRJvnswwRjUBHacvyxdnZjg/s320/IMG_2104.JPG)
Today’s tour
was one we were really looking forward to – visiting the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South
Korea. From the port we drove about an hour before we arrived at the ‘Freedom
Bridge’, which crosses the Injin River connecting North and South Korea. Thousands
of North Koreans crossed this bridge to freedom at the end of the Korean War.
This was a very brief stop to buy tickets to the actual DMZ site. Apparently
only large buses are allowed to the DMZ, if someone wanted to go on their own
they would park at this site and take another bus – because we had our own bus
we didn’t have to do this. This spot was a bit of an amusement park, complete
with rides – odd.
First we watched a 10 minute film about
the history of the DMZ – it was weird. Then we had to lock up all of our bags,
cameras (no photos allowed) etc., don hardhats and board a tram to transport us
to the ‘Third Tunnel’ – third because it is the one discovered third, there are
4 tunnels discovered all together the last being discovered in 1990.
Once we got to the end of the Tunnel we
were able to see the Demarcation Line between the 2 sides of the DMZ and
essentially to North Korea. There was very little to see through a small hole,
but essentially we saw what is North Korea. These tunnels were designed by
North Korea for a surprise attacks on Seoul. Apparently there were designed so that
30,000 soldiers and their equipment could get to Seoul an hour. We could still
see the holes used to put dynamite into along the walls. When we emerged from the Tunnel is was
SNOWING!
Next, you made a very
quick stop at the Dora Observatory where if it were a clear day we could have seen
across the border to a North Korean propaganda village – it was not clear. We
could hear however the North Korea broadcasted propaganda. There are a ton of
soldiers here (male only), according to the guide most are around 20 years old –
that’s how old they seemed.
Then we had some time on a traditional
shopping street which very few of us on the tour were interested in due to the
weather. We did what we usually do during shopping times…find a beer. We were however, able to find the one of
only 2 Starbucks with other than English writing – apparently some people in
Seoul weren’t interested in having Starbucks on this traditional street and
they came to an agreement with Starbucks.
We expected after returning to the ship
that that would be the excitement for the day…nope…the most fun I had all day
was talking to the staff about the snow. For many, many of them this was the
first time they had ever seen snow! It was thrilling to hear their excitement
and see their photos. One waiter we chatted with put boxes on his feet and went
for a walk – I’m not quite sure why he used boxes…I know he had shoes…who
knows. One guy said he had seen it on the ground when working a cruise in
Alaska, but never saw it fall. It was falling in big fluffy flakes. Apparently
they were having a ball in the snow on the pool deck – I would have loved to have
seen it!
birthday beer |
On the road to the DMZ a soldier got on
our bus to check out passports - this happened to us once before in India.
Apparently the ship had to provide our names, nationalities and passport
numbers in advance. Along the winding road to the DMZ site there were land mine
signs all along the way…this place is no joke. The DMZ is an area between North
and South Korea that is essentially along the 38th parallel. It is 2
km wide on both sides and runs the width of the Korean peninsula.
Korean Starbucks on a traditional shopping street |
The tram took us 70 meters underground
along 300 meters to the actual 3rd Tunnel. Once we got to the 3rd
Tunnel we walked for about 250 meters in the Tunnel. It was about 2 meters tall
and 2 meters wide, but varied at points which is why we wore hardhats – people
were banging their heads all along the way.
land mine warnings |
white space - exactly what we could seen of N Korea |
By this time it was about 2:00 and I was
starving – I typically bring a mid-morning snack, but Korea doesn’t approve.
Lunch was a traditional Korean meal of bulgogi – Korean beef. While by no means
a Korean food expert, I thought bulgogi was BBQed, this was more like a soup
with beef and mushrooms. Regardless it was very good. We also had Korean
‘pizza’ which was more like an omelet or thin frittata.
passport check |
Freedom Bridge |
going through the lock (before the snow) |
So then, we thought for sure the excitement
surely would have been over…nope. We arrived back to our room to a few Happy
Birthday decorations and a small cake for Chris’ birthday. Our butler Vino knew
it was Chris’ birthday and although Chris told him a cake was the last thing he
needed, he got one. It was a very nice gesture.
Good thing tomorrow is a sea day…we need
a day to recover from all of this excitement! It was a great, great day!
5 comments:
Happy Birthday!
Mom and Dad
Wow. Sounds like you did have a great day. Great pictures and stories.
Grandma just called. Delighted with her cards. ππ
Brrr cold. Happy Birthday Chris looks like that was a very yummy beer! :-) Hello from the Skipper and Skippet
Happy Birthday Chris! Sounds like a fantastic day in so many ways.
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