Seoul man 2

 Across the river is North Korea

 South Korean defense

 We got to take a little tram down into this tunnel about 100 yards down. This was 1 of 5 tunnels found by the South Koreans that the North was building after the Korean War. These tunnels were dug from North Korean land with the intention of digging them all the way into Seoul in preperation for a surprise attack. Tour guide said that if they had succeeded, it would have been a second Korean war. First one had 4.5 million casualties. Now it rests as a tourist site. They said that the North Korean's could have moved 30,000 troops thru these tunnels every hour right into South.

 DMZ

 Brand new train station that the South had built that would have connected the south to the north. Now it sits empty because the North backed out of the deal. "Not the first from the South, but the first to the North"

The end of the DMZ. Pretty interesting stuff but by the end of the tour I was ready to get off the tour bus. I started feeling like Patrick Fugit.

 Onto the afternoon. This is where I met up with a local who is an intern that my dad knew. We started out by giong to the Deoksugung Palace. It was a palace built for an Emperor in early 1900 I think.

 The entrance, they are getting ready to do the ceremonial "Trading of the Guard" where they swap out guards. They must have need a lunch break. By this time it was HOT! The humidity was unkind to me but I swore it only affected the tourists, the locals didn't even seem fazed, while I was Dazed.

 Me with the intern Joan. A lot of Asians adopt an American name for business purposes and such. Her real name starts with a J, so they take the first letter and create an American name.

 We swung the samuri sword around a bit

 got to ride the subway a few times, big part of transportation here. It is different being the only American in places like on a subway. It doesn't help that i've got tourist written on my forehead.

 They love me here. Deuces wild

 Dinner that night. Joan brought me to a sweet spot. This is called Bulgogi, which means meat. It is the most famous and popular dish in South Korea.

 I tried my best to at least learn one word while i was in Korea. "Gamsaham ni da" means thank you. The intern wouldn't let me say thank you in english so i continued to butcher the Korean version.

 Seoul Tower. This was on top of a little mountain overlooking all of Seoul. Pretty neat, great views.

 There were walls like this filled with locks, I guess if you bring a lock up here and lock it to the wall it is good luck for love. Sorry guys, no lock for me this time.

 View from Seoul Tower

Top of the World

That was the end of a long day. Started at 6am and went to about 9. Haven't fell in love over here yet. I am off to Tokyo, Japan tommorow morning where my adventure will continue for 3 days. I have to try and navigate my way through the Korean Airport through to Tokyo and the hotel by myself as my Dad is leaving on a later flight. Korea was interesting but I am really looking forward to the Tokyo leg of the trip. 

WHEELS UP!!