Korea, Day 2
We started off the vacation with a guided tour. Waking up in time was easy due to jet lag, I got up before the alarm (which never happens at home). The tour's destination? Korea's demilitarized zone.
Before we set out, the hotel had complimentary breakfast. It included bread, cereal, bananas and grapes, and two types of instant ramen. The jelly for the bread came in a nifty dispensing packet - it was sort of like the hard plastic foil-topped single-serve things we have in the US, but separated into two compartments with a narrow raised section in the lid. Folding the packet in half caused the raised section to break open and become a spout through which the jelly could be dispensed. No mess, no need for utensils.
The tour company picked us up in a van at the hotel, then dropped us off to wait for the actual tour bus. The most interesting part to me was the Third Infiltration Tunnel. There wasn't much to see in the tunnel itself, it was because of the history: North Korea dug a bunch of tunnels towards Seoul through which they could possibly launch sneak attacks. South Korea found four tunnels, but expects that there are a bunch more that were not discovered. Spooky!
We saw some other things, like the Dora observation post, from which you can stare through binoculars at North Korea, and the Dora train station, which optimistically hopes for a time when it can resume service to the North. (Un)fortunately, one thing we didn't get to see was anything dear the Military Demarcation Line, the actual border between the North and the South. My pre-trip imaginings of the DMZ tour was something along the lines of the Joint Security Area, but our tour went nowhere near it. Booo.
The last stop on the tour was a random ginseng shop back in Seoul, where we were informed about the miraculous power of ginseng, which - among other things - could cure both insomnia and sleepiness, and helped against cancer and HIV. Riiiight. I'm guessing the tour got some kickback from bringing people to the store.
Lunch was a random noodle shop that looked to be patronized by only locals - no obvious tourists. ₩6,000 for a bowl of cold noodles (there were even a bunch of ice crystals in the soup) with meat (beef?), and I successfully picked a non-spicy variant. There was a self serve, spicy warm beef broth dispenser next to the self serve water dispenser.
We wandered back to the hotel, stopping to rest under a bridge over a stream running through the city. There were storm drain outlets along the river, but they were cleverly concealed by hinged stone blocks. During heavy rain, the pressure of runoff water would push the blocks up and allow drainage, but at other times, the blocks would prevent things from easily getting in.
Dinner was at a place B had read about on some foodie blog, a small row of restaurants next to a meat market. It was like the turf equivalent to Tsukiji's surf. On the way over, I noted another neat thing I don't recall ever seeing in the US - a bike ramp alongside stairs, next to the handrail. This allows cyclists (or in some cases with wider ramps, tourists) to easily walk their bikes (or luggage) up or down.
We ordered modeum gui, a house variety mix of beef. The table was a metal disc on a barrel, with a hole in the center for a fire. I think the fuel source was a section of log with holes drilled in it for ventilation. On top of the hole was a grill, and you could cook the beef as you wanted. Additionally, there were garlic cloves and onions, bits of liver, mushrooms, some sort of spicy pepper, and some dipping sauce. And some lettuce for wrapping it together if you want. Super yummy, and the spicy stuff was easy to avoid. Including a bottle of soju, it came out to a total of ₩63,000 for the four of us. Would munch again.
Before we set out, the hotel had complimentary breakfast. It included bread, cereal, bananas and grapes, and two types of instant ramen. The jelly for the bread came in a nifty dispensing packet - it was sort of like the hard plastic foil-topped single-serve things we have in the US, but separated into two compartments with a narrow raised section in the lid. Folding the packet in half caused the raised section to break open and become a spout through which the jelly could be dispensed. No mess, no need for utensils.
The tour company picked us up in a van at the hotel, then dropped us off to wait for the actual tour bus. The most interesting part to me was the Third Infiltration Tunnel. There wasn't much to see in the tunnel itself, it was because of the history: North Korea dug a bunch of tunnels towards Seoul through which they could possibly launch sneak attacks. South Korea found four tunnels, but expects that there are a bunch more that were not discovered. Spooky!
We saw some other things, like the Dora observation post, from which you can stare through binoculars at North Korea, and the Dora train station, which optimistically hopes for a time when it can resume service to the North. (Un)fortunately, one thing we didn't get to see was anything dear the Military Demarcation Line, the actual border between the North and the South. My pre-trip imaginings of the DMZ tour was something along the lines of the Joint Security Area, but our tour went nowhere near it. Booo.
The last stop on the tour was a random ginseng shop back in Seoul, where we were informed about the miraculous power of ginseng, which - among other things - could cure both insomnia and sleepiness, and helped against cancer and HIV. Riiiight. I'm guessing the tour got some kickback from bringing people to the store.
Lunch was a random noodle shop that looked to be patronized by only locals - no obvious tourists. ₩6,000 for a bowl of cold noodles (there were even a bunch of ice crystals in the soup) with meat (beef?), and I successfully picked a non-spicy variant. There was a self serve, spicy warm beef broth dispenser next to the self serve water dispenser.
We wandered back to the hotel, stopping to rest under a bridge over a stream running through the city. There were storm drain outlets along the river, but they were cleverly concealed by hinged stone blocks. During heavy rain, the pressure of runoff water would push the blocks up and allow drainage, but at other times, the blocks would prevent things from easily getting in.
Dinner was at a place B had read about on some foodie blog, a small row of restaurants next to a meat market. It was like the turf equivalent to Tsukiji's surf. On the way over, I noted another neat thing I don't recall ever seeing in the US - a bike ramp alongside stairs, next to the handrail. This allows cyclists (or in some cases with wider ramps, tourists) to easily walk their bikes (or luggage) up or down.
We ordered modeum gui, a house variety mix of beef. The table was a metal disc on a barrel, with a hole in the center for a fire. I think the fuel source was a section of log with holes drilled in it for ventilation. On top of the hole was a grill, and you could cook the beef as you wanted. Additionally, there were garlic cloves and onions, bits of liver, mushrooms, some sort of spicy pepper, and some dipping sauce. And some lettuce for wrapping it together if you want. Super yummy, and the spicy stuff was easy to avoid. Including a bottle of soju, it came out to a total of ₩63,000 for the four of us. Would munch again.