I'm not really a big fan of roller coasters, but I figured that I had been on all of the big rides at Cedar Point and King's Island, so whatever this indoor amusement park has to offer can't be too bad. Carina and Daria didn't want to ride many rides, so I went around with a different group of people. The first ride we went on was a swinging boat pendulum. I told everyone it was going to be scary, but I guess it wasn't very exciting for anyone besides me. Actually, some people didn't believe I was really nervous until after the ride. Then everyone believed me, but of course they just wanted to drag me on more rides because it was fun for them. I was later informed by Daria and Carina that they could see my 'amusing' faces on the boat ride all the way from a nice balloon ride that circles around the roof, offering a scenic view of the park.
The next ride was horribly deceptive. It's a water plume ride. I thought it was just one hill: up, down, finished. So I make through the hill no problem, then am relaxing because there are dinosaurs in the surrounding scenery when suddenly there's another hill. Not just any hill; a bigger hill with a bigger drop. This hill made the girl in front of me super wet from the water, but luckily I didn't get too wet.
After that ride, we had to meet back up with everyone else and go to the Lotte Folk Museum. It was pretty cool, but we didn't have much time to look around before lunch. I had no idea how big the museum was, so I did a poor job of allocating time to see everything. I ended up being late for lunch because I was exploring, but it wasn't a problem.
For lunch, we had traditional Korean food that looked pretty much the same as my breakfast every morning. It was very delicious :)
After lunch, we had free time to continue to look around the park or museum. I went back with almost the same group of people to find a ride called the French Revolution. We went outside first to see if any of the rides were open, but they weren't. Not gonna lie, I'm glad it was rainy so that I didn't have to go on any of the outdoor rides. They looked a lot more scary than anything inside. We found the French Revolution, which had a super long line. At that point, I had no idea what kind of ride it was, but I figured it was something more extreme than the other rides because of the long line. I didn't feel any better about it when I saw a girl being helped off of the ride in a wheelchair >.<;; We waited in line for a little over two hours, and the closer we got the more nervous I became. I'm reading all of these warning labels about stretching before you ride and removing your earrings.. it was nerve wracking. Finally we went on the ride, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was mostly loops, vertical or horizontal, which I find quite fun. I'm really glad it wasn't so bad because Sang was filming the ride, so that could have ended not so well for me.
That ride was the last ride we had time for because we wanted to go back to the Folk Museum and finish looking around. The coolest part of the museum was all of the models of historical life. It started out with the ancient palace life, and moved all the way through more modern times. I think this was the most interesting museum I've been to in a while.
After we finished up at the museum, we all split ways to go home. I finally made time to go check out a tomb site that I always pass on my way home. I'm not quite sure what it's called, but it's a burial mound presumably for someone important. Since it was raining a little bit, I was the only visitor. I didn't mind the rain, however, because it was keeping the temperature down.
Saturday was the big day I'd been waiting for: DMZ field trip! I didn't know what to expect, but I was curious to see what it was like there. We started out at the US military base in Seoul and traveled up to the DMZ. Our first stop was the Third Tunnel, which was dug by the North Koreans in an attempt to sneak attack Seoul. They've found several tunnels besides this one, but they think there are still many more yet undiscovered. I was surprised at how cheerful and happy the atmosphere was. The DMZ sign even had flowers on it. This is the part of the DMZ that South Koreans are allowed to visit, so it seemed to me like they're being overly optimistic about the concept of uniting with North Korea in the very near future.
We got to climb inside of the tunnel, which was basically a big man-made cave. It was a pretty good workout climbing all of the way in as far as we were allowed. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures for security reasons.
After the tunnel, we went to a lookout spot where we could actually see into the North Korean side of the DMZ. It was kind of rainy that day, so the view wasn't the best, but we could still make out North Korea's city inside of the DMZ. Because of the rain, it was windy enough to make their huge flag fly. The story behind the flags is like this: Seoul hosted the Olympics in 1988, so the Olympic Committee donated a huge Olympic flag to hang in South Korea's city inside the DMZ. North Korea naturally got a bigger flag.
Next stop was the Dorsan Train Station. It's basically a train station that doesn't go anywhere. The intent is to open up a transcontinental railroad that will run through North Korea and unite South Korea with the rest of the world someway other than boat or plane. The tracks are all ready to run, but there's no train; it's just an empty station with one lonely soldier guarding it. The station has a creepy, abandoned feel to it, but our Korean tour guide was so optimistic that within a few years, it will be fully operational instead of a ghost station.
Finally, we went into the actual DMZ. First, we had to go to the U.S. military base, Camp Bonifas, to change buses and acquire a soldier guide. The demeanor of the trip changed drastically when we changed buses. Everything became serious and austere. The soldier guide was going over the rules about being in the DMZ, and every rule he said was ended with "or you might get shot." We couldn't point, gesture, or wave to the North Korean side of the DMZ. Jackets had to be worn at all times, not carried. Purses/bags were to be left on the bus. Umbrellas were strictly forbidden unless it was actually raining. It really was raining while we were there, but not too much, so nobody was brave enough to carry an umbrella.
Driving through the DMZ was surprisingly serene. The area has a small number of inhabitants, but we didn't see any. It's a lush, green wilderness that looks like it would be a nice place to go hiking, if not for its geographic location. I guess there are even rumors that a few tigers inhabit the DMZ, but I'm not so sure about that. Our guide mentioned that fanged deer live in the area, but he had no idea why the deer would be fanged. A quick google search just now reveals that the endangered Siberian musk deer inhabits the DMZ. The male deer grow tusks for display in lieu of antlers. Not quite as exciting of a story as I was hoping, but at least it's not a mystery anymore..
We went to the Joint Security Area, where I actually got to stand inside of the meeting room used by North and South Korean officials. Technically for a few minutes, I was in North Korea. I think it's worth noting that the South Korean soldiers at the DMZ (ROK soldiers) have certain extra specifications they have to meet in order to be stationed there. They must be a certain height, and they have to be good looking. I'm not sure if the North Korean soldiers have special requirements also, but I do know that on the North Korean side, you can see one soldier standing guard, but that soldier is being watched by another soldier inside to make sure that he doesn't try to flee to the South.
Overall, I think that visiting the DMZ was a really unique experience. I was most struck by how peaceful the actual DMZ was. It was so beautiful, yet at the same time it carried an underlying sense of foreboding.
Then I went to Hongdae to meet up with Carina and Daria. We went to a little restaurant that sold croquettes. I still don't exactly know what a croquette is, or at least how to describe them, even after eating them. But basically it's a small ball of a potatoe base and some kind of add-in (curry or tomato or something similar) that is then covered in a crunchy, flakey layer and cooked.
Finally, we walked around Hondae, which is a neighborhood that is very popular for college kids to hang out in. We were going to go check out a club because my host mom told me that I really needed to experience the Korean clubs. Upon arriving in the crowded streets and seeing the clubs for ourselves, we quickly decided to abort that plan because we knew it would only be louder and more crowded inside of a club, and the streets were already crowded with the music blasting way too loudly. Instead, Lucille came and joined us as we walked around observing the nightlife.
Sunday, I ended up going to see two temples, Jingwansa and Samcheonsa. They were close to each other, and located in the beautiful Bukhansan National Park. In Jingwansa, I got to see Korean children participating in a temple stay experience, where they would learn more about life as a monk and further explore the Buddhism religion.
On my way to the second temple, I passed through a part of the park where Korean families were all gathered to spend time together, eating or camping or playing in the river.
I also learned that this second temple was on a small mountain, but making my way to the top was so worth it for the view. Nobody else was at the temple, so it was really peaceful and quiet. I would say that this is the most beautiful temple I've been to so far.
On my way home, I stopped by the Seoul World Cup Stadium for a few quick pictures.
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