Hi
Well, i've been to my first war zone now. I'm pretty sure i'm not dead. Not sure what i can do to top that. By the way, there are loads more pics and now even some video on the blog (http://www.energiser.net/).
We flew into Seoul on Tuesday. The airport is so far out of the city it could well be in a different timezone, so it took forever to get to the hotel. There're not a lot of western tourists here which was a surprise and we got some funny looks sat on the Metro with our rucksacks, i can tell you. Clearly the locals aren't used to backpackers. That said, there are loads of American military types. They've got a huge base slap-bang in the middle of the city in Incheon, and it's patrolled by large numbers of security men wielding batons and pepper sprays, looking disconcertingly bored. Another consequence of their presence is that around the base there are lots of western shops and bars selling alcohol (and other 'stuff') at inflated prices - the whole area's quite seedy, actually.
The room in the hotel is small but was cheap. The towels are the size of serviettes and the toilet's in the shower, so every time you use the shower the loo roll disintegrates into paper mache, but at least the aircon works.
On Wednesday we did the obligatory tour of temples, although they're not as impressive as the ones in China. The weather is very hot and humid making long walks quite hard work. Had sausage and chips on a stick for tea. The stick runs through the sausage. God knows what they use to weld the chips to the sausage.
Starting to suffer from The Curse Of Asia. No cheese. We'll, they have processed cheese which tastes like rubber and sticks to your teeth so firmly that you need a chisel to remove it. Will be having cheese on toast every day, twice a day when i get to Australia.
Of course, Korea is probably most (in)famous for the fact it's split in two. There's a 4km demilitarised zone (DMZ) running down the middle separating the communist north from the 'free' south. It says something about the place that despite the ongoing tensions, both sides turn have turned the area into a tourist attraction. We visited on Thursday. There are a lot of rules and regulations when they drive you past all the barbed wire and mine fields (oh yes, they're still there) and in most places you're not allowed to take pictures (which is very annoying), but technically they're still at war, so it's definitely a unique tour.
The UN runs the south side of the zone and they make you sign a disclaimer saying you understand the UN can't guarantee your life while you're on their turf, but hey, its too late to turn back. A South Korean tourist was shot dead on the border by a North Korean soldier a few months ago for wandering off the official path. I carefully placed the other tourists in the group between me and the North Koreans while we were wandering about. It pays to be careful.
The highlight of the tour is to go into the one building where both North and South Koreans can enter and meet. They use it for negotiations and it straggles the border at Panmunjom. You only get a few minutes there though as the North start to bring their tourists in at the same time, just to be annoying. While you're there the North Koreans soldiers try to intimidate you by unstrapping their guns and staring menacingly at you. However, its the one place where the ceasefire treaty says tourists can photograph them, which is a good, if petty, way of getting your own back (before making a quick exit).
Well, i've been to my first war zone now. I'm pretty sure i'm not dead. Not sure what i can do to top that. By the way, there are loads more pics and now even some video on the blog (http://www.energiser.net/).
We flew into Seoul on Tuesday. The airport is so far out of the city it could well be in a different timezone, so it took forever to get to the hotel. There're not a lot of western tourists here which was a surprise and we got some funny looks sat on the Metro with our rucksacks, i can tell you. Clearly the locals aren't used to backpackers. That said, there are loads of American military types. They've got a huge base slap-bang in the middle of the city in Incheon, and it's patrolled by large numbers of security men wielding batons and pepper sprays, looking disconcertingly bored. Another consequence of their presence is that around the base there are lots of western shops and bars selling alcohol (and other 'stuff') at inflated prices - the whole area's quite seedy, actually.
The room in the hotel is small but was cheap. The towels are the size of serviettes and the toilet's in the shower, so every time you use the shower the loo roll disintegrates into paper mache, but at least the aircon works.
On Wednesday we did the obligatory tour of temples, although they're not as impressive as the ones in China. The weather is very hot and humid making long walks quite hard work. Had sausage and chips on a stick for tea. The stick runs through the sausage. God knows what they use to weld the chips to the sausage.
Starting to suffer from The Curse Of Asia. No cheese. We'll, they have processed cheese which tastes like rubber and sticks to your teeth so firmly that you need a chisel to remove it. Will be having cheese on toast every day, twice a day when i get to Australia.
Of course, Korea is probably most (in)famous for the fact it's split in two. There's a 4km demilitarised zone (DMZ) running down the middle separating the communist north from the 'free' south. It says something about the place that despite the ongoing tensions, both sides turn have turned the area into a tourist attraction. We visited on Thursday. There are a lot of rules and regulations when they drive you past all the barbed wire and mine fields (oh yes, they're still there) and in most places you're not allowed to take pictures (which is very annoying), but technically they're still at war, so it's definitely a unique tour.
The UN runs the south side of the zone and they make you sign a disclaimer saying you understand the UN can't guarantee your life while you're on their turf, but hey, its too late to turn back. A South Korean tourist was shot dead on the border by a North Korean soldier a few months ago for wandering off the official path. I carefully placed the other tourists in the group between me and the North Koreans while we were wandering about. It pays to be careful.
The highlight of the tour is to go into the one building where both North and South Koreans can enter and meet. They use it for negotiations and it straggles the border at Panmunjom. You only get a few minutes there though as the North start to bring their tourists in at the same time, just to be annoying. While you're there the North Koreans soldiers try to intimidate you by unstrapping their guns and staring menacingly at you. However, its the one place where the ceasefire treaty says tourists can photograph them, which is a good, if petty, way of getting your own back (before making a quick exit).
This visit also means i've legally been to North Korean (tick). To take a tour of the North costs a non-North Korean thousands of quid a day for the privilege, and they get cancelled at no notice with no refund if Mr Kim is having a bad hair day.
The rest of the tour (apart from walking down a tunnel the North dug to try and invade the South but which was discovered before they could use it), was an anti climax. They even tried to pass off a deserted railway station as an attraction. Yawn.
Climbed a hill in the centre of the city today and had a packed lunch while taking in the views. It then started to rain, so after a quick visit to an old prison built by the Japanese during their occupation to incarcerate the Korean "patriotic ancestors" (sic), we went back to the hotel.
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