Paul has been walking my legs off! We went to the DMZ yesterday and that was one of the weirdest tours we've ever been on. As soon as we left Seoul the barb-wire fence along the river was noticeable. Soon we crossed a bridge and the bus had to run a slalom course - I tried to get a picture, but the ROK military guards waved me off. A little later we noticed the land-mine warning signs on the side of the road. Have to say that's a first!
We did a tour through the USO and they did a great job. We visited a tunnel site where the North Korean's had attempted to sneak into the south, then we visited a mountain lookout into the north and a train station that is the connected by rail to the north, but not operating. The visit to the UN site that crosses the "military demarcation line", the boarder between north and south, was the highlight for me. It was so weird to see the soldiers on both sides of the border and then go into the building that straddles the line and cross over.
We got a few pictures but were hindered a little by no-photo zones and probably more so by the weather. This was the first overcast/foggy day since we've arrived.
Today we hiked up a hill in the city limits that houses shamanist shrines (is that the same or different than buddhist???). In any case, we saw some really neat rocks and a few people doing what looked like a yogi salute praying in front of an outdoor temple. What really struck me was the pile of meat laying on a rock along the trail - an offering of some sort, but looks like the flies were getting the best of the deal.
As we descended the hill, Paul informed me that we weren't done walking yet. Fortunately, the rest of the day was spent meandering along a stream in downtown - lots of people flock here to walk or stick their feet in the water to cool down. Yes, I did so too :)
A few pics from the two days are on picasa...
https://picasaweb.google.com/coffren19/SeoulPart2?authuser=0&feat=directlink
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