While Not Working

A miserable amount of rain fell: enough to make everything wet and cause people to think twice about going outside even if they had a pink polka dotted umbrella that could withstand gusts of wind.  People, aka myself, went looking for things to do indoors instead, and ended up at the Korea War Memorial. You may remember from the DMZ day that Korea is familiar with war or, more precisely, familiar with other countries fighting over it, not to mention the conflict that ended with the creation of the DMZ and the need for all South Koreans to complete mandatory military service on leaving school. The War Memorial walked us through the history, both old and more recent, of Korea, with a lot of fascinating information about the Korean War and the Armistice.  Korea was kind enough to provide some information in English too, so I could understand a bit of what I was looking at.  Australian flag flying along with those of the nations who participated in the Korean War. I didn't ta...

 The cherry blossoms were fading away as Spring advanced, but other flowers popped out all over the place. Wisteria put out tentative blossoms and magnolias bloomed and faded, largely ignored in the shadow of the cherry blossoms. Tulips of all sizes and colours popped up in gardens and banks of rhododendrons blazed beside walking paths.  The Seoul Grand Park was reported to have a large tulip display along with a rose garden, cherry blossoms, a zoo, and of course a chair lift.  Off we went to get in on the tulip action. It's really the Grand Park, but "Seoul Grandpa" works as well. The active geriatrics were out in force, setting off to walk around the lake, through the sculpture park, and into the forst behind the park. They were supplemented by individual families trailing baby carriers and toddlers and flotillas of day-care mini buses disgorging cute crocodiles of preschoolers all in matching hi-vis vests. The roses had not yet woken from winter, but the cherry blossom...

If you search 'things to do in Seoul,' Myeongdong comes up as a shopping destination for both high-end shops, food and clothes markets, and Daiso which provides a wonderland of souvenirs and gadgets to solve all the little life problems that you never knew you had. There was more to Myeongdong than the opportunity to part with hard earned cash though. Come for a little walk with me to see. There's the  Myeongdong Cathedral  with its own fascinating history of push and pull throughout centuries not to mention the reported history collection in the basement, which I didn't get to see. The Cathedral forbids photos inside so I, goody two-shoes that I am, didn't take any despite the peer pressure of other tourists wandering up the aisle snapping selfies right, left, and centre.  Beyond the Cathedral lay the Sungnyemun Gate, one of the four original gates in the stone wall that encircled the original city of Seoul. The wall here didn't exist any more but the gate was ...

We were up bright and early and on a bus by 0700, on our way to visit the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on the border with North Korea. The DMZ was established in 1953 as part of the Korean Armistice Agreement, and you can read more about it  here. The day did not promise good viewing of anything. We wound our way through the suburbs of Seoul in heavy smog. The first stop , Imjingak Pyeonghwa Nuri Park was where, after the destruction of railway bridges during the war, a temporary wooden bridge was built to facilitate transfer of POWs. The old wooden bridge, still preserved, was replaced by a more modern construction which, should North Korea ever allow passage, would allow a rail connection from Busan all the way to Berlin and wouldn't that be a journey to take! Although I suspect it would take a little more than a revamped bridge to make it a reality. There's a functional rail bridge across the river at Imjingak, built to facilitate a venture of joint industry which no longer func...