Seoul!

Holy smokes, I'm in Korea! It's a complete culture shock compared to Nepal and Thailand. I've now fully experienced being a foreigner...Nepal, well, I had much cushioning there with my volunteer placement. Thailand, ok, I understand Thai beaches (well!), drinks, and fully appreciate their food. Korea is a completely different experience. There was a panic moment the other day, when I sat down in a local Korean restaurant in the Namdaemun market, hoping to order dinner. There were no pictures of the food and everything was written in Korean. I've become accustomed to pointing to what I'd like to eat - and I've not yet been disappointed.  So, I defaulted to what I already knew - and asked for kimchee, a soup served with rice, a side dish of spicy pickled cabbage, and dug in. Now after a few days of kimchee, I'm feeling pretty done with the pickled cabbage!

Off I went to the DMZ on my third day in Seoul, the Demilitarized Zone, that marks the border between North and South Korea - how fantastic an experience to walk through one of the underground tunnels discovered in the 70's by South Korea!  It was pretty eerie to visit the new train station there, the last stop before North Korea (and doesn't cross to North Korea yet).  It is unused right now, but was built in the hopes to connect the Koreas.  So strange to see this pristine series of buildings, a perfect station with a waiting area completely devoid of people, an empty (massive) parking lot, and yet staff cleaning the windows in the place.  It will be years before it will ever be used.  

Finally, my last day was a visit to Changdeokgung Palace and the Secret Garden.  It is beautifully restored, after the Japanese invasion of 1592, when it was fully destroyed.  The main gate to the palace was originally built in 1412 during King Taejon's reign during the Joseon Dynasty, and is the oldest gate in Korea.  It is a massive site to wander around, with gardens, forests and beautiful flowering trees everywhere.