The Jones' Korean Adventure

As the note suggests, Sam and I have once again come down with the flu! We're seriously considering wearing the white SARS masks everywhere we go...subways, buses, our classrooms...you get the idea! I guess Korea's really getting into our system ;0)

We blame this round of bugs on our subway ride last week. We have never experienced a crammed subway as we did on Saturday. The train pulled up to the station already bursting at the seams. The doors opened and the people behind us were gracious enough to push us through the doors and into the mass of humanity on the inside.

Now, some subway drivers are nice and smooth, and if you're standing, it's really easy to keep your footing. This driver, however, was not one of those. He started abruptly, changed speeds abruptly, and braked abruptly. The cool thing was that none of that mattered. No matter how abrupt a start or stop was, noone was going anywhere...we were so tightly wedged together that I probably could have lifted my feet and been held up by the pressure on my shoulders. As a North American, I am definitely used to a tad bit more personal space then was offered to me on that ride.

Nothing like a cheery note on a piece of toilet paper to turn a grey sky blue! Our students are great :0)

This weekend we had the opportunity to meet up with a really cool couple (David and Jerra from the U.S, who we hadn't met before...we have mutual friends back home) and go hiking with them. We decided to meet bright and early (ie. 10 a.m.) on Saturday and hike up Bukhansan peak, a mountain just north of Seoul. We consulted our Lonely Planet Korea travel guide, and found out what subway to take, and what bus to connect with to take us “directly to the front gate of the national park”. According to the book, if we exited from the subway station via exit 1, walked to the front of the art centre building across the street and got on bus 156, we’d be home free. The only thing is that bus 156 does not exist. We checked every sign, asked various people, and waited for a good 20 minutes before we concluded that the phantom bus was never coming. We decided to cross the road and see if the bus maybe went in the other direction. As we approached the bus stop, we noticed a Korean couple dressed in hiking fatigues. We asked them if they knew bus 156, and of course they hadn’t heard of it (thanks Lonely Planet!). We then asked if they knew how to get to Bukhansan peak from where we were…they didn’t. Finally, with no hopes left for hiking Bukhansan, I asked, “ummmm, where are you guys going?”. Of course, they were going for a hike, and graciously allowed us to follow them to the trail head. They then gave us their map of the mountain and sent us on our merry way.
It was a great hike…the trail was clearly marked, the sun was shining, and the view we got of Seoul from the top was well worth the effort to get there. It was the best view of Seoul we’ve had…the city just goes on forever! At the top we came across a cute little temple, and about 5 minutes later we found a fortress gate and wall, which we followed for a good stretch. A bit muddy (probably from all the traffic…EVERYONE and their dog was on the mountain this weekend), but nothing unmanageable.
Probably the perfect Saturday…great to meet up with new friends, and replace the sounds of car horns and construction with the sounds of birds and the odd Korean yelling - “Yaho” - from the top of the mountain.

Sam and I with David and Jerra - resting at the temple site.

I included this picture because I think I look a bit hardcore. This was part of the fortress wall...I wanted to climb up and get a better view of Seoul
The large peak directly behind us is Bukhansan...next time we'll figure out a way to get there!
That's Seoul in the background...it also keeps going for miles to the left and right of what you can see in this picture...it's a crazy big city!
I loved the warning to watch for the sole forest fire on the mountain. Very helpful, thank you!
Sam contemplating the order to "No Dump Garbage".

Here's Mom at Gyeongbukgung Palace, posing by one of the "title" markers. Whenever there were important events at the palace, the royal court would assemble by the marker that indicated their title, or position. I have decided that this marker is for "beautiful mamas" (that's a direct translation from the characters on the stone).
Here are Mom and Lor by the chimneys that are behind the Queen's residence (you'll notice that in each of these pictures, Laura is doing some rendition of the typical Asian victory sign).
Getting up close and personal with the palace wild life.
Posing on the pillar walkway.
This picture was taken at the Suwon Fortress. I'm pretty sure the sign in front of us says "Do not climb on the ancient canon", but we couldn't resist!
On the pathway of Suwon Fortress. This fortress is huge, and we walked around (almost) the whole thing. Lots of guard towers, pagodas, and gateways to keep us entertained.