Monday, March 05, 2007
A Visit with Mom and Laura
As some of you know, my sister (Laura) and my Mom were here to visit for 10 days. They left just this morning, and I wanted to post some of the pictures from their fabulous visit. The days just whizzed by as we toured a palace, a fortress, temples, markets, royal tombs, museums, and the DMZ. In between all the trips we found time to laugh our heads off, entertain ourselves at the karaoke room, play lots of games, and sample delicious Korean cuisine.
Mom and Lor, your visit meant so much to me. You put a fresh smile on my face! I love you both very much :0)
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.
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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!
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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.
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This picture was taken at Bulguksa temple down in Gyeongu (towards the bottom of Korea). A lovely fountain that, although not running, was a beautiful photo op.
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Mom and Sam got all "Fear Factor" on us and decided to try the boiled silk worm larvaes that are for sale on most street corners in Korea. Lor and I couldn't handle the smell of them, and graciously offered to be the multi-media experts during this ordeal, capturing the event in both picture and video format. Sam ate 2, and Mom ate 1. They both "claimed" they weren't bad, said they could have eaten the whole cup, and then 5 minutes later begged for something to get the taste out of their mouth. Fear is definitely NOT a factor for them.
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Here we are at a stone pagoda that we found at a small temple in Gyeongju. There was a little statue of Buddha inside the doors behind us...different from any other pagoda we've seen here before. Kinda cool.
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I love the lights in this picture. This site used to be a summer palace before the Japanese burnt it down during one of their many invasions. All that's been rebuilt are three pagodas like this one..beautiful.
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This is one of the stone pagodas at Bulguksa Temple. The sign by it said that the design used in this pagoda is different from any other that was built.
One of the stops on our DMZ (de-militarized zone between North and South Korea) tour was at a tunnel that the North dug to try to infiltrate the South. These are the funky hard hats we got to wear to protect our heads from the low ceilings (obviously, we are much taller then the North Koreans, as our helmets frequently bashed into the rocks overhead).
This look of fear on Laura's face is real. Out the window is a North Korean (KPA) soldier. Usually on this tour, there is one or two KPA soldiers standing at a distance from where we visit. During this tour, four KPA soldiers suddenly came marching down to the building we were touring. Their commander also came down, and there were about 9 other soldiers outside their main building, about 150 feet away from where we were. Our hearts were definitely pounding, as it felt like we were being surrounded. Freaky!
Mom with a friendly ROK (Republic of Korea) soldier, who is making sure she does not decide to defect from the free world into a communist dictatorship (the door behind him opens into North Korea).
This was our DMZ tour bus...we were on bus number 1.
Here we are at a Norae Bang (singing room)...complete with microphones, tambourines, and a spinning disco ball. If this doesn't make a person feel like a star, I don't know what would!
Our last meal together in Korea. Look at how Mom and Lor handle the chopsticks like pros!
Mom and Lor, your visit meant so much to me. You put a fresh smile on my face! I love you both very much :0)
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.+062.jpg)
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!+137.jpg)
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..jpg)
This picture was taken at Bulguksa temple down in Gyeongu (towards the bottom of Korea). A lovely fountain that, although not running, was a beautiful photo op..jpg)
Mom and Sam got all "Fear Factor" on us and decided to try the boiled silk worm larvaes that are for sale on most street corners in Korea. Lor and I couldn't handle the smell of them, and graciously offered to be the multi-media experts during this ordeal, capturing the event in both picture and video format. Sam ate 2, and Mom ate 1. They both "claimed" they weren't bad, said they could have eaten the whole cup, and then 5 minutes later begged for something to get the taste out of their mouth. Fear is definitely NOT a factor for them. .jpg)
Here we are at a stone pagoda that we found at a small temple in Gyeongju. There was a little statue of Buddha inside the doors behind us...different from any other pagoda we've seen here before. Kinda cool..jpg)
I love the lights in this picture. This site used to be a summer palace before the Japanese burnt it down during one of their many invasions. All that's been rebuilt are three pagodas like this one..beautiful..jpg)
This is one of the stone pagodas at Bulguksa Temple. The sign by it said that the design used in this pagoda is different from any other that was built. The night before our DMZ tour, we stayed in a Jimjibang (one of Korea's famous "sauna hotels"). For $10 you get a place to sleep, pajamas to wear, and access to all the facilities.
Although it kind of feels like a "Kool-Aid cult" with everyone walking around barefoot in the same clothes, you can't beat the price!
Although it kind of feels like a "Kool-Aid cult" with everyone walking around barefoot in the same clothes, you can't beat the price!
One of the stops on our DMZ (de-militarized zone between North and South Korea) tour was at a tunnel that the North dug to try to infiltrate the South. These are the funky hard hats we got to wear to protect our heads from the low ceilings (obviously, we are much taller then the North Koreans, as our helmets frequently bashed into the rocks overhead). 
This look of fear on Laura's face is real. Out the window is a North Korean (KPA) soldier. Usually on this tour, there is one or two KPA soldiers standing at a distance from where we visit. During this tour, four KPA soldiers suddenly came marching down to the building we were touring. Their commander also came down, and there were about 9 other soldiers outside their main building, about 150 feet away from where we were. Our hearts were definitely pounding, as it felt like we were being surrounded. Freaky!
Mom with a friendly ROK (Republic of Korea) soldier, who is making sure she does not decide to defect from the free world into a communist dictatorship (the door behind him opens into North Korea).
This was our DMZ tour bus...we were on bus number 1.
Here we are at a Norae Bang (singing room)...complete with microphones, tambourines, and a spinning disco ball. If this doesn't make a person feel like a star, I don't know what would!
Our last meal together in Korea. Look at how Mom and Lor handle the chopsticks like pros!# posted by Becky @ 11:16 PM 
Comments:
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i love it ... made me feel like i was there.. and you look so happy becky.. not that you don't in other pictures but i could see that it was good for you to have them there..hold on to that feeling till christmas!
i love you
annie
i love you
annie
Hey Bec and Sam,
Loved the pics of you guys-especially the karoke one-wish I was there to do a little number with you guys!!!
So glad that you had such a special time with Laura and your Mom. I'm sending you a million kisses and hugs your way!!!!
PS Love the rendition of "Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady!"
Made me smile big time!!!
Loved the pics of you guys-especially the karoke one-wish I was there to do a little number with you guys!!!
So glad that you had such a special time with Laura and your Mom. I'm sending you a million kisses and hugs your way!!!!
PS Love the rendition of "Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady!"
Made me smile big time!!!
hey guys
loved the blog post beck. felt so honored that it was ALL about our trip. sigh. such good times. sucks to be back! (hey sam i had some tea today! soooo good!). it's gonna be hard to beat that post! you're such a good writer. i'd hire you in a second for Focus on the Family! or my own personal writer....so you could write stories about me whenever i wanted! haha!
love you guys! thanks for an awesome trip!
loved the blog post beck. felt so honored that it was ALL about our trip. sigh. such good times. sucks to be back! (hey sam i had some tea today! soooo good!). it's gonna be hard to beat that post! you're such a good writer. i'd hire you in a second for Focus on the Family! or my own personal writer....so you could write stories about me whenever i wanted! haha!
love you guys! thanks for an awesome trip!
Hi kiddos
I will NEVER forget my trip to Korea. It was a highlight for me, and soooo special. Thanks for all we did and saw. My ribs still hurt from all the laughing!!! loved it.
mom
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I will NEVER forget my trip to Korea. It was a highlight for me, and soooo special. Thanks for all we did and saw. My ribs still hurt from all the laughing!!! loved it.
mom
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