The Fish Came to Visit
My parents have this saying about “the fish rule.” When relatives visit you, they become like fish… They start to stink after a few days and you need to throw them out. Something to that affect anyway…
Well, I wouldn’t say their visit was that “stinky,” but we are glad to have our tiny apartment to ourselves again. We were crammed like sardines in here.
When my parents were here I came to realize how much they are aging (sorry, it’s the truth). I felt a bit protective of them and worried about their health and safety. To think, that feeling will probably get worse and worse as the years progress…
Highlights from their visit:
We visited the Korean War Memorial, dedicated to all the wars throughout Korea’s history… Insadong, where there are a lot of traditional crafts, shops and restaurants… Samcheongdong, which has a lot of galleries, cafes and artsy shops… Gyeongbok Palace/The National Folk Museum… The JSA (Joint Security Area) and DMZ…
The Korean War Memorial (War Museum)
This little boy was very curious about that foreigner.
For Crew… A huge ball-theme play area for kids who visit the memorial!
Apparently my mom can’t walk very far. She said she was “going to drop dead” a lot when we were out walking.
Resting with the help of a tree.
Seoul Tower
Shot of Seoul at night
The river in downtown Seoul
Shopping in Insadong
Shopping in Samcheongdong
Good shot of dad at least (in front of Gyeongbok Palace)
We saw a cool cultural festival at Gyeongbok Palace, the gymnasts were from Mongolia.
We decided to be touristy and go to the DMZ. I was a really neat trip. I booked the tour through the USO, an organization affiliated with the US military. I was hesitant thinking about our tour guides being soldiers (call me judgmental), but it was fine. They have first hand experience guarding the DMZ everyday, so it was actually quite interesting. I would have liked to hear more about their day to day and their experiences here.
Looking across the border at a North Korean government building.
The soldier is guarding the door that leads to the North Korean side. He is trained in three kind of martial arts. If you try to pass him or touch him, he will physically restrain you (which probably would not feel good).
Me “standing in” North Korea… Well, I’m just inside the JSA building on the North Korean side.
Surrounded on three sides by North Korea.
North Korea - You can see the huge 500 foot flag pole, which holds a 600 pound flag threaded with steel. The villagers who live there have to raise and lower that thing everyday.
It was fun having my parents here. We were lucky to have some time off from work, so we could do more traveling together.
Hope you’ve enjoyed the pics!
