New Chonji Hotel Seoul

... with all drives in your path.



Here are some pictures of the subway station a block from my house. It is a massive three story structure, with marble, art, glass fittings, a beautiful glass dome, hundreds of feet up. Here are some useful signs for subway riders. Gotta love whoever created Icons!



Oh here is a picture from the street right outside the gate closest to my house. Look ...

Today, we slept in till about 11, which is quite late by holiday standards, but after an exhausting day at the DMZ the previous day, we thought it was worth it. We decided that we should head to Seoul station first to get our tickets to Gyeongju because when we asked the previous day at the tourist information centre at the station they said that because it was Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving - their biggest holiday), there may not be many ...

... was looking for. juice costs $10 a glass and apparently, if you meet your juice quota for the month, no whoring required. we also heard a rumor that the bars are run by the korean mafia who regularly threaten officials, on both sides, if their bars get on the off-limits list. this, on the heals of our very exciting, real-life geisha sighting during our trip to busan last weekend. we were ...

... we got to Korea right when kids were going back to school, so the accommodations Joo helped book for us were less expensive than the high season summer prices and really nice. So from that standpoint, we loved Korea for our fancy accommodations throughout!

In Seoul, we enjoyed some yummy Korean food with Joo like bulgogi & bibimbop and dumplings.

For sights, we saw the National Palace, the Korean Folk Museum and Insadong, a street market area in Seoul.

... they were doing a special parade because of Independence Day.  We watched this and dressed up in traditional Korean garments.  I got to see the stream that I was not able to see the day it poured.  There were also fountains all over the place that little kids would play in, because it was so hot!  It was an awesome place to take pictures, because the kids' faces were so lit up with emotion.  Next, we went shopping in a district that had many American stores, such as Lacoste, Ralph ...

... out into the rain and on through the walk tour. I was now in an area filled with traditional Korean style homes. The sad part was that I didn’t dare risk bringing out my camera in this rain. I did not want to risk another Guillin episode (rain 1digital camera 0).

After about another km I was ready to give up. I was soaked to the skin and there didn’t seem as though the rain had any intention of letting up. I made my way back to the ...

... and WOW how time has flown by. I must say that I'm glad we're staying here a month because the days just go by so quickly when you're busy taking everything in and I can't imagine doing this only two weeks like I had wanted to in the first place.

Well, we're off to dinner with the family and then fireworks! We will upload some photos later, everything is charging right now :)

-JP

... a soul sister. It's refreshing to have a friend here and someone to discuss spirituality and life with. Outings in Seoul are never boring. First of all, Seoul proper has over 10 million people (around 16 million with the suburbs). And on the weekends ALL 10 million+ are doing the exact same thing you are. It can be quite overwhelming to find your own space. They LOVE to shop and for some reason cannot seem to walk in a straight line.....ever. At ...

... names, so it really isn't that hard to learn their names. One of my kids refuses to go by an English name so I call him by his real name - Young Jin. He actually reminds me of a terrorist. Good thing he likes me! So far I am really loving this! Teaching is completely exhausting and can be really stressful, but my work is really not that difficult. Everyday is interesting and goes by very quickly. So, I really like it right now. If I continue to ...

... ve also visited the DMZ which is an eerie experience, going through military checkpoints is kind of scary and it's amazing to be at the border of a country where this is hostility still (and which seems to be increasing even further). The temperatures really dropped this week - in fact it hit -12 degrees on the 12th - our 7th wedding anniversary. We decided to visit Seoul Zoo that day which was a bit sad, most of the animals were in ...