Crossing the Boarder to North Korea

When visiting South Korea, it is a must to visit the boarder to North Korea - also called Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Despite its name it is the most heavily militarized border in the world. 

Even though it is still a war zone, tourist can visit the area with a guided tour and enter the Joint security areas (JSA) under military protection. It is crazy how many tourists actually go on these tours and visit the DMZ as if it's the Walk of fame or any other huge, peaceful tourist attraction. 

Our first big problem was the dress code (well my (Nina) problem!). South Korea has strict rules for the tourists that enter the JSA, your are not allowed to wear shorts, pants or tops. You have to dress nice so that North Korea won't get pictures of people walking around in sweatpants. Unfortunately I didn't have any good pants, so I had to wear my chill- Thailand pants. We were a little scared that they won't let us in, but it wasn't a problem at all! 

The tour started at 7:30 this morning and it took us about 1 hour to get to the boarder. US soldiers came into the bus to check our passports and gave us a briefing about the rules. Everyone had to sign a paper that we can die and are aware of the situation of entering a war zone.We were only allowed to take pictures of certain points and were not allowed to wave or point or make any expressions towards North Korean soldiers, who were observing everyone closely. Somewhere in North Korea there is a foto of us now! I found it very surprising that we weren't even allowed to take pictures of the South Korean side, such as the US army base and the buildings. 



The tour took about 2 hours and was very interesting. We got to cross the boarder of North Korea (when visiting the conference hall where they have meetings). Every step was followed by security camera of the north and south and the soldiers guiding us. It felt very weird. Soldiers who were on patrol had to stand in a fighting positing, ready to fight in case something would happen. So they stay there not moving at all for some hours - crazy. 

South Korean Soldier, just across the boarder of North Korea

Meetingroom right at the boarder

 

North Korean soldier spying on us

I think it's very strange to be in such a place in the world. A never ending fight between two (one) countries - both trying to be better than the other. We could see that the fields in North Korea were totally dead and that almost all of the trees near the boarder where cut down. The soldier said that it's because they are using all the wood for energy and will run short soon. We could also see the propaganda village set up by North Korea close to the boarder. The houses there are just a set up, with an automatic light system and not even floors or anything in them, windows were painted on! Crazy!



 

Go red devils!

We always said that we wanted to watch a World cup match in the country we visited and especially if that country is also playing! Yesterday night, well more like this morning, we watched the last game of South Korea against Belgium in Seoul.

The game started at 05:00 in the morning here, so we had loads of time to kill which we end up using finding the perfect place to watch the match. And also to find a place for Nina to watch her national team in the game before. Believe it or not, it's actually quite hard to find a café or a bar with a television that will look other WC games. A lot of them would only show the South Korean one if they were open at all at 5 in the morning.

We decided to watch the game at a Gwanghwamun square, which is one of the biggest public viewing spots in the city. When we went to check it out in the afternoon, people were already waiting in line to enter the designated area. They would wait there for over 12! hours to gain the best spot in the area which you can see on a picture. A thing that struck us that everyone was sitting on little blankets with lots of food and drinks. I expected that once the game would start everyone would put the blankets away and stand up to watch the game.

FALSE, we came back after the ... other match... Germany vs USA and found out that thousands of Korean people were basically picnicking and raving/partying while a big concert was going on. The people were sitting between two roads were was not so much space. One hour before the start of the match  the people rushed to the roads and put their blankets there. Police lost control and cars were not able to go trough, we took our chance with our new American buddy (we met him at the bar watching the Germany - USA game) a spot somewhere in the middle.

We just sat down in between all the people that were waiting for about 10 hours on that spot. But instead of being rude they were so friendly and even wanted to share their food with us. Two girls next to us asked: have you ever tried pork foot/hand? Nina gave a disgusting look, Pork feet?! I, of course, no I have not??? So today another delicatessen on my list, Pork feet and cheek.

The game was amazing, the game itself not really, but the Koreans! Never saw a match with such passionated supporters. Every time their players managed to take the ball from the opposing team they cheer, when the wall blocks a free kick, they cheer. They go nuts when they get near the 16 meter line, both sides. Amazing vibe they give you, we sat there with a smile on our faces till around 07:00 in the morning when Belgium scored a goal which basically meant the World cup adventure was over for South Korea, as well as the atmosphere.

PS. I'm getting to old to stay awake for more then 24 hours...(sooo tired today haha)

 

Last hike (for now)

A few days ago we did our last hike (I think/hope) in Daejeon. It was not as high and crazy heavy as Jerisan the last time (my legs were still hurting when we started this hike). So the last mountain was Gyeryongsan this mountain has nine peaks all around the same high, you are able to do all of them, which is crazy. This time we did not go crazy (pffft). We went up the first peak which took about three hours as it was not very steep, just a really long path to walk. Better then 30% steepness like last time! more like a normal walk in Trimbs, or still steeper then that i'd say, haha.

At the top we got a stunning scenery as you can see in the pictures below, click to enlarge them.
While chilling at the top, we met a men named 'Bag', he was also hiking the mountain and came from the other direction. This man traveled the world, literally, and only had countries like Uzbekistan  left on his bucket list. We talked at the top for over an hour, which I was fine with me cause Nina wanted to hike another peak. And now I was able to sit chill and chatter a while. Bag is a teacher in Daejeon and we discussed everything from school systems in Holland, Germany and Korea. At the end, we walked down the mountain together and Bag brought us back to town with his car. A very nice, open minded Korean men, that made us like this country even more.

 

 

 

Walking in Playdo for healthy feet

After our crazy hike this week we had to relax a little and take it slow (we couldn't walk steps for 3 days!). We are currently in Daejeon, the fifth biggest city of Korea. We actually came here to do some more hiking but for now we have been resting our legs, they still hurt!

Daejeon is a very industrial city. It seems like we are the only tourists here. It's very hard to communicate with anyone as no one speaks English. Even the tourist information puts you on a translation phone number for your questions. So everytime we go somewhere we use hand and feet trying to use the public transportation (signs are only in Korean) but it's working pretty good! We only took the wrong bus twice haha. 

But we already have a trick: Koreans love hiking, it doesn't matter if it's 2km or 40, they are always dressed up in a perfect hiking outfit. So whenever we go to a hiking place we just follow the beautiful dressed hikers and get off at their stop. It's always the right choice (even though they look at us like we are crazy, since we are not dressed proper enough for them).

We decided to go to a sand path around a mountain yesterday, which was supposed to be nice for our feet. However, we did not exactly end up at a sand path, it was a red clay path - even better! We walked about 3 hours in the nice clay which felt very good and gave an odd memory of playdo. 

Daejeon is most famous for its natural hot spring water which has apparently healing power. So we went to a  public foot bath to massage our feet which felt good and we are hoping that we can hike again tomorrow.

On a other note, the bus drivers are nuts in Korea. They seem to be playing Mario Cart in real life using 3 lanes for a corner so he can keep on going 140kmph. Also at night, red is the new green. The lights do not seem to count for busses. It feels like Asia again, uncompareable with Japan.

Living on the edge

Today was the day that we accomplished something impressive, or rather stupid as we won’t be able to walk for at least the next two days. No joke.

We hiked the mountain Jerisan in South Korea. This seemed no problem at all, the tourist information told us it was a beginner path even though it was a hike of nine hours long. Well I could honestly say, that if I see that tourist information girl again I’d give her a piece of my mind. But anyway, how it began:

After being in Busan for a few days, eating Korean barbeque on a daily basis we decided it’s time to do something active. We are now in Jinju, a nice hub to several national parks in a Korean motel (google Korean motel). So today we visited Jerisan National Park to hike the mountain Jerisan. Not knowing this mountain was 1915 meters high which we had to hike up and that this was certainly not beginners level.

Basecamp, the mountain is in the far back (highest

Peak is getting closer (half way)

We decided to start as early as possible for this hike so we got up at 6 in the morning. Finally, at 8:30 we arrived at the base with the bus. The hike started well, we had to climb some big boulders but furthermore, it was okay, even with my crappy knees (never been so happy that I brought my knee bands with me). After 1 kilometre it started to get heavier but still everything was fun, we told each other this is so great blablabla. Then we came across a sign that said, from this point the steep level would be at least 30% to the top for over 4 kilometres. The part we had done was nearly 17% so we had to double up.

 

 

Halfway to the top

At this point Nina was giving up (notice +- 3 kilometers before the top) but she kept going and going until we reached the temple which is located around half way, 2 hours before reaching the top. We told each other that it might be the best to return to the base as we had to walk back as well! Walking back with 30% steep level will not be easy, and not that save either. But of course we thought, we might as well try to reach the top! And we DID! I’m so freeking proud of Nina, as she was giving up several hours in front of reaching the top and kept going. The scenery it delivered us on the top was stunning. It was (of course) the highest mountain in the area so you could see everything. I was about 13:00 something when we reached the top. It took us 4.5 hours to get up. And then we had to go back the whole thing….

The Top statue

 

The Top

 

Victory

 

Stunning scenery

The way down was at least as heavy as getting up, especially for my knees. Also it was dangerous, if you slip and fall you can fall down several meters with your face on those big stone boulders. We both slipped several times, but luckily enough we never fell as that certainly would have ruined the day. We arrived at the base at 17:30. We had been hiking from 8:30 till 17:30, a total of nine hours. Around 13-14 kilometers, 30% steep mountain. And last, apparently, ON A ….. EXPERT LEVEL TRAIL!!

 

At this moment, we are both simply laying for death in bed. While applying softener cream on my knee praying I’ll be able to walk the day after (which I know won’t be happening anytime soon. BUT, I’m so proud. Enjoy the pictures!

 

 

 

 

cliff hiking in the pouring rain, pancakes and plenty of rice wine

Apparently the rainy season means it is time for pancakes with all sorts of toppings in Korea together with a nice can of rice wine. We learned that quickly on our second day in Busan. But let's start at the beginning.

We decided to check out another Korean bbq restaurant for lunch together with new friends from our hostel. The food was (again) amazing and very cheap. Everyone had to sit on a chair right on the floor, which was a huge challenge for Tom. Everyone else had to laugh about him sitting down.  

 

After lunch we went to do a cliff hike along the coastline. Even pouring rain and thunder did not stop us (while Tom was humming "riders on the storm").We walked for about 4 hours through the pouring rain, enjoying the beautiful landscape and feeling very adventurous (we didn't realize that there was a road 10 meters away where busses could take us home - so we walked and walked thinking we were completely lost). 

 

 

 

At about dinner time we bumped into a Korea hiker (who was also soaking wet) and he brought us to the next bus station. Instead of taking the bus we decided to walk to the university area for dinner. We met a very cute old lady, who was baking pancakes in a garage. I don't know if it was a store or just her own garage, but somehow I walked in because it was smelling very nice. The lady was so cute and so happy, so she gave me the pancake for free! Awesome people, the South Koreans.

 

The university area has a lot of cheap restaurants and bars and loads of students. We choose the busiest restaurant which (thank god) served really nice food.. Together with our hostel friend Ian from canda we had dinner and rice wine (everyone was drinking rice wine which came in big Tea cans, yaaayyyyy!!). Next to us were 3 Koreans and we ate and drank together. We had the biggest fun while only one of them could speak broken English and the others used their phone to ask questions ("who do you think is the prettiest?"). But after some more rice wine everyone could speak some sort of language, great times!!