Thoughts
After seeing parts of Singapore, City of Victoria, California and Seoul, I come to a conclusion, every city looks pretty much the same. Haha.. it’s the people, culture and nature that makes a place distinct.
After travelling for four months, the most frequented type of site I have been to would be – mountains and parks!
I have been to at least 13 parks be it national, provincial or local in Victoria alone!!
Hiking has become my kind of thing!
Went to the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Memorial Park in Town of Cupertino.
Well, do Universal Studio and Disneyland count as parks? – ThemePARKS? Haha..
Hiked Mt. Bukhansan in Seoul :)
I guess I’ve been pretty green during my trip.. - visiting green places & going green by walking A LOT!
A quick update of my tour here in Seoul:
1. Its AWESOME to go free and easy!! Don’t have to rush from place to place and can just simply be yourself and explore places at your own pace and ease!
2. Ordered my first meal in Seoul without conversing AT ALL!! I know nuts about speaking Korean and I cant live without FOOD! So ya, when when Doris is hungry, she goes all out to get what she wants, even overcoming language barrier!
3. When to palace and museum hopping!
- its funny how me and LG become stars when we are tourists ourselves! We were tried on the traditional official guard costume at the Northern Palace and were happily taking photos. Then this bunch of Thai girls came over and ask if they can take individual photos with us! Haha.. they said we look like superstars.. so ya,the gals took turn to take photos with us in the costume.. thinking back as to what happened, it hit me that I was zooified! Now, I know how it feels like to work in a themepark; having to put on costumes and entertaining the long queue of visitors dying to take photo with you.
- I guess everyone cant resist nature and would simply love to dwell in it. It’s interesting to see two thirds of palace space dedicated to gardens and parks!
4. Visited the old fortresses in Suwon and boy are they magnificent!! Its simply gorgeous to see how the town is build in and around the fortress wall. Walking on the fortress gave me a glimpse of what it would be like to walk to Great of China! Just by completing the whole fortress in Suwon takes about 3-4 hours!! Whaha.. Went to a small palace where some scenes of Da Chang Jing was shot.. cool!
5. Went to the de-militarized zone (DMZ).
Security was super tight as expected and everyone had to walked in two straight lines and visitors even have to adhere to a dress code!
Y a dress code? Coz it is said that North Korean soldiers would take pics of civilians wearing holey jeans or baggy clothes as a propaganda to its people that the outside world is poor and whatnot..
Learnt more about both North and South Korea.
Learnt how a 20mins fire exchange between soldiers from both sides can be triggered in an attempt to cut down a poplar tree!! After which, 6 jet fighters were put on standby to ensure that the tree was successfully cut down, without anymore injuries! Gosh, just look at the amount of effort put in to log a tree!! How lame can things get? Dun these people have other things better to do?? Bleah!
Soldiers on both side put on sunglasses not because it’s sunny nor coz it makes them seems cooler, sunglasses are worn to prevent direct eye contact which may give rise to eye fights. Even soldiers indoor wear sunglasses!
Even as a visitor, I could feel the tension between North and South Korean soldiers, what more about the locals living in both countries?
Peace comes with a price.. haiz.. what a heavy day that was.
But to top it off, I took photo with the most charming South Korean soldier!! **beams**
6. Hiked Mt. Bukhan today!! I really must say it’s a super tiring terrain!! But at the end of the end, when I got to the peak and stand in awe at the glorious splendor of nature, it’s a worth it climb!! Really, it is.. will upload photos soon.
7. After a day of climb, rewarded myself with GOOD food! Actually, I have been spending A LOT on food in Seoul! It’s THE place where I spend the most on FOOD! That aside, was at the food court and the first thing that caught my side was that there were no long queues in front of any of the food stalls!! Its not coz the food sux but coz they have a ordered system to order and collect food! You wait for no. to be called then go to the stall to collect your food. That simply! Long queues just obstruct the passage way and cause much inconvenience.
The second thing which hit me was how civic-minded the people are. They have to return their trays and plates after consumption to the respective stalls. Yes, it’s like a school canteen but cm’on it just takes a little effort from me and you to make the food court a better dining area! Just cant stand some pple who just make a mess of the table and expect cleaners to clear up for them! If my homeland wants to become a more gracious society, please start learning to be considerate and clean up your own mess!!
its like back in Victoria, everyone alights the bus saying thank you to the bus captain. And yups, I did that in seoul too. Its smth I want to bring back!
A gracious society starts from me!
