Korea- The Gem of Danyang

You can see the walkway construction behind me

 Our trip to Chiaksan had forced us to find a hotel on the fly for the next night.  Looking at our phones, we found a nearby city of Danyang.  Oh boy was Danyang a treasure, as you shall see.  Wilson and I first were told of this amazing cliffside pathway.  The river was very low (Korea was in a drought) which made me very scared of heights.  Wilson was so sweet and held my hand when needed.  He later did a photoshoot with a bunch of very enthusiastic Korean women who wanted him in all their photos.  At the end of our walk we noticed a GIANT zipline course.  It was very cheap so we gave it a try.  It was super exhilarating.  I hollered at the top of my lungs nearly the entire time. 

The designers added these grates for truly terrifying views.

Koreans add little decorations like this that make the
country delightful

I managed to go on the grates solo.
I almost passed out from fear.

The top of the mountain has a very high lookout.
The top is all grating and it took me about 10 minutes to
be brave enough to visit the edge.  A Korean park ranger
gave me applause when I made it back to the platform.

Our path for ziplining

Wilson in his safety gear, not nervous at all

These are other people but those tiny dots show how high the zip line was installed!

Korea- First Hikes

Our adventure started with troubling news.  The park we had planned to visit, Seoraksan, had experienced the worst forest fire in South Korean history the day before we expected to head out.  Our plans quickly shifted to the lesser known Chiaksan.  We headed out to see this amazing Park Ranger logo before heading up to a rather small waterfall.  Spring was just springing, but this far North the forest was still relatively dormant.  Prior to this climb, Wilson and I ate at the first place we encountered with no English menu or English speakers, we managed to say "2 of something good" in Korean and the dish that was brought was one of the best dishes we had the whole trip.  I'm sorry to say I have no idea what we ate...just know that Koreans can cook!

Korea- Seoul Continued

The fact we were both willing to walk (and enjoyed it), coupled with the fact we wanted to see as many things as possible, led to us capturing sleep where possible.  The city of Seoul is very bustling and Wilson and I figured out how to navigate buses and the subway.  We met a group of tourists from Europe who traveled with Wilson up the Namsam Tower (since I was too frightened).  Our hotel was very authentic as it was built into a historic house with an open air courtyard in the middle.

Our Hotel Room

Korea-This time, the North

A train destroyed during the Korean War that sat in the DMZ
for almost 50 years.

Many Americans forget how brutal the division between North and South Korea currently is on the minds of the people of Korea.  We visited the DMZ which contains many items were were not allowed to photograph.  It's a stark reminder at how militarized and how brutal the conflict still is today.  We forget so often how much hardship the people of South Korea underwent even under the supposed democracy of the country.  Many South Koreans blame the United States, as there was a treaty in place to leave American troops and equipment in the country, which was pulled out.  The American pull out led to the North believing they could conquer the country (which they almost achieved).  The suffering of the civilian population combined with the American puppet government, still causes much sorrow in the collective memory.  It's important to remember the cost to civilians during American intervention. 

The famous tallest flagpole in the world.  I would not want
to change that flag.

The closest guard station to the South Korean Border.  It later
turned out to be the entrance to the 3rd infiltration tunnel.

Notice how few trees are on the mountaintops.  Intelligence
believes each mountain is hollow and filled with artillery
and other military units.  

Korea Part 1!- Seoul

Looking out over 1/10th of the city of Seoul, its a big city

My buddy Wilson and I had a million airline miles to use.  We decided to go off the usual travel road and see beautiful Korea (South).  We started our journey in Seoul which is wayyyy bigger than you think.  It's filled with just about every single thing you could possibly want.  Here's just a sampler of photos from the area.  Wilson took the majority and my phone would run out of battery fast!  Of the oddest adventures was we decided to take a nature trail.  Halfway along the nature trail, the military reviewed our passports and then we had 2 hours to finish a pretty grueling hike.  We had no idea why until we realized the prime ministers house is just below this hillside park and had been the site of an attack in the 1960s by North Korean commandos.  It was quite an incredible scene.

My year of the Zodiac, the boar and I.  Representing clan Nightingale in Korea

Maybe 1/10th of Seoul

You end up walking a lot, sometimes you get tired.

A Rekick

It has been a looong while since I've posted.  As a kick back off, I'll tell a little of what I've been doing.  Life has been good with lots of board games with friends (which is what I would do everyday if I didn't have a job).  Also, I got a girlfriend who is so sweet and is willing to go to bonkers museums with me and loves every minute of it.