Day trip to Seoul

A friend invited us to spend a day at Seoul this past Saturday and we decided to visit the Korean War Museum and Deoksugung Palace. We opted to take the 2 hour KTX train ride instead of driving 4 hours to Seoul.

The Korean War Museum was located just right outside of Yongson. It was much larger than I thought it would be and there were impressive monuments right outside the front entrance. We weren't able to see the entire place, so we will be making another visit to see what we missed.

Jensen had a great time at the Museum.

Notice Jensen on the bottom of the photo trying to look at the colorful shields.

Our next stop was Deoksugung Palace which was located near the KTX station. There were 3 palaces listed on the hotel guide, but I decided to go to this one which had the changing of the guards that was scheduled for 2 p.m. I was also pleasantly surprised that an Art Museum was also located inside the palace grounds.

Guard at the entrance of the palace

I was trying to get Jensen to pose with the guard, but he was too scared.

I love the fact that this photo includes the palace and the high rise buildings in the background.

Nice photo taken by Christian.

 On our way back home, Jensen was having a tough time sitting still. I had to keep walking him to the middle part of the train so he can stretch his legs. A family was nearby and I guess they noticed how Jensen was being so fussy and whiny. On one of the many walks that I took Jensen, the grandfather just grabbed him and sat him on his daughter's lap. Keep in mind, I have never met them before. I guess if that happened back home, I would have flipped out, but Koreans feels as if you are part of  a large family. I was so appreciative that he "adopted" Jensen. They were returning to Deagu from Seoul as well. They had just attended a cousin's wedding. It was nice to talk to them and even the children spoke English. One of the grand-daughters drew a picture of Jensen and gave it to us to keep. This is one of the many things I love about Korea.

Jensen making new friends on the the KTX train ride back home.

Drawing of Jensen by Anna.

First trip to Apsan Mountain

Less than 10 minute drive from our apartment, we finally went hiking at Apsan Mountain yesterday. This post is going to be photograph intensive since there was so much to see. We only hiked a mile into the trails since it was mostly up hill and pretty steep. We will be making numerous trips back to try and see what else Apsan has to offer. One of the first places we encountered on our climb up, was this temple.

You can't see him, but Jensen is in the pack.

Dragon located on the ceiling as you enter the temple.

Jensen checking out the Dragons.

Further on the trail was this monument. Wish I knew what it said, but I'm sure he was someone important. I can't wait to see this same trail once autumn arrives and the leaves changes colors.

Another temple and this time it was much larger and had more Buddhist statues. What I suspect adjacent to this temple is a residential quarters for the caretakers. I noticed a lady was sweeping up the altar when we first arrived. Christian mentioned that it could be the Korean version of a park 

ranger. 

Residential quarters

Next was the cable car station. We didn't take a ride this time, but will definitely do that once the leaves turn. 

Last stop was a memorial garden for the fallen during the Korean War. They had a list of the countries that participated and how many soldiers died. A great view of the mountain from this site.

So Korea! - Part 2

To continue with Christian's phrase "So Korea!", here is part 2 of the on-going list of things that we have observed while living in Daegu.

5. Kimchi fridge and freezers - Most people know that kimchi is a regular staple in Korea's diet. What I didn't expect is the sheer fondness for this culinary side dish that it is common to have a dedicated set of fridge and freezers to store the plethora of kimchi so that it may be readily available at all times. That hideous pink monstrosity is the main fridge and the 4 built-in located on the left and right side are the kimchi fridge and freezers.

Has anyone seen a fridge in pink before?

Here are some of the containers that are used to store kimchi.

6. Cars in mainly white, black or silver - I've already mention that when we first moved in to the our apartment, the 2nd floor garage was filled with mainly those colors types. I thought it was a coincidence, but as a country, Korea prefers these colors. I wonder if it's because as a homogeneous culture, they also gravitate toward that type of color scheme for their cars. Check out the short video clip below and see how many cars pass by on a busy intersection.

Can you guess which one is my car?

7. Spam gift sets - Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) starts next week and these gift boxes have been for sale at Homeplus. Coming from the Philippines, I'm used to eating Spam, but I have never seen these before.

The price is roughly $24. The conversion rate is usually 1000 won to $1.

8. Personality according to Blood types - Instead of Zodiac signs, most not all Koreans believe that your blood type has a great deal to do with your personality traits and all the other things that go with your horoscopes. Here is a link that better explains this superstition:  http://beyondhallyu.com/culture/its-in-your-blood-the-link-between-blood-types-and-personalities/

Here are some pens I found in Homeplus that are geared towards blood types.