As the title suggested, today's entry is about the Panmunjom JSA + DMZ tour that Mr Kwek and I per-registered online in Singapore, two weeks before our Korea trip. For those interested, you may check the tour out at:
http://www.tourdmz.com/english/main.php
The tour starts at 8.30am. Registration starts 45minutes before the tour. We were lucky that the tour meeting point (Lotte Hotel) is within walking distance from our hotel hence we were able to make it on time despite oversleeping a little. :P
The tour consist of 20 people with a tour guide and an
ex-North Korean. Yups, you will get to hear from an ex-North Korean how it is like to live in the country, he/she escaped from the country and came over to South Korea, how's his/her family report his/her lost, etc... Interesting. No photos allowed as he/she is still on the wanted list in North Korea.
Anyhow, the trip to Panmunjom took an hour via the Freedom Highway. As usual, me being me, I fell asleep and missed out on the tour guide's stories!! :X Awoke at the checkpoint (Unification bridge which was built by the founder of Hyundai) where the military soldier came on board to check our passports.
Once in the military zone, photography is prohibited. There was really nothing to take anyway since the surrounding was fields and fields of weeds and wittered grass...
We were given a short briefing on the history of war between the two countries at the camp bonifas before lining up to enter the freedom house/conference room where technically, you
are in North Korea once you passed the dividing line.
The soldiers stood so still, they looked fake yet intimidating: Hands always at a 45degree angle with sunglasses on to act fierce. Photography is allowed but NO touching!!
After the short 15mins tour in the JSA, we were back on the bus, off for lunch. Passed by the bridge of no return which was used for prisoners exchange at the end of the Korean War. Prisoners can choose to either remain in the
country of their captivity or cross over to the other country. If they chose to cross the bridge, they would never be allowed to
return.
After a short ride, we came to a Bulgogi shop and had beef Bulgogi which was pretty awesome! :) However, we were given only given half an hour to eat before rushing off to tour around the last subway station which leads to North Korea!
Dorasan is the last station in South Korea situated at the far north, connecting South Korea to North Korea's Pyeongyang. It stands as a hope of unification between South and North Korea. Dorasan station can be reached by getting on the Gyeongui Line from Seoul Station. The station can only be visited by tourist via tours as special access pass is required. And nope, you can't take the train to North Korea! Hopefully, one day the station will serve its purpose to connect both countries!
After the station tour, we hopped onto the bus and continued our journey to the Dora observatory center in the DMZ. It was very unfortunate that the day was very foggy. We barely could see much of North Korea even after paying to use the binoculars. All I saw was a couple of houses, factories and lot of wittering fields...
Next, we were given the chance to hike down half way the 3rd tunnel that North Korea dug. No photgraphy allowed. Anyhow, it was the most tedious half hour of our life! Hiking down a 11degree slope into the puny narrow tunnel was a breeze! BUT!! Hiking back
UP the 11 degree slope was
wayyyyyy more tedious than we thought it would be!
After a 45minutes of hiking down and up the tunnel, we returned to the tour bus and made our way to the Unification Village for a 15 minutes stop over before heading back to Seoul. Didn't see much at the Unification Village as it looks rather deserted. The villagers staying in the Unification Village will have to marry a fellow villager! Yes, they are forbidden to be engaged to anyone outside of the village! Furthermore, they villagers are subjected to a daily curfew. All the villagers need to return to the village by 11pm daily if they travel out of the village. :\ Sounds very unappealing, doesn't it?
By the time we reached Lotte Hotel, it was 5.30pm. Mr Kwek and I were stuffing. We made our way to Gwangjang market for our dinner. :)
Gwangjang market was very happening when we arrived at around 6.30pm! Many native were already patronizing their favorite stores for dinner. After walking around for awhile, we settled down at a store which was situated in the middle of the market and started ordering our usual favorite street snacks.
The food was awesome! Highly recommended to all who wants to experience the culture of Korea! Other than being a little dirtier than expected, everything else about Gwangjang market was great! The food, the people, the atmosphere.... everything just feels so Korean... just like what is witnessed in K-dramas! :)
After dinner, we left to explore the market a little more before returning to our hotel to rest.
Next up will be day 5 on Suwon! A really nice and cozy little town which is situated a mere half an hour train ride from Seoul! :)
Korea Day 1: Seoul [[Ewha Woman University + N Seoul Tower + Namdaemun]]
Korea Day 2: Seoul [[Gyeongbokgung Palace + Tosokchon + Buckchon Hanok Village + Insadong + Myeong Dong Kyoja]]
Korea Day 3: Seoul [[Nami Island + Petite France + Red Sun Budae-jjigae + Dongdaemum]]
Korea Day 5: [[Suwon Hwaseong Fortress+ Folk Village + Walnut cake+ Lotteria + Haha Restaurant Pal Ja Mak Chang]]
Korea Day 6: Busan [[Nampodong Street + Yongdusan Park + Busan Tower + Gwangbok-dong Cultural & Fashion Street + Jagalchi Market + Gwangalli beach]]
Korea Day 7 Finale: Busan [[Haedong Yonggungsa Temple + Haeundae Beach + Gukbap Alley + Gamcheon Culture Village]]
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