Korea Week 4

Home again; home again. Jiggidy Jig.

I am late writing this week, but to be fair I am both very sick and very tired. William has not adjusted to the time zone yet and I have strep. I will make this as brief as I can so that I can get in a much needed nap.

After I wrote last, Francis, William and I boarded the train in Busan (after taking the free hotel shuttle to the station) and after 2 hours and 45 minutes, we arrived in Seoul. Because we were at both the starting and ending point of the train, we had no issues getting our luggage on because we had plenty of time each place. After finding a cab who creatively fit all of our luggage in his car, we made it to our hotel in the bustling quater of Myeong-dong in Seoul. I saw more English than Korean in this area and heard nearly as much. Our hotel room was nice though extremely small, and they did not have a crib so we all had to sleep in a bed somewhere between a double and a queen size. I got no sleep, but it was not the end of the world.

Our first night we headed down to Itaewon to do some shopping. Again I heard and saw more English than Korean and after 3 1/2 weeks, it was slightly unnerving to understand all that was going around me and not to have to rely on gestures and broken Korean to get around. I know I am odd.

Wednesday, we decided to take a bus tour of the city. Leaving the subway, Francis fell down part of the stairs while holding William and screwed up his good ankle. He limped the whole day, but is fine now. After catching a bus, we stopped at Doeksugung Palace. While touring it alone (since Francis was in so much pain and needed to sit), I fell up a set of stairs while holding William (who survived both falls without a scratch) and embedded a bunch of gravel in my shins in knees. It was not fun, but I decided if Francis could carry on, so could I. The rest of our day trip included the Yongsan Electronic Mall, The national Museum of Korea, The Korean Wat Memorial Hall, and  Daehakro, Changgyeonggung, Chandoekgung, and Gwangwamun Palaces. It was a VERY busy day. The Electronic Mall was so bright inside that I thought I would go blind. When we finally went outside, it felt dark even though it was midday. The National Museum of Korea is one of the Largest Museums in the world. We only did one small wing and the Children's section because there were just so many people! It was gorgeous though. Speaking of gorgeous, one of the prettiest things we saw all day was the Korean War Memorial Hall which honored every war and event in which Korean men have fought. Francis drooled over all the antique planes, tanks, missile launchers and boats, but the actual memorial was beyond what I can describe. It was indoors and when you looked up, it looked like the pointed cieling never ended. In the center was a round pond/fountain with a single light in the middle. It was so simplistic yet so powerful. They museum had relics from every war in which Koreans have fought with particular attention to the Korean war. It was fascinating. As for the palaces, they all look the same. Open air with similar pagoda designs. I couldn't tell them apart if I tried.

Thursday morning Francis, William and I went down to Gangnam in Seoul because of the song that is so popular right now. It is a ritzy place! I would equate it to Beverly Hills. To get back to our side of the River Han, we took a river cruise which showed us the beautiful city scape. We worked our way back to Itaewon in time to finish shopping and finished up our night with a trip to the top of Seoul tower. We were told it would be at least a 2 hour wait by some of Francis's coworkers, but we went straight in and up! It was an amazing view! I wouldn't have traded that chance for anything. Such a great day!

Friday was our last day in Korea and we decided (because we are crazy), to take a DMZ tour. I will never be the same. We visited the third tunnel that the South Koreans found that was dug by their neighbors to the north. That was eye opening. We also heard about many of the precautionary measures the South Koreans take in case of an attack. I am so glad we did this last, or I would have been very paranoid! We visited an abandoned train station and observation deck where we could see over the border and look at a couple of villages, but the rain at this point was so think we could hardly see a thing. Finally we visited another train station that the furthest north in South Korea. The tracks used to connect through to the north, but they have been shut down for many years now. The South Koreans desperately want to reconnect with their counterpart, but from the looks of things, that time is still far away.

We had a safe trip home with very little stress. After all the traveling, I guess William was used to it because he was an angel on the plane. Everyone around us complimented him on his behavior. We saw my parents at DFW and then my in-laws spent the night at our house on their way back from Bastrop in order to watch William for the night. They are SO sweet to have helped us out.

Our whole trip was a resounding success and I am so glad you took the time to read about our adventures. I know we were crazy to take a 1 year old halfway across the world, but if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't change a thing!

The past couple of days have been an adjustment period. William has grown so much! He can now climb out of his crib as well as climb on the beds and couches. Toys that use to be too heavy for him are now easily moved and manipulated. He can walk up the stairs using only his legs and feet now instead of having to crawl up. His 2T clothing is starting to fit rather well and his larger 18 month clothing no longer fits. He is filling out his crib when he sleeps a lot more. He can use a fork and spoon with minimal trouble. He can now run after and catch the dogs with no trouble. He can even do the shape ball puzzle on his own!!! I can't believe how much he has grown!!! 

Ok, I seriously need to go to bed. William and I went to the doctor yesterday. William has a staff infection on a cut on his left pinky and I have strep. Hopefully we will both heal quickly and be back to normal in no time!!!