version without pictures printable pdf single page March 13 • March 15
We were prepared for today by a long list of what we were not to wear to South Korea and the DMZ. Thou shall not were jeans of any kind or any sports clothes of any kind so we obeyed!
What a fascinating day. We left the ship at 8:15 am and arrived back about 6:30 p.m. and in the process added another country — North Korea!
We were in the group that toured Seoul in the morning and the DMZ in the afternoon which was the order I was hoping for. No pictures allowed as we drove by their White House which was a Blue House where their President lives. It took us about an hour and a half from the ship to reach that point. Next we toured the ground of a very large temple and the residence of their royalty. Steps were exceedingly high and courtyards were bumpy so I walked a lot pushing the wheel chair. This venture reminded me of our only other time in Korea years ago where we went to a declared World Heritage site on the trip when we were circumnavigating Japan.
This was followed by an amazing historical and cultural museum. We didn’t have enough time here but zoomed around and did our best. No time for the gift shop so not one dime did we spend in Korea. It was beautifully done. We saw the cultural costume part and all but the historical part. All items were tastefully mounted and beautifully displayed.
We lunched on a hilltop at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Traffic was plentiful and Seoul has it’s share of high rises looking quite modern and beautiful. Seoul has 12 million occupants. The hotel was something. We had to go by many driveways to get to the lunch room avoiding the stairs. We actually saw a very grand hotel lobby that others missed in going this way. Large banks of yellow orchids. We lunched in the Grand Ballroom which had a waterfall outside a huge window. Hard to photograph well because I was shooting into the light. We sat at a table with Spence and Anping both who had lectured to us. At one time the conversation turned to communicating with one’s children. Three couples said they had children working in jobs that they couldn’t talk about which the mother’s found very frustrating. We chimed in with our son who tells us about his job and we couldn’t understand what he was teaching! [Gee, I wonder to whom she refers?]
It took us about another one and a half hours to drive north to Panmunjon. Both high rises and country side with farming land on the way. A bit into the demilitarized zone we switched buses and had an orientation first in a large hall by an officer who spoke in machine gun rapidity! Back into the buses and went through a zone with no pictures and then we could take pictures most of the way. A Lt. Colonel Lee spoke to us at several of the lookout points. We first stopped outside a very modern building. While we were waiting our turn in a small briefing room we had our first view of North Korean soldiers and officers. Guess what two were protecting one who was taking a picture of us even as I shot Phil with them in the background! A mutual curiosity session!!
After a few viewpoint stops we arrived at the place where negotiations have been held. One side in the room was North Korea and the other South Korea. Microphones went down the center of the table. We made sure we took each others picture next to the rigid guard on the North Korea side.
Our guide today was our poorest one to date. She was rather sing-songee and the quality of her information wasn’t so good. Trying to piece together some of her info. It takes 4 German West Berliners to support one Eastern Berliner (after the wall came down) it takes two from South Korea to support every one North Korean. The marriage age in Korea is early 30’s for men and late 20’s for women. They need to work and save $100,000 for the first two years of rental of an apartment. They pay in advance but are able to get it all back after two years. They pay about $150 maintenance each month for heating etc. Most Korean’s move every two years.
After arriving back on the ship I made a bee line for the pool and had about 30 minutes of swimming and hot spaing before showering and getting ready for an 8pm dinner. The pool is heated and delightful. I forgot my life jacket but did fine because it was salt water and I could float. I finally solved my drying my hands before I get out of the pool problem. I take my cane with a seat and park it with a towel on the seat right near the ladder where I go in and out. Thus I can dry my hands and not slip back into the pool! The spa felt wonderful. Joan Brennan and her husband Tom Passell brought their bucket with champagne to our room before dinner. We have one of the largest suites so we chatted a bit before our 8pm dinner reservation in the Italian restaurant. It’s lovely and quiet there and this is our second dinner together. We enjoy them very much. She is the retired Federal Judge living in Palo Alto.
We hustled off for the second concert by Katya Grineva. She plays beautifully and tonight we bought her two CD’S. Phil went off to bed at 10:30 but I had a hot toddy with Kathleen and a few others plus Don Kendall before retiring at 11 pm. Good night!