Tanks, And Snow, And Muh Mate

Just me getting ready for war

     Over my winter break, I was lucky enough to get a visit from an old friend.  Sotha and I grew up together, and have been best friends since we met in the sixth grade.  He lives near enough to Korea these days, that when he was given a small five day vacation, he was able to come for a visit.  We did a lot and had tons of fun.

     Sadly, I had to work the day Sotha arrived in 서울 (Seoul), so he was forced to explore a little on his own, but he is a resourceful guy, and managed ok.  I left straight from work, and was in 서울 (Seoul) by about 9:00pm that evening for our reunion.  We didn't waste anytime.  We went out for some Korean barbeque, and hit the bar scene in 홍대 (Hong-dae).  The bars in this part of 서울 (Seoul) are pretty nice.

Sotha and me in a bar where some friendly Russians bought us some drinks

     Other than eating and drinking, we visited the War Museum in 서울 (Seoul)   That is where the picture above was taken.  This museum is really cool and totally worth a visit.  First of all, they have some great statues in the front of the building, and along the side are some outdoor exhibits that range from airplanes to tanks to cruise missiles.  We were happy with our visit without even going inside, but it just got better once we actually did venture in.  The museum covers pretty much every war there has been in Korea.  You can see a replica of the famous ancient 거북 배 (Turtle Ship) (which is the ancient equivalent of a battleship), and see all about more modern wars like the Korean War, as well as other conflicts that Korea has been involved in.  Of course, being the most recent (and still technically not over) the Korean War is the main focus of the museum, but every exhibit was great.  They have lots of videos and interactive terminals to use, and even a few small movie theaters to view informative movies in.  It's a definite must for anyone in 서울 (Seoul) for more than a day, especially if you're a history or war buff.

The 거북 배 (Turtle Ship) replica

The monumental obelisk that dominates the front of the Museum

     We also visited the 서울 (Seoul) Tower.  It isn't actually that large of a tower, but it is placed on a small mountain that sits in 서울 (Seoul).  The view is pretty cool, but the best part of the visit was the martial arts demonstration they had just outside the base of the tower.  The group doing the performance cut through bamboo with real swords, and also told some sort of story, which I didn't understand much of, but seemed to be something like Romeo and Juliet.

     We spent one night in Namhae, so I could work, and so Sotha could see how a humble English teacher lives.  I think he liked it enough, but as it was still winter, and Namhae is more of a warm weather tourist destination, we got a bus to 진주 (Jinju) the next day.  We visited an ancient fort that is there in the city.  It was used to defend Korea from Japanese invasions hundreds of years ago.  Now it serves as part museum, part public park, and part monastery.  It is a really cool place, and I've been there a few times.  We didn't stay long in 진주 (Jinju) because we were eager to get to 서울 (Seoul), as we had an appointment the next day.

The view of 진주 (Jinju) from the fort at night

     We were lucky enough to book a day of skiing.  We had to catch a red-eye bus from 진주 (Jinju) to 서울 (Seoul) to make it in time for a short nap before meeting the bus to the resort.  We went skiing at 베어스타운 (Bear's Town) and they are only about an hour outside of 서울 (Seoul).   They actually will run free buses into the city to pick you up, you just have to call the day before to arrange it.  It isn't a huge resort, but the convenience was amazing and the skiing was still good.  We had a pretty amazing time, except that Sotha managed to lose his iPhone... oops.

Sotha and me just before heading down the mountain at 베어스타운 (Bear's Town)

     Other than that, we just spent some quality buddy time together, and tried to soak up some Korean culture.  It was an amazing visit, and a great way for me to have a (sort of) cheap vacation.  I hope I have lot's of friends that can come and visit me while I'm here!