so today was a day of high political drama and personal mishaps!
the DMZ is the demilitarized zone seperating north and south korea and is 2km each side of the armistice line so 4km wide . our tour guide said there is no 'D' in the DMZ and its heavily militarized and even mined. also they were very strict on photography and tours have even been cancelled short and have to return to seoul for violations. ironically the DMZ has become a wilderness zone and many species of bird and wildlife are thriving in this protected area

so this is like a giant army base and you are going thru checkpoints and having your passport checked. one way to describe would be like going to berlin during the cold war and seeing the crossing points at the wall. our first stop was the dora observatory. this is a lookout point where you can see north korea in the distance and can look thru binoculars. however, they have a yellow line you are not allowed to pass with cameras so you have to use your zoom lens.
















video : dora observatory http://www .youtube.com/user/londone73#p/u/7/r6Us2K67a1o

there are some villages that fall within the 4km wide DMZ and we can see two freedom villages on each side of the border in the distance. the south koreans erected a huge mast with a giant flag. the north koreans responded but building a mast double size and an even larger flag. but because of the wind drag only the south korean flag is able to blow. the north korean one is called a propoganda village as they built fancy houses to try to make life look good in the north

next we go to the third infiltration tunnel. the north koreans had been building tunnels to attack seoul which is only 1 hour drive from the border. since the 1970s four have been publically declared as 'found' although the army could have found others, and the search is on for the fifth tunnel. so first we go down like miners in one of those trolley trains going down at 45 degrees for about 300m or 22 stories . down there it was cold and wet. the tunnel height is built for korean soldiers and designed to be too small for larger americans.  

video : trolley car to infiltration tunnel
http://www.youtube.com/user/londone73#p/u/6/HMRJGsNOriY

you can walk down a long tunnel to the north korean border where there is an iron gate. thru the window in the gate you can see a second iron gate. there are three gates seperating the tunnel and no photography is allowed in the tunnels. also the north koreans claim the tunnels are old mines and have been painting them black even though they are angled to drain water back to north korea.

next we go to the dorason train station. this was designed to be a unification line going to pyongyang and part of the transiberian railroad thru russia across to europe. george bush had visited the station and made a speech and it lies empty waiting for passengers one day as no trains are running . they even made us pay 500won (.50 cents) for a fake ticket to go onto the platform to give it the feel of an operating station. lunch was then bibimpab at a traditional korean restaurant sitting on the floor. the afternoon was the highlight when we get as close as we can to the north korean border. first they take us to freedom bridge which is used for prisoner exchanges and maybe even a replica in a bond movie.

video : freedom bridge http://www.youtube.com/user/londone73#p/u/5/F1w91qWdA_U

now i divert my story. i had a really nice spring jacket i had for a few years that always goes with my on my travels. it rolls up and stores in a pouch with a pull string so i can use it as a pillow. i left it on the bus in a bag with my drink, food, and maps. because i was the front seat, the driver does a clean out and thinks my bag is garbage and throws it out. lucky my passport, camera and nothing important was in it. we try searching thru the garbage bins but its already gone and we have to stay on the tour schedule due to the military checkpoints . i didnt know they had assigned seating and i was told to take seat 3. i even asked if i could change for a window at the back but they said the tour was full.

now we go nose to nose with the north korean border in the Joint Security Area (JSA). after another checkpoint we have to get off the bus and board a blue UN bus. the bus is driven by a soldier and two soldiers stay on the bus to observe. again, no photograpy whatsoever. the bus takes us to freedom house. this is designed for the two sides to have face to face conversations. so we go inside a blue building like one of those portable classrooms. there are two doors each end, we enter from south korea, the other door opens to north korea. a soldier stands by the north door to prevent anyone from opening the door. we have a strict 5 min time limit to take photos in the room with the soldiers and of the chairs etc. we can see soldiers outside the windows standing guard

video : inside freedom house (no filming was allowed)
http://www .youtube.com/user/londone73#p/u/4/8WVdcz9PUrw

then we are told to leave the building and go back to a distance outside. again, we have a strict 3 mins to take pictures of the cabin from a distance. facing from the opposite side is a similar building in north korea. all the drapes were closed and you see a soldier hiding behind the pillar watching us with binoculars. i tried to zoom in but he was in the shade so i dont know how it came out. also no waving to the north koreans or they will edit the photo and show people you were giving them the finger.

then we board the blue UN bus again as it does a drive by. they also show us a spot where they had tried to cut a tree one time but it started arms fire in the 1970s killing two soldiers as the north wanted the overgrown tree to obscure things. Camp Bonifas is now named after the first soldier that died




video : freedom house (no filming was allowed)
http://www .youtube.com/user/londone73#p/u/3/NyCzrepTCEM

video : driving past freedom house (got busted!)
http://www.youtube.com/user/londone73#p/u/2/GOa872iX7pY

after we transfer back to our bus and pass thru the checkpoint again our tour is done and we head back to seoul. now the tour operators were trying to think of a solution to my jacket as i said i live in daegu and these are the clothes i brought with me. my jacket was from canada and i dont know if they have my sizes here. they suggested the driver pay for my jacket and asked me how much i want? i didnt feel right taking money from the driver so said it was ok but for him to check in future. the bag was heavy with food items that were in new unopened packets so he could not have thought it was garbage had he checked and seen a fold up jacket

so i was heading back to itaewon anyway to eat and this is where they have western size clothes so i decided to look for a jacket . some of the stores just had rappers clothes which they consider 'plus sizes' and the evening was getting chilly, not like in daegu. eventually i find a nice jacket for 39,000won ($35) almost as good as the old one. i also found a large travel bag for some overnight trips as my backpack is not going to be enough and all the gym bags i saw in daegu were small and expensive.

for dinner i go back to the samarkand restaurant as i havent really tried uzbekh food before and this one served better meals than their other restaurant in daegu. so i had a lamb and potatoe soup, a soft pasty filled with mincemeat and onions, and a lamb skewer. everything was delicious and i would certainly go back here again. i get back to the guesthouse at night and cant find the key. there is a big iron door to get into the walled garden so i cant shout or tap the window. luckily i still had their phone number, i almost cleaned it out in the morning thinking i dont need it anymore.

you can eat well in seoul and never eat korean food or even speak korean which is a shame . in daegu i am trying local food slowly and have to work on the language. seoul is a nice place to visit and it did grow on me from when i first arrived. but i would not live here. its colder and its only 2 hours anytime i want to come on the high speed train so i can come anytime on a friday nite or saturday and spend a day or the weekend here.

next weekend is the andong mask dance festival north of daegu so i will head there, but i'm going to take it easy after that as has been too much too soon! i still didnt make it to the beach in busan or gyeongju which was the silla capital for 1000 years but lets see..... :-))