SOUTH KOREA

Flying into Seoul, South Korea was, thankfully, quite easy and boring. We did get scanned for fever at the airport, but since that didn't slow us down or anything, it was no big whup. Just for fun, each time either of us sneezed or cough before leaving the Philippines we'd say to the other, "Uh, oh! Better not be swine flu!"

Ah, the silly jokes between travelers.

Anyway, as soon as we arrived we met Paul, our Couchsurfing host, and he immediately took us out for traditional Korean bbq and soju, some really strong national liquor. The food was good. Any food would be good after the unsatisfying fare of the Philippines, but, really, Korean food is very good. I didn't know if I'd like the kim chee, but I love the crunchy spiciness of it! Korea is the first place we've been to in a long time where you get lots of veggies with your meals: kim chee, cucumber salad, pickled radish, and more kim chee.

Since we only have 11 days here, we've decided to spend a lot of it sightseeing. Our first sight was a quiet hillside, popular with the local shamans. It's tucked away behind huge apartment buildings and is quite peaceful and green. There's a small buddhist temple nestled there as well.

The next day (my birthday!!), we visited the DMZ and it's about as weird as what little I've read said it would be. The weirdness began about 30 min away, with the banks of the river Han covered with barbed wire and high fences, with guardposts every 200m. It's strange to think that South Korea has been on edge, anticipating an invasion from North Korea, and has been for years. Strange that North Korea has dug tunnels into SK (at least 4, that have been found), and that they tried to disguise one as a coal mine. Strange being told not to point, when to take pictures. Strange seeing soldiers on each side poised, still as statues, facing each other. The photo-happy Indonesians and the gift shop at the end were also weird.

Speaking of weird, we're currently staying at a love motel. Yes, that's love as in "bow-chikka-bow-waah." I know you're picturing some tiny, dingy room with questionable linens, but the rooms are quite nice. This current one has a big bed, huge-screen cable TV (with one free porn channel), mini-fridge with one beer and one small soju, instant coffee, one juice, several bite-sized candies, his and hers robes, full bath, big bottles of shampoo, conditioner, gels and lotions, toothpaste and toothbrushes. The food items are included in the low-low price of W30,000 (less than USD30). AND all you have to do is pay up front for the night and leave in the morning. No paperwork or nothing! (The manager didn't speak any English, but thanks to a couple of phrases in the guidebook we were able to make our wants known. I guess the big bags weren't much help.)