An early morning start, an possibly the most expensive bagel Lyn has eaten. Weekdays breakfast is served in the lounge upstairs, and due to my temporary platinum status it is free (theoretically, I believe that it is only me who should get the free food, but they are very lax and don’t seem to care if you take in a guest). At week ends they have breakfast in the lobby cafe, here they seem a little more strict and have you sign for the buffet breakfast at $31 a pop. Lyn had just a bagel and glass of OJ! Lets see what happens.
We were waiting in the lobby after breakfast for the shuttle bus to take us to the main departure point for a trip to Panmunjeom, which is on the N. Korean border within the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ). We had been speaking to the concierge and he knew our departure time was 7:20. At 7:21 he cam over and asked which tour company we were with, and immediately phoned them to find out where the bus was, evidently in Korea 7:20 means 7:20! It appears one of the guests at the previous hotel had overslept and caused a 2o minute delay. The bus arrived and off we went with much bowing and apologising from the tour guide. Soon the plan began to unravel, and there were heated discussions between the driver and the tour guide. It seemed that the driver didn’t know where he was going, wasn’t able to programme the GPS and wasn’t doing anything (including driving) fast enough. The bus was picking up people for a number of different tours, but we were the only ones on this particular tour. Because of security issues surrounding this tour we had to be at the collection point at a specific time so that our passports could be inspected.
We met up with another shuttle bus an were transferred to it in an effort to speed things up, buy apparently this bus had to wait for other people before he could leave! Next thing we knew a minivan drew up and with more apologies we transferred to it for a high speed drive across Seoul.
Finally we got onto the tour bus and headed about an hour north to the border. On the bus we were given a list of rules that HAD to be obeyed or the tour could be cancelled. The area we were visiting was the JSA (Joint Security Area) which is administered by the UN, and it was their rules that had to be obeyed. Cameras could only be used when the guide gave us permission. No pointing or other hand gestures were allowed within the JSA, sandals were not allowed (they slowed down egress if you had to run like h**l if an incident occurred), the only item you could carry was a camera, all other items had to be left on the tour bus.
Some rules made sense, others appeared to be nothing more than a bureaucrats job justifying effort.
The JSA is out of bounds to South Korean citizens due to the emotions it could evoke within them, the only way to gain access was via an accredited tour. There were three checkpoints we had t go through for passport, clothing and footwear inspections. (ripped jeans, shorts and various other types of clothing were not allowed!)
At the second check point we had another briefing outlining the area we were in, we then transferred to a military coach and picked up a soldier to accompany us. Through another checkpoint and we were finally at our destination.
The blue hut is where any talks take place between the North and the South
Meeting Room
The North / South border can be seen between the blue huts as a raised concrete platform. There are also 3 South Korean guards in the foreground, and one North Korean Guard at the top of the steps in front of the white building (right side of left most doors).
Border
Inside the meeting room the is the conference table that straddles the border. The photo below was taken while I was standing in North Korea.
Table Along Border
Guard in Meeting Room
Once we had finished this part of the trip we were driven around the JSA area past the Bridge of No Return. After the armistice was signed Korean citizens were given a one time chance to cross into either the North or the South to live. Once this choice had been made there was no turning back, hence the name.
Bridge Of No Return
Having bored you with all this, we’ll now leave the DMZ and head out for lunch. We stopped at a typical Korean restaurant where we had to remove our shoes before entering the dining area. Luckily we were sat at western type tables, rather than been sat on the floor.
As we left the restaurant we drove through a series of rice (paddy) fields
Rice Field
Next stop was back in Seoul, where we now appear to have mastered the subway, on the way to the station we passed Seoul City Hall
Seoul City Hall
The end of his entry is a little rushed as the internet is showing signs of terminal collapse, and I have just recovered from writing this entry while watching a rather hilarious episode of Top Gear on BBC.