I Could Toss a Rock into the North

So I had to get up early today because I finally got a tour of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). For those of you who are a little rusty on your history, the DMZ is the most heavily fortified border in the world that links North Korea and the South. You have to have a passport, go through checkpoints and bypass minefields to get there. My type of trip!

I won't bore you with historical data in this blog. If you want to know those things, you can ask to see my pictures (or lack thereof- they don't take kindly to pictures there) when I get back. Instead, I will tell you the story of how I almost missed the tour.

I got lost. Big surprise. I had to be there at 745 and I got off the subway at 730. I had plenty of time. Only, as I stated before, I got lost. I entered what I thought was the Lotte Hotel. I was instructed to go to the 6th floor. I found an elevator and got on. Only the elevator didn't stop on the 6th floor- just the 11th. So I take the elevator to the 11th and walk down. I open up the 6th floor door and it was an empty movie theater. Crap. I look at my clock, 738. I decide to walk down the stairs back to the 1st floor. I walk down 6 flights of stairs and get to the 1st floor door. Locked. The whole building was dark. Holy crap. I'm going to miss this tour. I RUN back up 11 flights of stairs, get the elevator and take it back down to 1. I, panting and sweating, ask a guy where the lobby of the Lotte Hotel is. He takes pity on me and points me in the right direction. I arrive, a couple minutes late but find most people havent even checked in yet. All for naught. At least I got some exercise.

Tonight I have made plans to attend a traditional Korean performance at the Chongdong Theater. http://www.chongdong.com/chongdong_english/index.asp . I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.

Bits and Pieces

-I dont have a Vietnam visa yet. The clock is ticking. Stay tuned.

-I saw the Korean Stephanie Tanner in the subway today.

-I have a standing offer to eat dog meat tomorrow night. I'm not sure if I will accept.

-Has anyone seen the Street Views option on Google Earth? Simply amazing. It will literally show you what my front door looks like. Along with my car on the street. I'm blown away.

-Random t-shirt sighting of the day "Essence of fresh brimming hum". Chuck, I think the Rodriguez Bros would sell really well over here. You just had the wrong market in the States.

*Take note I made two blog posts in 30 minutes so be sure to check out What Happened Yesterday*

Until next time...