Sarah, it's 10 to 8! (DMZ Tour)

Having planned every other part of our vacation, today was the first actual tour we were to take.

After waking up at "4:30am", I rolled over for some additional sleep, as we didn't have to leave the hostel until 7:00am, to catch the subway across the city, for our tour departure at 8:00am. At the time I felt like I had had enough sleep and should go down to the computers to update the blog, but decided otherwise. I eventually got up at "6:00am" to get ready and went downstairs to use the internet while Sarah got ready. I passed the grandfather clock in the lobby, which showed the time to be 7:50am, instead of "6:40am", thinking that the clock was not working properly I logged onto a computer, which confirmed the time of 7:50am. I raced up stairs and startled Sarah with the news. Having spent 200,000 Won ($250 CAN) on the tour, we freaked. It appears that Sarah's watch (my watch died back in Tokyo), had lost 1 hour and 10 minutes, somehow. We had caught buses at the correct time back in Sokcho, so it happened sometime between Tuesday evening and Thursday morning.

With wet hair and no makeup, Sarah quickly got dressed and made a phone call to the tour company to inform them that we'd missed our pickup. She was able to find out of another pick-up point, so we hailed a taxi on the street and took off. Sarah had to make another call to the tour company from the taxi driver's cell, as the driver didn't understand the name of the hotel and location, as Sarah stated it. Luckily, the second pick-up point was actually closer for us and the taxi only cost us 4000 Won. With time to spare, Sarah went into the ladies restroom to dry her hair and apply some makeup. Sarah couldn't get a break though, as she was ushered out after a few minutes, as three gentlemen in suits put up a red rope and swept both restrooms. It was unclear, but it seemed as though someone important was going to be coming down to use one of them. Considering this hotel had an indoor golf course, it is possible it was someone of high stature.

Unsure if we were on our originally planned tour or a substitute because of our screw up, we went for the 60km ride north to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone).

The tour proceeded with a three security/passport checks by the ROK (Republic of Korea) military, in order to visit the Camp Bonifas for a briefing and then the JSA (Joint Security Area) where the Demarcation Line separating the two countries is. Unfortunately, as there was a tour on the North Korean side (which happens rather infrequently, 1:15 ratio), so we were unable to go into the conference room, that allows visitors to cross over to the other side. We then went up to a lookout point that allows you to see the Propaganda Village that has been set up on the north side, but of course it was foggy. Being disappointed with the lack of pictures were allowed to take on the tour, we picked up some postcards at the souvenir shop and the photo album (3 group shots) that were taken during the tour.

We were under the impression that we were on the half day tour, as it was indicated that after lunch the tour would be heading back to Seoul, luckily however our English tour guide, pulled us aside and indicated that we'd be joining another group, to go view the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel, the Dora Observatory and the Dorasan Railroad.

The 3rd Tunnel was discovered in 1978 with the assistance of the tunnel engineer who had defected from the north. The decent into the tunnel was very steep and made for a great workout on the way out. The majority of the tunnel was under 6' tall, so the hard hat came in handy, as I knocked my head off of the tunnel several times. Sarah didn't have the same experience. Of note, this is the tallest, but shortest of the 4 tunnels discovered to date. It has been developed as an south "propaganda" site, which South Koreans can visit. The South Koreans must apply to visit the JSA, which can take up to one year to process. The Dora Observatory was supposed to provide another vantage point for viewing the North Propaganda Village, but it was still foggy. The final stop within the secured area was the last train station in South Korea, which was connected to the north in 2000. Unfortunately the North declined to allow the railway to open, so it is basically a new unused train station.

On our way back to the bus, I snapped off a shot of the Dora Observatory. We were quickly confronted by a soldier, who required me to delete the picture. Our tour guide was surprised by the request, but none the less I complied. The tour concluded in Seoul with a stop over at an Amethyst dealer, a popular stop for the Japanese tourists.

We spent the evening eating and I-shopping (window shopping) in Insadong.