I was up early, maybe 6am and did my things, had breakfast of beans on toast which they had left out and was ready about 7.10. I went on the computer expecting that the bus might be a bit late but it turned out to be outside so I logged of and got on board. There was just one girl there and she was listening to music. The bus headed east and picked up a few more people but was still fairly empty however we stopped and had to get onto a full size coach which already had quite a few people on and soon had some more and we left with 32 people but still some spaces on the bus so I had a seat to myself and the girl from earlier who was called Marie also had 2 seats. We talked a bit and she was from France and lived and worked as a vet in Ho chi minh city. She was here in South Korea for a week and was off to Jeju soon so I recommended some places before she had a nap. The bus went west and our guide was called Mr Han which was easy to remember as he called us Han's guests. He was wearing quite bright white clothes and had a habit of writing numbers in the air as he said them but despite me making a bit of fun at him he spoke well and was a good guide. He pointed out the presidents blue house and the independence arch and the coach went quite close to my hostel so if they'd allowed it they could have save me time and them a pickup. It was an hour to our destination and Mr Han spoke a bit more on the way pointing out the fence and where North Korea was. Our first stop was where he would get tickets and we had 20 minutes to look around and there was a bell, a train and something else. The bell was called the bell of peace, while the train had been on its way to North Korea when the war had started and it had been shot but made it back with some damage and had been left here for people to see. There were other things around like a small park with a pond, a bunker you have to pay to go in, a railway bridge you can pay to cross and a building with a viewpoint on the roof although we couldn't see North Korea in the end. There were also quite a few information boards so I ended up running around trying to see everything and didn't quite make it. We left just a couple of minutes late and drove to the security zone where we were not supposed to take photos. A soldier checked our passports and then we could head on to the 3rd infiltration tunnel. We first went to a movie room to watch an 8 minute video which briefly covered the war and the tunnels. The guy who'd done the voiceover was a fairly gung ho American but it was ok. We went through a small museum and Mr Han took us to a photo where he could show the view we would gave soon and the things to look out for. Then we went across to the tunnel where we had to leave cameras, phones and most things in a locker although they didn't really check do we probably could have got away with it. The tunnel was about 73 metres below us so we had to walk down a sloped tunnel to get there and the gradient was 11% which doesn't seem like much but is pretty steep. The tunnel the North Koreans had dug was quite rocky as they had dynamited to create it and the ceiling was low so the hard hats we had to wear were useful as I bumped my head a few times. We weren't allowed photos and walked along to where to where the tunnel had been blocked with a fairly thin concrete wall although they did have 2 more blockades ahead and then we headed back and up. At the top I had a look through the museum which included incidents since the war such as the axe murder in the 70's. There were a few places to get your picture taken and also a gift shop. Again we were all on the bus just a couple of minutes late and we drove off to the observatory viewing area. There was a building there for the soldiers who were all supposed to military police and we weren't allowed in but some soldiers would have their picture taken with people and there was also the viewing platform with about 40 binoculars which cost ₩500 for a couple of minutes. I had a look across the border for a bit and took some photos before putting my money in and getting to see things closer although it didn't look that real through the binoculars. Despite only being there for 20 minutes I did get a bit bored and had a look in the souvenir shop which sold DMZ barbed wire amongst other things. We headed on back out through the security checkpoint where we had our passports checked again and Mr Han took back our lanyards he'd given us. It was past 12 so I ate some pretzels I'd bought the day before and also a cucumber. The last stop was the Dorasan train station which had been rebuilt in the hopes of running a train to North Korea sometime in the future and it had a customs area which was never used. The station was fairly new and quite empty apart from tourists like us. They did run trains here for people to go on the DIY tours and there were coaches waiting to take those people to the places we had been to. I looked around and read the George W Bush speech when he'd been here for the opening. Then I looked around outside and there was a peace park behind a barbed wire gate which was open. Unfortunately the park was 150 metres away along the fenced path and we were due to leave soon so I went back. The coach was only half full and a fair few people turned up a bit late before we could leave and head back to the city. Marie took the opportunity to nap and I tried to catch up on my blogs a bit as I was way behind. We arrived back in Seoul and went past a nice domed building I'd seen the other day. Mr Han said it was the national assembly and it was one of 3 famous buildings on the Yeoinaru island we were on now although it wasn't really an island anymore. We stopped at an amethyst factory where a lady did a brief introduction before we were ushered into the shop. Usually in places like this there is some demonstration of the stones being made, but here not so much. I had a quick look then decided to head off as this location was pretty good for me as I could see the national assembly and the head East hopefully all the way to the Olympic Park. I went to look for Mr Han as I wanted to thank him for the tour and also to say "suddenly Mr Han man I'd like to leave your island". Unfortunately I couldn't find him so I hand gestured to the driver to say I was off and told Marie as well when I saw her then I went to the Assembly building which was really great but unfortunately there was no access. I went from there to the assembly memorial hall which was open but all in Korean and there wasn't much to see but I think there were photos of politicians and presidents who had passed away. I headed towards the river where there was a park and saw a big impressive church. I went to have a closer look and there were ushers at the door and inside but they let me in and found me a seat and gave me a translation device with headphones. The hall was really big and I was near the back and it was a missionary conference or something with a lot of people there. I stayed for 5 to 10 minutes until they started singing and I headed out. I checked the map and decided to go to another park nearby first and got a view of the LG building which was quite plain for me. The park was ok and it was a glorious day so a shame I didn't have any sunglasses. The park took me to the other park along the river front where there was a floating stage, a paddling pool and lots of people, many of them with tents. I carried on along the river park for a while and further along there was an aquarium so I had a look but if course it cost as did the art gallery. I left and the park had ended and there were busy roads with no obvious path that I could see. I walked along the road for a bit which was not that safe but safe enough but then I still needed to get across and the road was a bit too busy so I climbed up a bank and went along a road on a bridge to the other side. There was a big building in front of the railway and I went inside as it was a fish market. There was nothing I wanted not being a great lover of raw fish and I found a bridge over the railway and then as I was hungry went into a shop. They had a buy 2 get 1 offer on some sweet buns which had a fair few calories so I went for that and walked along the road to a park. There was a hill in the park and s building to commemorate some martyrs and their graves were a bit behind. There wasn't much else there but I used the toilet and got some drinking water. There was another park not too far along but not much there and then it was a bit of a walk to the next place so I put my music on but did see a shrine on a hill which was worth stopping for. I was hungry still and it was past 4pm so I got a rice ball to be a bit healthier. There was a news museum but it was shut however I got some water inside as it was a hot day I was drinking a lot. I found a path up and into the park along green fences before I was properly inside and went to some monuments and the place where a president and his wife where buried with gold urns there. From there I went south through the park and there were at first a few graves and then lots of graves as it was the Seoul national cemetery. I quite like cemeteries and this was a good one with lots of uniform graves and further on a building with flowers, statues and people buried inside. The ceiling was nicely painted as well and it had a tower on top I left and also left the cemetery through the gate and headed to the river. There was a big bridge across with some cafes up towers on the side so I took the lift up the east one for dome views but the windows were not clean enough. I went back down and along the river in another park which came to another island this one quite small but done nicely with flowers and such. A bit further along were man made islands or floating buildings with bridges to them, but nothing to interest me. By now it was past 6 and I still had a few places left to see south of the river or in Gangnam as it is known so I went to the nearest metro station and took it a few stops east. I got out and went to the nearby tombs which were still open and ₩1000 to enter. I was sure I'd been to the tombs when I was here in 2010 but there were a few of them so maybe not this one. Anyway I paid and went in and walked around looking at the 3 tombs which were a lot like the ones I remember seeing last time but then they all use similar designs. The hills were restricted so people have to peer in from the side to see them and the statues surrounding them. I left and went east again and walked past a bar that I thought had football on. I checked my watch and it was almost 8 and the website I'd looked at said the last day of the premier league kicked of at 11am which would be 8pm here. I went inside and the man there wanted me to order food but I wanted to know if they had the football first so he looked through all the channels but it wasn't on. I left and went to a Lotte duty free which I thought would be a supermarket but it was just clothes, bags, perfumes and such. It was late and I was thinking of heading back as the Olympic Park was a long way but first there was a temple just across the road so I went there and it was worth it. The place was lit up with lanterns and had a fair number of buildings some quite big and most of them lit up. I went around all the places and then went to the station and got a train back. I got a couple of things from the shop like some juice and found the hostel was fairly empty downstairs but there was an American who put on X-men Apocalypse. I watched a bit and did a few things on my phone before going upstairs where again the lights were on and people were chatting and watching things on their phones. There was also someone having a long shower and a couple others did as well and around midnight I had had enough and got the light off so I could go to sleep.
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