Thursday, June 06, 2013

Seoul Searching


We slept late. The kids rejoiced. We had a leisurely breakfast - kids under 10 eat free on the buffet.

As we walked to the restaurant I heard, "De'Etta!" I'd not realized how nice it is to be recognized by someone. ::snort:: Rhojon had stopped by with some antibiotic cream, granola bars and fruit! What a sweet gift.

We opted for taxis today as we would save time and not have to mess with an unfamiliar subway system.  We had two items on our agenda: Coex Mall/Aquarium and Korean War Memorial.  The taxi driver was a bit hesitant but in the end we had a good ride. He told us today is a Korean Holiday - Memorial Day - and so the traffic was VERY good. SCORE. We soon discovered all the preschool families were at the aquarium and the older families were at the war memorial...and the subway stations were a zoo....the taxis both ways were cheaper than the desk told us to pay.....taxis were the way to go today! We were in awe of 10 lanes on one street.

Coex mall is HUGE...think hotel, conference rooms, giant theater, floors of underground and above ground shopping, restaurants and a cool aquarium. We spent about an hour walking around trying to find the food court. ::snort::

Gangnam Style vending machines ::snort:: 

 We were excited when we deciphered the instructions for the lockers outside of the Coex Aquarium...an Aquarium in a mall...what a concept.

I was surprised when they wanted to see my passport as ID before they let me buy tickets....strange.

One highlight of the aquarium visit is the inventive items used for aquariums. The fish don't show up clearly, but they are there if you look closely.


Classic - aquarium in a vending machine


Fish in the fridge

 


I think these were my favorite....fish in the lamps....


Mailbox

Decor in the Amazon Forest was impressive

Posing with Giant Gourami and Piraruchu

What could be the big attraction at the aquarium? PRAIRIE DOGS! 


Love the water tunnels....and the slow moving conveyor built...great idea to keep folks moving along. 

This is 1/2 of the theater....yummy smelling popcorn

As a side note - I could NOT buy the cosmetics I was trying to buy - they wanted my flight number and they couldn't understand the whole Space A system. 

Check out the line at Burger King. I've not seen one of these in Japan. We didn't eat here...we continued on to the food court and had curry and naan bread. 

Younger two woke up as I snapped....tired kids as we headed back across town. 

Korean War Memorial




The turtle ship

Loved these military banners and shields




I didn't let the kids climb on things until I saw Korean kids climbing on them.  

Um....son....










We walked back to the hotel and received GREAT news. Our stay has been extended for two more nights. We'll check out on Sunday and head for Osan for Sunday/Monday.  


This was our first day to go out on our own in Seoul. It is certainly different without the buffer of a tour guide. ::snort:: We have spent some time discussing the similarities and  differences in this new culture from the other Asian cultures we've observed. We've also wondered if Korea could ever have our heart as Japan does. I'm not sure.

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...