Suwon, Fortress City!

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Took the subway out to Suwon today -- an hour ride each direction.... I had thought that Suwon would be a little town surrounded by walls and gates, and it was, sort-of.... Actually, it was a huge city (think the size of Toronto) with a smaller section (think the size of downtown Toronto) that was behind walls and gates. And of course, it was on a mountain! We climbed and climbed and climbed and still only saw about 1/10 of the wall. It was hot (surprise!) of course and we were soaked by the time we got part-way up. I really wonder about the altitude though, because I have trouble breathing just climbing stairs. I know I'm not THAT in shape, but to be huffing and puffing after climbing about 25 stairs is a little worrisome!

We also stopped in at the UNESCO site where they had rebuilt(?) the fortress and had some museum-like displays. Got some cool pics of mannequins in costume so I hope that they turn out (glare on the windows)....

It was an interesting day, but of course, hot. I was quite jealous to hear that at home it has been a little chilly. I would kill for chilly! Guess we'll see what happens when I get home. Maybe a day or two of that and then I'll be pining away for the heat again??

Tomorrow we're planning to go to Itaewon here in Seoul, which is a section of the city dedicated to foreigners. I think it started out as an area for US soldiers, but since they have souvenirs, shopping and Western food, sounds good to me! I just have trouble not KNOWING what I'm eating. Sure there are pictures at all the Korean restaurants, but it's hard to tell what it is (type of meat?) or if something is spicy. After the cayenne peppered spaghetti, I'm much more cautious!

I'm dying for chicken though. They don't seem to serve that here much at all, and if they do, it's deep fried or just the leg of the chicken. :P Where's the white meat???? They also don't seem to have much variety in vegetables. Erika is going into vegetable withdrawal due to the lack of veggies available. You can have salad (if you can find it!) and kimchi. Or corn on the cob at a street vendor! I've not yet eaten from a street vendor -- once again, using caution with my food intake!

Anyway, that's the news from here for today!

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Comments

[Nathan]

Hungry
Hmmm octopus...sounds yummy! A little too late in the trip to be looking for postcards eh Sue? Ha ha.

[Sue70]

Nary a postcard in sight!
Hey Nathan! I would be much more interested in eating the octopus if it didn't have suction cups all over its tentacles..... Just can't eat that! I do much better with squid. And I've been looking for postcards since Day One. They just don't seem to sell them much over here, even at the touristy areas. Very different from home.

[Dave]

Postcards
Have you tried a Post Office ? I know, strange idea... postcards at a post office, but it really does happen in Asia. Oh, and Percy says that if you want to eat a new type of meat (not likely), you should go to the "health food" restaurants where they sometimes serve dog meat "for stamina". As for chicken, I found that in Asia they basically don't like white meat at all and they might even chuck it in the garbage for all I know, preferring to eat fat-and-gristle dark meat. Weird.

[Sue70]

Found some!
Dave, I actually did find postcards in Seoul at Insadong, which is a touristy area. They only seemed to sell them in packages of 10-12 but I found some. Even mailed a few already! No postcards at the post office where I sent them from though..... Went to the big electronics superstore too today and was not very impressed. Apparently the cameras are 1-4 years older than models at home (Erika works for FutureShop) and are the same price as new ones at home. Nothing special to see unfortunately. :( Ate at an Outback Steakhouse for lunch though -- had chicken fingers made from WHITE meat!!! :D I'll take a pass on the dog meat.