Advertisement
Published: April 1st 2013
We seem to manage to hit the hot spots wherever we travel. Like the morning we cruised into Inchon, Korea. Dennis Rodman’s friend, Kim Jong Un, mentioned that he was going to attack South Korea and for good measure maybe the United States also. Our tour guide told us that we were very brave to be visiting at this time of heightened tensions between the two Koreas. It all seemed pretty calm to me as we went about our business of touring. There is a huge statue of General MacArthur towering over Inchon to commemorate his successful landing there during the Korean War. He probably wouldn’t mind another go at it.
Korea calls its wind-chill factor the “feeling temperature.” Today it was feeling pretty cold at -4C but we trudged on and fortunately the predicted rain/sleet didn’t materialize.
Amy, our guide, told us a lot about Korean life. We were visiting a folk village, not unlike Williamsburg, which is a living and working glimpse into the traditional way of Korean life. It was quite fascinating to see the rice wine being made, the storage pots for the kimchee, the various uses of straw for everything from bedding to shoes
to roofs and fences. At the Dutiful Wife Statue, Amy told us that not much has changed there. A wife is supposed to keep her mouth closed for the first three years of her marriage, then keep her eyes closed the next three and finally keep her ears closed the following three years. After that time she may be accepted by her in-laws. Amy isn't in any hurry to start the three year regime.
When we returned from the tour, Rose Anne and Jerry came aboard for a visit. They are bridge instructors and we have cruised many miles together over the years. Dr Tinkle loved his teacher Rosie. They are sailing around Asia on Oceania Nautica.
To get in and out of the port of Inchon it is necessary to pass through a lock. When we were leaving, the wind was so strong that it took two tug boats and the ship’s powerful thrusters to get us into the narrow lock. This is the only lock we have been in on the Voyager except for the Panama Canal.
We had a farewell party for our guests departing in Beijing. We usually like to have our Cruise
KOREAN TOTEM POLES
All over the worldSpecialists parties outdoors but common sense prevailed and we had a fun get together up in the cozy Observation Lounge.
We have been to a section of the Great Wall outside of Beijing. This time we decided to go to another well preserved portion of the wall which is not so frequented by travelers. The Great Wall of Hangyaguan is about a two hour bus ride from Tianjin, the port city of Beijing. It was a fascinating ride through an ever developing countryside. Our guide Jason said that the national bird of China is the building crane and it is everywhere. Even as a strong Maoist, Jason did say that the Cultural Revolution was a disaster for the country.
After a great Cantonese lunch, we started climbing the "Great Wow." Awesome would be a good word to describe this architectural wonder. The Great Wall is also called the 5000 Kilometer Wall of Savagery due to the high worker mortality rate. It is estimated that over 100,000 forced laborers died from the harsh weather and extreme working conditions and were buried within the wall. Climbing up the wall on a cold winter’s day will give you a hint of
THE WISHING ROCK
Make your dreams come true what it must have been like for the workers. The wall was built to keep out the marauding Manchurian and Mongolian tribes. Now it attracts wandering hordes of tourists.
We were happy to ride back to our lovely floating home and begin our journey southward to warmer climes.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.061s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 13; qc: 28; dbt: 0.031s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
auspicious
Michelle Duer
I loved the humor in your blog. I think that the younger generation in Korea is slowly changing and gaining independence, and the fact that many men are sent off to the army while their female counterparts continue with their higher education has had an unintended equalizing effect (though I wouldn't say things are entirely equal because of it). The saying about the dutiful wife is so true and representative of the subtle humor present in a lot of Korean sayings. This one rings more true when considering couples sticking to the traditional route of also living with the husbands family. The wife must take care of her in-laws and if she marries the youngest son of several sons, she must also cater to any older brothers and their wives. Eek~! Great blog and thanks for sharing.