First 24 Hours

My first day was great and packed with new things. I met Jina and her dad at the airport who were nice enough to pick me up, 2 hours from their home. We stopped on the way back at the Fish market. We got to pick out fish from the tank. The fish guy bashed them over the head a few times then turned them into sashimi for us. The best! The flesh is so firm its delicious. We also tried a speciality which is LIVE octopus/squid. You buy them alive and bring them home and either (1) stab them in the brain and eat them whole or (2) cut off their tentatcles and eat them while still writhing around. I did #2. Apparently you can soemtimes die if you do #1 because the octopus suctions your throat. Fun!

From Seoul & Hong Kong spread from the fish market, at jina's parents place

Next day we went the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which separates North and South Korea. A friend of Jina's family is in the Korean army and gave us a special access tour around the area, which is usually closed off except to military and pricey/limited tour buses. It's amazing how much easier it is to learn history when you are right there where it happend. North Korea is crazy - they put up this "promotional" town that can be seen from the South Korea side. Nobody lives there - its just to show off how people supposedly live in North Korea. A farce as North Korea is struggling economically. Also, since the 60s, North Korea has been secrelty building tunnels under the DMZ to reach South Korea. Even as the tunnels were discovered they kept building more. We went into the Third Tunnel. We also saw this town Cheorwan, that was completely destroyed during the war. Literally, its flat farmland for miles, where there used to be a thiriving town. On the upside - had two delicious meals - fresh tofu in a restaurant in the DMZ and fresh grilled eel for dinner.

From Seoul & Hong Kong meeting the cute lady who runs the tofu shop, near the DMZ

It's been nice staying with Jina's family. They are so welcoming. I am savoring this time because it will be so much easier than my time in Vietnam....in terms of amenities (shower! privacy! computer!) and decision-making (I dont have to wake up and decide what do to and how to get there). Ah, luxury. But I am still excited for part 2 - its invigorating to start a journey where outcomes are so unsure - from the extreme of dying, to the possibility of loving a place so much you never come home, and all the unknowns in between.

From Seoul & Hong Kong at the fish market (also visited in No Reservations - Korea!)