Another great day overall! We woke up at 7:00 am (well, most of us, but more on that to come later) and had a nice breakfast before checking out of the hotel. After a quick stop at Waterpia to pick up a lost wallet, we headed back to Mt. Seoraksun park to ride the cable car to the top. A few of the students bought some new gloves, and we quickly got on to the cable car and rode it to near the top of the mountain.
The view from the top was spectacular. You could clearly see the city on the eastern coast and more mountains to the west. Perhaps the best part of the day was when we hiked just a hundred meters up the hill…
The kids stopped along side the hill and just played in the snow. It was refreshing to see them just laughing, smiling, rolling around in the snow, snowball fighting, and having a blast. Brought back some great memories for me, and it was a delight to see the joy on their faces. I was able to get some pretty good pictures of this despite forgetting to turn on automatic focus (grrrr…)
After stopping for a snack and hot cocoa, we rode the cable car back down the mountain and exited the park. We went back to Waterpia for lunch at a Korean fast food restaurant of burgers and cheese sticks.
A 2.5 hour ride back toward Seoul brought us to our destination for our rail bike ride. I wasn’t sure what to expect and neither did the kids, but you’ll just have to see the pictures for a better idea. They have converted an old rail line into a 4 seater rail bike ride. It takes about 25 minutes one way, where you stop for a quick break, then 25 minutes the other way. Mathurine and I were the only 2 in our 4 seater, so the ride there was tougher (plus I’m out of shape so that doesn’t help). On the way back, we had a student ride with us which greatly helped. The other bikes had 3 or 4 each too. It was a nice stop. It was a bit cold because of the wind, but a clear day nonetheless.
Our next stop was not a scheduled one, but our guide and driver decided that since there was not much traffic, we’d have time for it. It was metal track sledding just off the side of the road and near the river. The kids had a blast (and so did the adults). There are some great pictures taken by 2 of the students. We were also to briefly walk through a greenhouse that was nestled to the side of a riverside park.
An hour later, we were at dinner having smoked duck which was similar to the Korean BBQ from a couple of nights ago. The duck was very good and several students said that it was their first time having duck. We checked back in to the Art Nouveau City III Hotel, but with different rooms and different roommates. The kids had some down time, but they did catch up on their journaling.
Tomorrow, we’ll go to the DMZ and to the National Assembly. The students are dressing up for these trips tomorrow, so they should look nice. Personally, I’m excited about the DMZ trip tomorrow. Few people have had this opportunity, and I can say that I have had it twice. This time, however, I’ll be able to see some different things than last time.
Enjoy the pictures! 660 so far just from me. I know the kids take a ton and Mathurine also has quite a bit.
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