Suwon Fortress and Korean Folk Village

(Note: Yesterday's post)

Today, I woke up early because there were a few mosquitos in my room and I couldn't sleep because of it. It was good though because I think I got enough rest and got an early start on my day. Went down early this morning to check mail and my schedule for the day and met a nice chinese couple from east windsor, nj. Small world. He even worked at Vonage, albeit only a month...

So I packed all my stuff because they had to move me from a double to a single (this was all arranged ahead of time). So my new room is smaller, but still decent. Hopefully no mosquitos tonight.

I got these two mini-sandwich things from a street vendor for breakfast this morning... one looked like tuna with yellow mayo and the other had these mini weiners in them with white pickled radish. It did the trick and together cost less than $1. I had the <$0.50 water bottle from my guest house to wash it down. So I ate that on the subway on my ride to Suwon. To me, it seems that the Seoul subway station is very clean, nice and convenient. I am both amazed and impressed by how far outside the city limits the subway reaches. I was also amazed by how people are able to talk on their cell phones while in tunnels etc. And they have a newspaper guy who collects discarded newspapers which people leave on the luggage racks above their heads before they exit the train. Lazy... Anyway, the folk village was nice, but something that I think you only need to see once to appreciate. Basically what you would expect of rural type houses from way back when. Lots of kids there on school trips... I think I got the most fun out of watching them cause trouble. I took lots of pics of these houses and other objects and also watched two performances. One was "Farmer's Music and Dancing" which was entertaining. The other was a traditional Korean wedding. So, now I know how it works (at least back then), but it went by pretty quick and wasn't much to it. A lot of bowing and symbolism though... very interesting to see and watch.

Then I headed back to Suwon Station and then proceeded to the Suwon Fortress. The Suwon Fortress was also built many years ago by a King Joseong I believe... I'll check it another time. But basically, this was a big city that comprised Suwon. Now, the city has grown (it's trying to be as big as Seoul) and the sprawl has extended beyond these walled limits. Although the first area I saw was similar to a lot of the Chinese temples I've seen, it had its own unique charms. I then proceeded to walk along the fortress walls and experienced nice views of the city. I was also pleased to see a lot of people walking and being in touch with nature and the history of the city around them. It's part of them it seems. Small kids might not know or realize - it seems that way at least - but I'm sure that they will come to appreciate it in time.

I tried finding a kalbi restaurant in Suwon - they're supposed to be famous for it - but couldn't. I had decided to go back to Suwon Station since it was early to take a rest and look around the mall. Apparently, it seems as though a lot of malls are attached to major subway stops. It turns out that all the good kalbi restaurants were near the Suwon Fortress. Oh well... went back to Myeong Dong and grabbed mandoo and kal guksu at Myeong Dong Kyoza. It was pretty good and tasty, but I ate way too much.

MDS