Friday, March 16, 2012

Travelogue Korea: DMZ.

Early morning of day 3 (EARLY MORNING. And I mean it!), after a not-so-quick breakfast, kitorang cepat2 bersiap. And yeah, memang kitorang keluar awal pagi tu sebab nak pergi jemput Uncle Shafie kat Station. Who? He's my parents' friend lah. He came on the 3rd day instead of sekali dengan kitorang atas sebab2 tertentu. And he's suppose to contact us via facebook the night before, but somehow kitorang tak boleh nak online kat sana. Pftt. 

So, that morning, without any contacts, just based on instinct and hoping that he didn't missed us along the way, kitorang pergi ke Station. And luckily, he's there! Masuk je entrace station terus nampak dia! So, we explained the circumstances that dia tak boleh nak check-in sebelum pukul 12, so dia pun ikut kitorang untuk expedition kitorang hari tu.

That day, kitorang pergi DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). As you know, Korea is divided into two parts, North and South. So DMZ ni is a no man's land which divided the North and South Korea. It is now a tourist attraction. We took a tour which includes the visit to the  Dora Observatory, The 3rd Tunnel, and Dorasan Station. 

How to get there:


From Geomam, we took the A' Rex (as usual) and transferred at Digital Media City. From there, we took the Gyeongui Line to the last stop, Munsan. From Munsan, take a train (KORAIL) to Imjingang (there's a timing to that train. We even sempat lepak makan2 kejap sementara tunggu train tu), costs around 1, 000 KRW (RM 3) per person. At Imjingang, make a reservation for the DMZ Tours at the ticket office there. The tour is around 11, 700 KRW per person (RM 35+). After that, get back on the train, and it will take you to Dorasan Station.

On our way to Munsan.


Arrive Munsan.


Munsan Station. My starving dad beli roti kat sini. Hehe.

Yeah, we're tourists.


Munsan.


Munsan---->Imjingang

KORAIL to Imjingang.

Very classic inside the KORAIL.

Imjingang Station. 

DMZ Tours Ticket Office.

DMZ Tour price.

On our way to Dorasan Station.

Train View.

Dorasan Station is supposed to connect the both North and South Korea. South Koreans dah siapkan their part of the railway, and North Korea sepatutnya sambung pembinaan railway tu, tapi tak jadi. So kiranya Dorasan Station jadi terbengkalai macam ni lah, and menjadi the last and Northernmost stop of the Gyeongui Line. But jangan cuak sangat pula  sampai2 aje tengok abang2 askar ada merata-rata, muka ketat-ketat, macam nak makan orang. Even though this is a Demilitarized Zone, and it is open for tourists, but it's still the borderline, and things are still a little bit fragile.

Dorasan Station.

Waiting for our bus.

And so, from Dorasan Station, ada bus menunggu kitorang untuk DMZ Tours. From there, kitorang naik bus tu pergi Dora Observatory. Dora Observatory is the northernmost observatory as so you can see visibly North Korea from it's telephoto lenses ( I know it's obvious ayat copy and paste, but the thing is, ada teropong lah untuk tengok North Korea from there). PLUS! No cameras are allowed starting from the yellow line. I guess it's for safety reasons.

Dorasan Observatory

Can see North Korea from there.

And next, we go to The 3rd Tunnel. Sejarahnya, the 3rd Tunnel ni terowong yang digunakan oleh North Korea military to invade South Korea. Nowadays, tourists can take walking tours into the tunnel, for around half an hour. After the tour, there's a auditorium that will show you the histories behind the Korean War. And after that, you can leisure at the museum and look around for further info about the Korean War.

Reuniting Two Worlds.

DMZ.

"Shi Shang Nv Taiko"! Hahaha sesuai dengan aku.

Part of the Military too, hehe.

History behind 3rd Tunnel.

Weapons used in the War.

History.

Remake of DMZ down there.


Supposedly that's the end of the tour, but then, the bus took us and the other tourists to have lunch first. Since we don't have to eat anything, we just walk around at the souvenir shop. Kat souvenir shop ni ada jual products dari North Korea, which I was told to be better, since there weren't any chemicals or articifials to it.

North Korean products.

Beras from North Korea.

And so, we went back to Dorasan Station to catch our train heading straightaway to Munsan. 

Abang Askar handsome. Hehe xD


"Not the last Station from the South, but the first station towards the North". 


Going back to Munsan.

Byebye, Dorasan Station!

View from the train.

It was evening by the time we went to Gwanghwamun Square, really.

To be continued---- Gwanghwamun Square & Gyeonggyecheon Stream.


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