Bustling Suwon

After visiting Burak-san, and getting accustomed to my local stomping grounds, I figured I would take a little trip north for the sights in Suwon.  The view as you step outside the metro station:

 

A few views of the region from its highest point.

 

A city of 1.2 million in an area less than half the size of Denver, Suwon is quite the busy little metropolis.  The biggest attraction here is the well preserved Hwaseong fortress.  It covers the high ground in the center of the city and provides fantastic views of the region and a link to the fortress building past of the Joseon Dynasty. The outer wall of the fortress is more that four miles in circumference, which makes for a great hiking tour.  Because all of the land inside the fortress that was not part of the preservation project, this fortress reminded me of a German city that still had its wall preserved, like a jam packed city within a city.  It took me several hours to tour the outer wall, stopping frequently for pictures.  For all of its many remarkable attributes, it has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Just outside the museum, there was this memorial.  Apparently, there was a tradition for the umbilical cords of the kings to be preserved in monuments such as this...not judging, just a bit strange to my standards.

Just outside the main gate is a SPRAWLING market selling fresh produce, dried chillies, meat, seafood, shoes, clothes, plants, perfume, purses, watches, everything you can possibly imagine, by numerous vendors and all prices negotiable.  Tonya would have to be given a homing beacon and wheelbarrow for any visit here, as the maze of merchandise and bargains are unending!

The packaging for this SPAM really spoke to me.  It is done with the same reverence that I think Pap-pap and I place on this delicacy :-)

After passing all of the food stalls my mouth had begun to water, so it was time to grab a little meal.  I stopped in a tiny Korean restaurant, that seemed authentic and unintimidating.  Unfortunately, they did not have a picture menu.  As luck would have it, the gentlemen eating at the corner table took a special interest in helping me order.  It turned out to be a delicious dumpling soup.  Four large vegetable and mushroom filled dumpling in a steaming light broth, accompanied with rice and two types of Kim-chi and a tea pot.  To my surprise, what I thought was a small pot of tea was actually some type of warm rice/water mixture of a lightly thickened consistance and neutral taste. 

As I started to dig into the meal, I noticed that the guys in the corner kept glancing at me and smiling and saying hello.  I figured they were just interested in talking to an American, so I did the polite thing and smiled back and said hello.  Well, I guess I kinda opened up the door at that point, because one gentleman yelled over at me and told me to come to the table....holding a shot glass of sojou (Korean vodka).  It should come as no surprise that I could not refuse, and I made my way over and one shot lend to another, and then a few broken sentences later and they were feeding me from their table and I was pouring them drinks from mine.  I learned that they were five brothers out for their weekend meal together.  I also was introduced to just how incredibly friendly the Korean people are.  The chef came out and joined in our conversation, adding his help with translation, because by this point the brothers were very deep into a day of drinking, and language training was out the door.  As we wrapped things up, they insisted on paying for my meal, as long as I promised to spread the word on how friendly and hospitable they are...and this recounting is part of keeping that promise.  Below is a picture of me with brothers number two and five.  Brother five could speak the most English, and brother two was the most interested in figuring out what some crazy American was doing walking around by himself in Suwon.

After this great experience I made my way through the palace on the fortress grounds, and then on my way back to the Metro, stumbled upon a beautiful temple snuggled up with the bars and stores of the market district.

Fortunately Suwon is only about a 20 min ride from base so I will be back frequently, and next time plan on taking plenty of pictures of the market!