Troy Lightfield

Still in Seoul on Thursday. We decided to visit one of two palaces in the area. We stopped by the first with the intention of watching the changing of the guard. A very cool ceremony consisting of full dressed guards in time appropriate dress. As we waiting for this show I moved closed to the main guard where I was approached by a Korean lady who spoke some English. At first I wasn’t real sure what she wanted or was trying to tell me but soon I realized she wanted ME to hit the large drum to signal the changing of the guard!!! AWESOME I think I replied and told her I would definitely love to!

They dressed me up in a captains uniform I was told and given instructions to “hit the drum like your hitting a baseball”. “No problem” I replied. After the guards marched in with the dress and instruments she gave me the go ahead. To say the people standing close were shocked would be putting it lightly! I hit that drum 3 times at a decent strength and a huge smile came over my face as I looked at all the people watching. Instant fame! I even had school kids coming up to me afterward asking where I was from.

Mom even dressed up afterward for some glamor shots. A perfect start to the day!

After that we headed to a huge beautiful palace, I will have to get the name from Takayla.  During the tour of the palace he hit a culture museum in the area and Sarah scored another smashed penny machine.  All in all one of our most memorable days.

Enjoy the pictures!

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Today we bought our train tickets and headed to Seoul. It took us about 3 hours by train which beat the cheap alternative of riding a bus for over 7. Once there we got checked into our value motel and then headed for the South Korean War Museum. The Museum was full of war artifacts, weapons, stories, and machinery. Some of the real cool stuff was actually outside where they displayed tanks, planes and some very impressive monuments. Enjoy the pictures!

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Today we headed to Gyeongju, Gyeongiu is a major tourist destination for South Koreans as well as foreign visitors. It boasts the 1000 years of Shilla heritage with vast number of ancient ruins and archaeological sites found throughout the city.

We seen many of the Silla sites located in Gyeongju National Park such as the Royal Tomb Complex, the Cheomseongdae observatory, the Anapji royal pond garden, and the Gyerim forest. We also went to the Gyeongju National Museum which hosts many important artifacts and national treasures that have been excavated from sites within the city and surrounding areas.

The Lotus flowers were also blooming so we got to see them, definitely a beautiful unique flower.

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Today we decided to check out one of Busan’s main beaches,  Haeundae. It was really fun to see South Koreans at the beach. A majority of them don’t even appear to have swimsuits on! We even seen one lady in her tube with high heels on. Another man decided he didn’t need swim trunks at all and was just strolling down the beach pantless.

From there we headed down the shoreline along the rocky side of the beach. There was a walkway that aloud us to be right on the rocks. It was a very scenic walk that took us past the mermaid statue, fishermen and an older gentleman that was bathing down on the rocks.

From there we headed to the Apec Center where in 2005 21 world leaders meant. From there we headed on an adventure to find the giant ferris wheel but all we managed to get done was buy a treat from a nice old lady that decided to park her vending truck right in the middle of the road!

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Today we headed to Haedong Yonggung Temple. This temple is unique in that most of the Korean temples are in the hills. Haedong Yonggung is right on the shore of the East Sea. The rock shores and waves crashing down on them make for the perfect backdrop for a beautiful temple. Enjoy the pictures!

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