Hammy's 2005 Trip To Korea And Japan - Dec 5th

I got up at 7am to write my diary. Mr Kim got up to have some milk for a hangover, got dressed and then tried to leave for work in his slippers. Still a bit drunk I think.

After breakfast we took the subway to Chamshil to meet Young-in at Lotte World. It's like Disneyland in Korea. Jeong-yoon and Seong-hoon were to stay with us for the day. Met them at 10:30. Jeong-yoon had to take the day off school to be there. Last night was supposed to be -9 and today we are expecting a top of -1 degrees C. We went on lots of rides after getting a 15% discount from the entry fee. Once inside Miky told them that Seong-hoon was born in 2002 to get free entry and got his money refunded. We saved 19000 Won and he couldn't go on the big kids' rides anyway, and he never complained about it. When Yu-Jin was unable to go on a ride he was really upset.

Lotte World from aboard the monorail.

Lotte World from aboard the monorail.

Had a burger set for lunch and they were so full of mayonnaise that they were disgusting. Probably the worst burgers I've had - don't eat at Speedy Gonzales when you visit Lotte World. Just after lunch there was a Christmas parade with nearly all of the performers being foreigners. Russian, so I'm told.

Christmas parade.

Christmas parade.

Christmas parade.

Christmas parade.

For the Flume Ride (or Rice - depends which sign you believe) we had to wait in line for 35 mins and Yu-Jin was just tall enough. A group of 8-10 girls were in front of us and they almost spent the entire time doing their hair and makeup and taking photos of each other. Why they weren't in school I don't know.

The Conquistador, what the Koreans called "Viking Ship", was another 30 minute wait and something that Jeong-yoon and Yu-Jin wanted to go on. I wasn't so sure about it as I've been on it before and it made me feel a bit sick, but, if the kids were going on it so was I. Great ride and the kids were really disappointed when it finished.

Couldn't get over how many people were there. We went in December and on a school day but the number of teenagers, mainly girls, was astounding. Definitely the place to pick up chicks.

After the Conquistador Miky decided that we should go outside to Magic Island and there were more things to do for little kids. I just had to go on the Gyro Drop and it raise you 70m above the ground whilst spinning around and then you freefall in five seconds. Wow! I did it with no hands as well because the guy next to me did. Frightening stuff.

Outside at Magic Island - cold.

Lotte World has a nice Christmas feel to it. Looks very similar to Disneyland. Notice the skirt? It's -3 degrees C.

Gyro Drop. Must do at Lotte World - whatever the temperature.

Jeong-yoon went on a swing ride and then we all went on a kiddie ferris wheel. Following that we went to the Haunted House and the kids were very excited about the prospect of going inside. It was for 6 years and over but we got them all inside after about a 40 minute wait. Jeong-yoon and Seong-hoon were really freaked out and Yu-Jin asked me when we were listening to audio through headsets, "어빠 (Daddy), is someone behind me?" He was quite scared too. The audio made it appear that some demonic being was standing behind you and talking in your ear. Great, first we freeze the kids to death and then we scare them to death. Time to go home.

Miky wanted something to warm us up so we stopped at Lotteria after exiting. The kids all wanted a cold drink and Seong-hoon wanted a burger. My hot chocolate went down a treat. Following a toilet break I took Young-in's kids home and Miky did some shopping with Yu-Jin before heading back to Seung-hyeon's place. Jeong-yoon checked every station name on the subway on the way home while Seong-hoon slept. Had two transfers to make and I had to carry Seong-hoon up the stairs. Heavy little bugger. When we got to Gasan Digital Complex, one stop from home, Jeong-yoon started crying. I didn't know why and thought that she may have been missing her mum. She wasn't happy that the name of the station was different on her 2002 map and I did notice that. Due to the crush of people in the subway I couldn't see Seong-hoon but I knew he was there as he was still holding my hand. A sign showed that it was -3.3 degrees C.

Once we had arived safely I caught a taxi home. Quite a bit of traffic out there. Kids were fine at home. They were so well behaved all day. I found out that Jeong-yoon thought we were lost and that is why she cried. Gasan Digital Complex went by a different name in 2002, but only slightly, however it was enough to have her worried.

Young-in gave me a subway map, in Korean only, and was surprised that I could read it. Bit insulting that.

Walking back to the station with all of our leftover baggage and getting back to Dongnimmun took only one and a quarter hours. At the station some guy insisted on talking to me even though I couldn't understand a word of what he was saying.

After dropping the gear off I went to Mi Ga Kim Bap restaurant. It was a 24 hr joint and was fairly busy still at 9:30pm. Had to wait for a seat. What was most interestng was that the clientele at the time was almost exclusively deaf and there were amazing to watch communicating. It was one of the quietest eateries that I have ever been to that was almost full. Mind you, they did laugh a lot. My tea was kim chee kim bap (1500 Won) and kal kook soo - noodles (2500 Won). Very delicious and enjoyable.

By the time I got back to the apartment at 10 the girl's English teacher was there and she was shocked to see me. She didn't say a word to me either. Rather surprising that. Yu-Jin and Yun-soo had a bath together which lasted until nearly 11pm. Another big day and late night.