April 6th - Incheon (Seoul), South Korea

Arrived in Incheon this morning and watched as the tugs pushed the ship into
the lock. We only had three feet clearance, but we made it safely into the
harbor. Pretty amazing engineering, I am sure the Panama Canal would really
be something to see.

As we drove into Seoul, one could not help but notice all the beautiful
trees with their lush flowers - the flowers on my tree might already be gone
by the time I get back home. Could not help but notice that the most
popular cars here were Kia and Hyundai - no surprise!

Took a drive through the downtown area and noticed a least a dozen police
buses. Not sure this was going to be a good day for all of the political
protesters and those protesting and remembering those lost in the latest
ferry accident.

This is a friendly city and there were young people dressed in red at
various places around the city to provide tourists with information and
assistance.

The city is in a valley surrounded on all four sides by mountains, providing
protection from invasion. However, there have been several occupations by
Japan, so not sure they got the message.

Stopped at the Bukchon neighborhood. This is a quaint area where the once
grand houses have been subdivided into smaller homes. If you made it to the
top you we were treated to some great views of the city. What a change from
my last visit here, there were "Silence" signs posted everywhere, and very
few places were open to visit. At the bottom of the hills, Mickey still
welcomed us to come shop and spend our money.

Toured Changdeokgung Palace, constructed in 1405 as a secondary palace. This
was the favorite palace of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). It was destroyed
during the Japanese invasion of 1592-1598, and rebuilt in 1610. There are
two ways to get into many of the city's attractions free: be at least 65, or
dress in traditional Korean costume. There was a large school group here,
with quite a few having fun being dressed up and posing for pictures (also a
lot of giggling by the young ladies).

Had a traditional lunch back in the Bukchon neighborhood and then made our
obligatory temple visit where preparations were underway for the Lotus
Lantern Festival and celebration of Buddha's birthday in May. Temples
nationwide light lanterns to symbolically transmit the wisdom and compassion
of the Buddha.

Last stop for the day was a visit to the Insadong neighborhood, with art
galleries, craft shops, tea houses and hand painted masks and fans.

While waiting for the ship to start its' passage through the lock and back
out to the open sea, one could see rows and rows of cars waiting to be
loaded into car carriers and transported around the world.