Since my home stay in Chengju, I have returned to my hostel in Seoul. My goal is to do at least one big cultural activity each day. It doesn't seem like a lot but it is a better way to travel as you get to experience it much more than just being the tourist who sees something, takes a picture then leave.

The War Memorial of Korea gave some good insight to the suffering and pain the Koreans have gone through during their history as a result of all the wars they have foughten in over the decades. The museum showed much more than just the Korean war but also showed how they stepped in and helped in Vietnam as they felt it essential to help out other countries in need because of their true appreciation of those who came to their aid. Something I found very cool was that the Koreans have statues and monuments all around the city commemorating those fallen soldiers from each country who helped with the Korean war.

A great complement to the War Memorial of Korea is the Seodaedum Prison History Hall. This prison was built in 1908 when Japan invaded and took control of Korea. Learning about the way the Japanese tortured the Koreans was hard to take but extremely interesting. I thing was a good warm up for what I will see and learn in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Korea has plenty of hiking to offer and the best hike I`ve done so far is Dobongsan mountain. The colors or fall were unbelievable and the rock formations at the peak were quite beautiful. Take a look at my pictures and see for yourself. A highlight was meeting two local Koreans, Young-be and Foo-yan who were climbing as well. They lead Carmela and I up to four different peaks and seven hours of hiking. And they even fed us lunch.

I`ve almost ran out of things to say but there is certainly one more highlight that I must jot down. There is a type of food that is served in Korea that I do not think Canadians would go for. It is eating live octopus. Well maybe I exaggerate a little but what happens is you order sun-nak-ji and they bring over a live octopus (not very big in size) and they cut the tentacles off right in front of you, and they land on a plate. Using your chopsticks, you pick up a small piece of octopus while it`s still moving, put a little soy sauce, wasabi and eat! My friend Jon was the first to notice that the octopus was able to suction to the inside of his mouth. As for the taste, it wasn`t very good but definitely worth trying.