Seoul Grand Park

This weekend we made a bit of an 'unauthorized' trip up to Seoul to get out of the area, as well as visit the Zoo at Seoul Grand Park.  Getting to Seoul involves about an hour or so of riding trains, and lots of stops.  For the price, one really can't complain.  I spent about 4000 won in travel costs on bus and trains.  That's less that $4!

The entrance to Seoul Grand Park

The zoo was gigantic, with tons of animals.  Unlike most American zoos, this place had lots of each type.  I counted 10 lions in one section alone! Where do you see that in the U.S.?

This orangutan loved the attention! He was posing on the glass for everyone!

One of the coolest exhibits in the zoo was the lemurs.  They have a walled in section where they can freely explore, while visitors walk through.  There's no separation between you and the animals, and they just play around with each other, while offering up close photo opportunities.  

This is from about 4 feet away!

After a long day of walking, we decided to take the sky tram down to give our feet a rest.  The sun was mostly down, but it gave spectacular views from the air. Even for not liking heights, it was a fun ride, and a well needed break from walking.

Christmas also came early on Friday.  We finally received our containers we shipped from NY with our personal items.  What a relief! Finally have more clothing options, my humidor, and other useful items that I no longer need to buy.

Finally, I had a follow up with the doc about my shoulder.  The X-rays show that I have a bone chip on my femur in the shoulder joint.  But given my past shoulder injuries, neither she, nor the orthopedics in Yongsan, can determine if it's new, or from previous dislocation/injury.  I don't remember any mention of a bone chip before my last surgery (they couldn't even find the tear until they scoped it), but maybe it is old.  I have gunnery coming up this week, so when I return here, I'll be heading to Yongsan to pay the orthopedics a visit.  Oh yeah.  And I'll also get to go back to physical therapy.  Super excited about that :(

Pyeongtaek

Well, the SCO finally lifted restrictions after about 2 weeks of being in Korea and it was time to explore the 'ville' as its referred to, or its actual name Pyeongtaek.  I headed out with a few others in search for a place called The Loft, which was suppose to  have really good gourmet burgers.

We found our destination after about a 5 minute walk and headed up the stairs.  I gave their cheddar, bacon, peanut butter burger a try.  And it sure was good, but EXTREMELY messy to eat! I would have liked the bacon a bit crispier, but it was still a good eat. They also had a craft beer on tap from a Seoul micro brew that was really good.  We all ate our meals and then played a few games of darts and foosball.

He's a couple more shots of the area right outside the base.  Plenty to do, and plenty to see.  I'm sure we'll venture further into the city next weekend.

From the rooftop of The Loft

Main roadway from the gate.

 I also took the time to prep some tasty breakfast burritos today.  Me and JP did it often before I left, and in much larger quantities.  It's nice to have something so good for breakfast each morning!

With all the fixins

Breakfast for the week!

And in other, not so much fun news, I fell hard on my shoulder last week Wednesday.  I had a previous surgery on that shoulder to repair a tear about 5 years ago.  Hopefully it's nothing serious, and its just irritated from the hard landing and will be find in a couple weeks. Fingers crossed!

Things Are Heating Up!

At least they are temperature wise in my room.  Sometime last week, they switched the function of our climate control from A/C to Heat. And it gets toasty at night and while I'm away at work.

Here's the proof...

This definitely isn't the temperature I'm use to living in! For the record, that's with my window left open all day to let the hot air vent out!

My roommate also gifted me a bike, as he found another abandoned one that suited him better.  He doesn't like this one.  It's a Fixie.  The sprocket on the rear hub is fixed, so there is no coast function like would be provided with a free wheel hub.  You either pedal, or your feet keep going with the pedals, as they don't stop! It'll serve its purpose for the next few months though. It's definitely not the mountain bike I'm use to!

Our internet was also installed today.  So now I have internet that is lightning fast in comparison to what I had stateside. Guess that means it'll be easier to maintain this blog.

We'll be off restriction this weekend which means we'll be able to leave the base as well as drink again.  I'm looking forward to both and I'm sure I'll have much to share in my next post.

Korea

So both myself and JP have done a terrible job of updating blogs. But after a long hiatus, I'm finally back.

And now I'm in Korea.

After relocating all the way across the country, I found out my unit would be heading to Korea for a rotation. Lots of preparation, long work days, and 14 hour flight, I'm finally here.  Just about 72 hours has passed since setting foot here, and I'm pretty much settled in.  New SIM in my phone for the Korean network, appointment to set up cable internet, and all my bags unpacked and organized.

We're still in the integration phase, as this country is far different from the US.  That means we're on restriction to the base for a yet unknown period of time, as well as unable to consume alcohol until our SCO decides otherwise (generally a 2 week time frame).

Korea has an amazing infrastructure, and technology seems to dwarf what we get in the US.  I now pay $60 a month for unlimited country wide texting and calls, as well as unlimited data. Cable is at least twice as fast as what we have back home.  And for a bargain of a price.

My room wouldn't be complete without Bucky Badger!

 My room is a good size, with a full bed, a walk in closet, desk, tv stand, etc.  I share a common area with my next door neighbor and coworker.  Everything is pretty bare at the moment as we haven't received some of the things we sent earlier this year (hopefully they come soon!), but I'm working on it!

They even provided me a place to hang my hat!

Lots more to come in the future, especially as I get a chance to visit some sights and head up to the big city of Seoul.

Looking forward to sharing my adventures with everyone!