Nearing North Korea

I headed us to the capital Seoul a couple of days ago with sole intention of going for the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) tour which is the area that borders North Korea, there's a 4km gap at the border where no one is allowed to build on or live in with the exception of one village on either side.

Since I first tried to book the tour I was getting told by people that they the UN Command (at the border) wouldn't let me go on the tour for security reasons (N.Korea attacking) but I thought that surely they couldn't stop me because I'm in a chair especially after they did write a convention about my rights. Why would I be in a worse situation than anyone else? If they fired a missile then we're all screwed. If they started shooting I know I can move faster than the fat guy who was on the tour, he's a bigger target as well!

The tour was really cool and I got to explore the 3rd tunnel (100m underground) which the North Koreans dug to try and sneakily attack Seoul but it was discovered before they could use it, they say that they could have brought 30'000 soldiers through that tunnel every hour.

My favourite picture (right) of the day is at one of the bridges that actually crosses the border to North Korea because it has been given the name 'The Bridge of No Return', how fantastically evil. Unfortunately because it is such a highly guarded area (which we had to sign a declaration stating that we understood the risks of us getting injured or worse) we were unable to get off the bus for the majority of the tour but it was really good all the same just to see these places.

Ulsan and the next move

I've been in Ulsan, South Korea for about a week now visiting my friend Nathan who I've not seen since just after my accident 5 years ago. We were working together in the same bar that summer and shortly after he went back home to the states so catching up with him has been quite a nostalgic experience.

Ulsan doesn't have a lot to offer in the way of tourism but I'm enjoying the Korean food that they have, plus I get a decent exchange rate which makes everything really cheap. The food here is served raw  then you cook it yourself on a grill that is in the centre of the table, the spicy foods that they have are really tasty as well. My favourite drink is a 20% sweet alternative to vodka that is drunk from a shot glass, usually playing games.

After what happened in Japan last week I'm still undecided as to what my next move out of here will be. It should be safe to go to Osaka and Kyoto but I have a passport that I need to pick up from the embassy in Tokyo as well, I think that I'll give it a couple more days here in Ulsan to see if the advice for travelling around that area changes before I decide what to do next.

On top of the world! (Nearly)

I was at the top of Taipei 101 a couple of nights ago, at 508m it stands as the worlds 2nd tallest building. After I went to the financial centre in Shanghai the week before it means that I've been to 2 of the top 3 tallest buildings in the world. This doesn't matter without going to the number 1 in Dubai though which dwarfs the others at over 800m! Not sure when I'll get there.

I finally got to have some really unusual  food yesterday when I tried snake soup. It had little pieces of snake in there which was tasty but had way too many bones in. They also made a couple of drinks from venom, gall bladder and blood. I drank them all and worryingly blood was my favourite. Possibly showing signs of vampire-like tendencies!

I got interviewed by a Taiwanese TV news station today which was great, I've only got a camera pointed at a TV to show but it's better than nothing.