Korea war memorial

I had some great uncles who fought in the Korean war I thought it was important to visit the war memorial. When I got to the museum and saw flags of countries that were involved during the war. I felt a lot of pride seeing the Canadian flag and reading a little about our contribution. I had no idea what to expect at this museum. 

On the way into the museum I was given a free book on the Korean war I thought that was an amazing gesture. The museum was well done up with incredible displays and also 4D viewing....I was given a pair of glasses and was told of a 4D area. Once the viewing started a bar came down in front of you to strap you in and you could hear noises of planes. You were "in a plane" and you were flying over the battlefield over ships. You could smell and see smoke coming from damaged ships and planes. It was like you were actually there......I couldn't even begin to imagine the fear and the adrenaline soldiers faced.

To my surprise this museum had a lot of information and displays with Korea's past from hundreds and thousands of years ago. 

I didn't realize how vulnerable South Korea was until I started seeing the displays in this museum. It was interesting to read where Korea was before the war and where they stand now. All I know is do not underestimate the South Koreans the military now would not be one to fight against. 

I was trying to take as many pictures as I could and at one point my hand was starting to hurt I found out why after I took a good 600 pictures that day. The amount of vehicles they had on display outside was quite incredible. 

At one point during my visit I could see military personnel around along with lots of chairs setup for a ceremony. I don't speak Korean but the jist of the ceremony was celebrating an old Korean general from the 1200s.  

The museum was well worth the visit and was an eye opener. South Koreans have my up most respect. Being in Seoul known not that long ago it was in North Koreans hands it was quite incredible. South Korea has come a long way and they are just getting started.

The pictures below don't do the museum justice. Lots of blogs to come soon as it is;

My Life
My Choice
My Time

Tuna Tom

Korea

Right now I am sitting in Auckland New Zealand struggling to find work in my field. I am being turned down more than I would have ever imagined. I just want to give up but you can't just give up on life. Since things haven't worked to this point I am changing my plan now I am cutting back on hours on the labouring job I am doing so I can look for other work and give me a chance to do toastmasters. It is a bit of a long shot but I am going to do toastmasters for a chance to network and maybe have the right person offer me work. Enough negative stuff though.....

It is hard to think back to a few weeks ago it has been over 13 months of traveling and all of it seems like a distant pass. I won't be able to recall all of the details of my trips but maybe it will give me a chance to look back and really reflect. 

Going to Korea was important to me as it was where I was "supposed" to end up at this time. When I decided in December 2013 that I was going to travel I wanted to teach English in South Korea. I flew from Tokyo Japan into Seoul South Korea a short little flight but to my surprise we were fed on the flight. 

The hostel was nice and close to the train station which was nice to not get lost in a city for a change. A few things about my time in Korea I hated the subway system something about it was just a pain in the a$$, I found the food for the most part rather spicy but not really tasty, there was lots of references to Paris, heaps of cafes, endless lights, lots of bakeries and few western travelers. 

One night I explored around the hostel and found an area full of young people dancing and/or singing in the streets. It seemed they were competing for peoples attention. This area also had heaps of bars, restaurants and endless lights. Walking through this area there was also signs posted on some bars saying "No US military there have been incidents".... 

There was an opportunity to go to the DMZ in Korea but I thought if I want to see North Korea I actually want to go there not see it from part of a tour. I remember being discouraged at first in Korea. It took a few days to realize the beauty and how amazing South Korea is and I didn't even begin to scratch the surface but that is for another time as it is;

My Life

My Choice

My Time

Tuna Tom

I don't care I love it

I was sitting on the train in Korea with a uncomfortable feeling and, I saw someone pull out their headphones to listen to music and, then I thought damn that's a good idea! I started enjoying my tunes and noticed an older Korean lady smile as she saw me enjoying my music and probably dancing like a jackass I then smiled and thought "I don't care" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxxajLWwzqY

I finally understood what "dance like nobodys watching" really means. Of course someone might see and watch but who cares. Just like when you see someone with a big smile you wonder why they are smiling. How many times in my life have I met people because I just did things and was enjoying myself. Sometimes I get myself hung up for no reason at all and the best piece of advice I can give is just enjoy your life. As adults we are too concerned what other people think. Kids can be so much smarter than us they have that big good belly laugh which adults hardly get. Think about when you are around kids of babies you are laughing, playing with their toys and doing silly things. I think we could all learn a lot from kids and just stop and pull out our own inner kid. I mean when was the last time you had an honest to god good laugh? 

Every time I hear that song or just someone say they don't care all I can think about is Vang Vieng Laos. On the river bars people were partying away on a wooden platform and there were heaps of them. You could see the platform moving up and down as they danced. When the song "I don't care" came on sure enough the inevitable happened it broke and they all went down but they just kept going. I want to challenge everyone reading this to have your own "I don't care moment" it could be something like throwing a paper ball at someone, listening to bad music and dancing like an idiot, or riding a shopping cart (that is a personal favourite). When I head out tomorrow morning I am going to look for that "I don't care moment" as it is;

My Life

My Choice

My Time

Tuna Tom