5 Places to Visit in Seoul with Kids

First off, it's been a long time since my last post. I do apologize for that as I have been traveling extensively for the past 3 months. But the good news is that I have a whole load of photos to share. So be patient with me as I screen through and edit them. First up would be my latest trip. 

My latest trip was spend with a bunch of young people at Korea. It was an exploration cum learning trip and with that, I had to take into consideration so many factors while planning for this trip. But I did enjoy myself and it was really fun despite hiccups and problems arising traveling with 40 over people.

So here's my list of 5 places to visit in Seoul (with a bunch of teenage brats tagging along) : 

1. War Memorial of Korea

It's fascinating and eye-opening to experience the impact and devastation of war. Thoughts were put into this memorial with various monuments and statues giving credit to the fallen, planes and vehicles which you can climb into and explore, and an endless pool for meditation. The highlight of this visit for the kids were taking photos with the soldiers. 

2. Samsung Innovation Museum

This museum is not exactly in Seoul so I sorted cheated. But it is a must-not missed. Learning about the history and background of Samsung was just interesting. Did you know that Samsung started out as a grocery store? We also learned about various innovations, travelled through time from the past to the future and were allowed to play with advance technological 'toys'. Please note that prior reservations are required for groups during the weekdays but weekends are open to the public. 

3. Everland

The biggest theme park in Korea. Sadly, I wasn't super impressed. It's decent but some rides were just meh. It may be due to the reason that quite a number of fun rides were closed because of the weather but I got to admit that the safari and wildlife were fantastic. It was so real and we could go so close to them. The bears begging for food were such a sight, the giraffe that feeds out of your hand were so cool and the lions were just amazing. Christmas decorations are really pretty. Food was overprice and bland. But do go and check them out. I may be wrong *cross fingers*;p

4. Gyeongbokgung Palace 

It is one of the grandest and most beautiful palace in Korea. Cheong Wa Dae, also known as the Blue House, is located behind the palace. The kids enjoyed the Royal Changing of Guard Ceremony which runs hourly starting from 10am till 3pm. So don't miss that. If you have time before the ceremony, stop by the small obscure hut by the entrance for a chance to try on one of the guards costumes. 

5. Bukchon Hanok Village

A cluster of Korean traditional houses composing of lots of small narrow alleys, quaint hanoks and restaurants, that carries a 600-year old urban environment history. Lots of things to see and do. Explore the museums and hanoks but bear in mine that most of the charges entrance fee. You can also enroll the kids (and yourself) in one of the traditional classes offered to learn various skills and art. 

So yup, those are some of the things you can do (besides shopping) and with kids tagging along. I'm sure it will be fun, learning experience for them and for you.  I know I did :)

Scammed on Tonle Sap Lake, Siem Reap, Cambodia

One of the must visit in Cambodia is the Tonle Sap Lake. Why? Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:

This lake is one of the most unique ecological water wonders in the world. It is the largest lake in South East Asia and changes in size and dimension every wet season. With a minimum size of 2,800 km² and about 1 m depth during the dry season, the lake is fairly small. During the wet season the water of the Mekong river becomes so powerful, that it reverses the flow of the Tonle Sap river and pushes the surplus of rain water back into the Tonle Sap lake. This transforms the lake into a huge natural water reservoir and the lake's size increases to approximately 15,000 km² with a depth of 8 m. The Tonle Sap River connects the lake with the River Mekong at Phnom Penh, in the south east. With the continuous change of the water level, the people who live on the lake have to move their houses away when the water level goes down. Whole villages including schools, shops, churches and pig farms are getting pulled away to a place where the water is still high enough to float.

Alas, we were there during the dry season and this is what we saw. Dry & dusty ground. Dirty, yellowish, brownish water.  We took a tuk-tuk there for a very cheap rate but it was the most dusty 45mins I ever been. We were shrouded in dust cloud almost the entire time. Should have rented an air-conditioned van. -_-

A trip for 3-4hrs cost us USD30 each. So total USD150 for 5 of us. Worth it? See for yourself. 

We were chugging slowly through the thick waters down the river towards the lake. Looks kinda like milky tea, but much denser and definitely unhealthier. 

We passed by a large empty floating boat and was told that its a basketball court. I got to give it to them for the ingenuity and flexibility. But I do wonder what happens it the boat hits a high wave. Do they factor in mother nature for points too? 

Anyway, after what seems like ages (close to 45 mins), we arrive at the the lake and saw small floating houses dotting the horizon. Tiny houses bobbing up and down, as far as the eyes can see.

This people live on boat houses all their lives. And it was interesting to watch daily lives on the lake as we 'drove' around in our motorboat. They even have a temple and the church. And some even have their own garden. Imagine have a garden or an animal hut that moves with you when you move. And not only that, if your neighbour gets on your nerve, you can just lift the anchor and move. Simple. 

  

And then the event turned. The tour guide keep asking if we want to see the school and if we do, why don't we buy a gift for them. He says we will be doing a good deed as the students need rice. They have shortage of rice and bla bla bla. He says we don't have to give money, just buy a bag of rice for the students to eat, which made it even easier. Who doesn't want to give rice to starving children. To cut the long story short. We went to this floating depot/ store, bargain for a small bag of rice which cost us 30USD and headed to the school. 

When we climb aboard, the 'students' started playing their instruments and i got to say that they are really good. Then we did usual tourist thing, distribute food, take picture, etc. Truthfully, I was against the whole idea since I've read about scams like this but there's not much I could do as the rest were not convinced by me. To me, even though its different from visiting an orphanage, its still not right. There was so many questions running through my mind. 

The 'students' are just sitting there, hanging around waiting for tourists to come before doing their performance. Isn't it like a circus or theater? 

The 'students' seems bored and they were good. Seems like they have been doing it for a long time. 

And most importantly, where are the tables and chairs and teachers and books and blackboard? 

It's too well put together. 

It's so totally a scam. The children are taken away from their parents, put in a disguise school just to gain sympathy of well-wishers and the money is pocketed by godknowswho. Children are not meant to be living away from their family and parents. Research have shown that they thrive better in an environment where there is family and parents love. The money that we paid for the bag of rice will most probably be split between the store owner and school. I don't even think the rice will reach the children. 

A lot of tourist/ foreigners will leave feeling like they had done a good deed. But you know what, its not. It's the opposite. You are destroying the children. All they will know is to wait for money from people like you. They don't get proper education. They don't have the right kind of upbringing. And that's because of us. So before you give money or even buy them gifts, stop and think. Do they really benefit? 

Got burned, but lesson learned. This trip was indeed an eye-opening, yet saddening as well. I really hope the government will work harden with NGOs to solve this issue. And everyone else, we all play a part. Spread the word. Let others know about this. 

You can read more here.

www.friends-international.org
www.childsafe-international.org
www.thinkchildsafe.org