The husband had a Friday off work, so we pulled the boys
out of school and went out to explore. The Diva opted
to go to school instead of hanging out with us.
I don't think her reason was based on academics, but getting
to see all her friends and boyfriend.
Suwon was a short 20ish minute train ride for us, after getting off the train we
took the bus to the Janganmun Gate of the Hwaseong Fortress.
The fortress was built (1794-1796) during the Joseon Dynasty and after walking it I don't think it would be built that quickly in today's era. It was massive and we climbed up and down many many stairs. According to my watch we climbed 41 flights of stairs and I think that is way low. The fortress wall stretches 5.5KM (3.4 miles), but we walked over 4.5 miles. The fortress was built for the defense of the city. As the city was originally inside the walls, the city now stretches beyond its original perimeter.
We got very lucky and had an absolutely gorgeous day
and the prefect temperature.
It sounds odd to say but the wall was beautiful.
After walking for a while we found a little snack bar and restroom. The boys filled up on
candy and juice and I got some much needed coffee. Then we were back at it, climbing more stairs.
You could see for miles! When we got to the other side of the wall
I could not believe how high up this area was.
That was a lot of stairs! Not going to lie, but I was
glad we started on the other side of the wall. This might of
wiped the little one out if we had to climb up them.
Some of the stairs we had to go down, you almost wanted
to go down on your bum. Some were very steep and large/tall.
Sweet boy did go down a few on his bum.
We found a little playground along the way and someone had some
extra energy to run off and I am not sure how.
The holes in the wall were big enough to fire guns, arrows and long spears if attacked.
It is believed to have been constructed very scientifically. It was built using Seokjae and
Jeondol (bricks)
We walked the whole wall and ended up back at Janganmun Gate.
We decided to grab some lunch before we continued to explore the city.
We went with Mom's Chicken and did a little blind ordering.
The kiosk did not have a language option, so we tried our best and ordered
a few thing. We are learning fast that spicy here is a lot spicier than in the states.
Mr. Man's chicken sandwich had a major kick to it.
With full bellies it was off to visit the Mr. Toilet House.
This placed popped up on a google search and after I found it, it become
a must visit place. Not sure why, but I thought the kids would
get a big kick out of a museum dedicated to poop and toilets.
The outside has a lot of picture spots and the inside is filled with information.
The museum is small, packed with information and free.
The first floor is all about the history of toilets
and how they work and second floor is all about poop.
The second floor is done is a very cute cartoon way, so nothing gross.
The man who built this house/museum was the former mayor of the
town and was born in a toilet himself.
The 'golden' poop!
After learning all we could about toilets we headed over to an outdoor market to look around
and grab some snacks.
I really need to get better about taking photos in the market, but I am alway to
busy trying not to miss something or lose my people.
After we got down with the market it was time to head back to the train station and head home.
This guy was questioning my 12 hour day trip and itinerary filled with lots of walking.
I really didn't appreciate his salty attitude, but thankfully he is a cutie,
so I will let it slide this time.
We had a great time and packed a lot in, but we still have much more to see, so we will be heading
back to explore again soon.
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