Suwon Fortress

Since I didn't have to go to work on Monday, I spent the morning playing tour guide forJacob's mom.  We went to the city of Suwon, about one hour away on the subway.  The city is apparently a big tourist attraction, as it has a lot of history.  A fortress wall runs along the perimeter of the city.  The bustling population has spilled out of the wall, so it doesn't exactly encompass the city anymore, but that was the original idea.  There are four different gates that you can enter through - this one being the most impressive.

As majestic as the fortress wall was, I think I was most impressed by what we found inside...  Here you will see a mock up of one of the rooms the king used to hang out in.  The picture on the left, however, requires a little more explanation.  You see, Sheryl (Jacob's mom) and I had to use the ladies room.  As a reward for having to wait in line, we had a beautiful view!  That's right.  The toilet stall was arranged in a way that you were facing the back wall, or window.  This window looked out into a shallow bamboo garden!  It was so tranquil and pretty.  Not at all what I expected, given all other public bathroom experiences I've had in this country.  Public bathrooms (or private, for that matter), are NOT Korea's specialty!  This one was a nice surprise.

Inside the Suwon Temple - where the king used to hang out.



Lastly, on our way out of the palace area, and towards the end of our tour through the city, we found a beautiful wildflower field.  Seldom do you see such beautiful and natural landscaping in the middle of the city.