Okay the subway ride to Lotte World was worth every penny. Kept everyone entertained for the 16 stops it took to get there. 12oo won for adults ( exchange is 1:1300) 600 won for children. It is interesting to see the women outside of the office buildings mopping the entrance to them. I wonder how much they get paid to do this?
Lotte World is Heaven for little ones. So much to see and do. Ride the rides until you fall off the carosol horse was the motto of the day. The reason it is h*** for parents well it is a combination of a cheap Las Vegas Cesears Palace and Disneyland on a drunken rampage..you get tired so much quicker than the kids and it is terribly embarrassing when you read the ride sign that says you have to have a waist size less than 38 inches and you are needing a tape measure to see if your FAT waist will be able to be accomodated. I mean come on here folks, in America that is often below standard size. I know in Korea the average waist has got to be 15 inches but geez lets get a little more friendly to many of us of European descent.
The reason Lotte World is heavenly for parents is that it costs a fraction of the cost of Disney. About $100 admittance fee for 6 of us. Then there is the food. Cheap, cheap, Cheap so we ate, ate, ate making it probable that we would not fit in the rides (see above) A few of the interesting edibles I saw and tried today:
Peanut Butter Roasted Squid, Kim Chee Chocolate, Pajeon wrapped Hot dogs which cost about $1.80 compared with the $7 hotdog at Disney. Spicey rice cakes. It was Kullen's birthday today (yes he was able to see and enjoy it) so he chose Pizza Hut for dinner. Amoung the delicacies on the salad bar Squid Salad, Grapefruit infused with who knows what, fruit loops (yes...on a salad bar!) and once again the pumpkin obsession showed up in the form of pumpkin potato salad minus the potatoes.
I have to confess that seeing a blond Snow White was pretty hysterical along with the wicked witch cackling in Korean. I actually filmed that one. Some of the funny signs I saw there (you have to love the Korean language when someone translates it to English)
You will get wet a little during the ride but you can feel at rest cause it is clean water
Not allowed to medical sensitivity
No allowed to pregnant
Do not reach your hands, feets or items out
No drunken ride
I also love the masquarade flag of nations in which the flag for the USA had a joker symbol with the words BIG HEAD...who wrote that and which subliminal message is the correct one?
So we rode and rode, went bowling, bought pottery from a traditional potter at the Lotte World Folk Museum ...which.... needs more that just a passing mention. It really is a wonderful place to introduce yourself to Korean culture? Did you know that the design of the roof tiles reflect a specific period in Korea's history. Dragons for one period, flowers for another.They had full scales models of houses during different dynastys. Huge models of the palaces along with the ENTIRE royal court and subjects. Also had the traditional Chinese Medicine including the deer antler and shark fins. I made Dave fork over some money for the kids dressed in traditional clothes taken by a crabby young man. 30,000 won for that but hey...we are in Korea!
Stopped by Lotte World on the way home. I am in love with that food market except for the price of fruit. 13,000 won for 4 tangelos. But oh the smells of different kinds of kim chee some of which could probably be used to power cars, the fish, all the I don't know what the heck it is but the textures look so incredibly good that you want to run your hands all over everything. I tell you, I could live in that place...forever.
Warning:
So if you are accosted on the subway no one will help or at least the people tonight would not. I guess they figured a loud big woman like myself should be able to handle anything but frankly I did not know if I would be doing anything improper by slugging a much older man in a suit and tie who grabbed me by the leg about 1/4 inch below my crotch and dug his fingers into me while yelling at me to sit down next to him. I said as loud as I could "stop it" while people are watching this happen. Again, this time a little louder "STOP IT, Let GO"...nothing. Then extremely loud while he is hurting the heck out of me "I SAID STOP IT YOU ARE HURTING ME!!!" About this time I seriously considered whacking him with my pottery when he suddenly stood up and drunkingly crashed into the door and went to another car. I truly believe this was a rare incident because we have met nothing but very nice helpful people whiel riding and have never had a bit of trouble before.
So that is the end of our day. I am bruised, beaten up and have whiplash from several of the rides. Should you go to Lotte World go to the water show called Oddessey...nice, quiet and peaceful. I sure wish I knew how to post pics from here. I have taken...I kid you not 829. My card holds about 1100.
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