Hong Kong for Chuseok

I have been so blessed to have my family come visit me at different times throughout the year. My mom came over the summer, my dad came in October and my sister will be coming for Christmas!

My time with my dad fell right over a Korean holiday, Chuseok, or Korean thanksgiving. Being one of my rather long vacations, a 5 day weekend, I wanted to travel somewhere. So my dad and I ended up in Hong Kong for almost 6 days! We had an absolutely amazing time. We went on a 3 hour hike to a beautiful beach, took the tram up to The Peak, saw Noah’s Ark (well, a replica), rode the world’s longest outdoor escalator, watched a sweet light show over the harbor, took several ferry rides, met up with great friends and ate delicious food! I think for both my dad and I, the Noah’s Ark replica was the highlight. It was pretty cool to see the factualness of the Ark and how accurate it was to the bible. It explained a lot of questions people have about the logistics of it and how it was possible. I think it’s a great attraction for Hong Kong and an wonderful tool for evangelism! Not only did we enjoy Hong Kong, our hotel and the convenient modes of transportation, but we also had some great quality time together. Truly wonderful!

Our adventure didn’t end in Hong Kong though. We arrived in Seoul early Thursday morning with enough time for me to shower and head to work haha. I was tired, but worth it. The following weekend we headed to see one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world, the Demilitarized Military Zone. The DMZ is a strip of land about 2.5 miles wide that cuts the Korean peninsula in half, dividing North and South Korea. We had an amazing tour! One thing we saw was a tunnel that the North Koreans dug in an attempt to enter the South. They actually take you down about a mile into the tunnel. We had to hunch over (well others more than me, cuz I’m short) just to walk in some places. Then we went to an observation area and the sky was so clear we could see a decent way into North Korea. It was pretty amazing! I didn’t think it would get more serious, but sure enough it did. Then we went to the Joint Security Area. At the JSA, North Korean soldiers watched our every moment. There was a concrete line on the pavement that divides North and South and you could see their soldiers on the other side looking at us through binoculars. It was intense. Then they took us into the conference room that they use for talks with the North. I actually got to stand in North Korea! Crazy, huh. They told us that just one week before we went, a North Korean soldier defected into South Korea after killing 2 NK officers. It was a really great history lesson and a once in a lifetime trip. Very grateful for freedom! 

~Krista~