So here's yet another kid's play place. I think my winter won't be as dreadful as last one now that I know where more things are. I still miss the bouncy houses of the American kind because they have bigger inflatables and the kids tend to expend a little more energy, but this is a great substitute.

This is Tumbland, which is the closest indoor play place (other than the Burger King on post) that I've found. It is on the 7th floor of the I Park mall. It's more expensive than the last place I went to, but sometimes distance is worth paying a little more (I can drive to this one quickly, it's just behind post). On this particular day that was the case. We have the Seoul Searchers group that I've posted about quite a few times. That day we were going to a kid's cafe at Olympic Park. On post there was a 'physical fair' at the hospital. I went at 8am to get both of their kids their physicals for the school year and figured I'd be done in time to make it. 3 hours later we were still not quite done at the hospital. I had told the kids we were going 'somewhere fun', and since they were really good and patient at the hospital we grabbed some lunch at BK and headed to Tumbland. It's 15,000 won per child and I think 5,000 won for me and I get a free coffee or beer. I passed. They get to play for 2 hours and then each additional hour is like 500 or 1000 won.

You can sit on this tree and manually swing it around. The kids LOVED this thing. Cade particularly enjoyed being the person to help the kids swing.


This was the 2nd most popular place for my kids. The poor Korean girls who were working there kept rolling the tube for the kids. I eventually went and helped her out b/c her arms were getting pretty tired. However, Cade told me later that 'the girl liked me. she told me i was cute and took my picture' LOL


Jungle gym with a small ball pit in the bottom


If you go up the stairs it's all inflatable things along with the ones on ground level







After we were done the boys asked if we could watch the trains for a few minutes. This was the view from the garage where we parked our car. IPark Mall is connected to Yongsan station, a major hub for not just the metro trains but KoRail and KTX trains that go longer distances.

There are a lot of train pictures, but they're mostly on here for my boys to remember later.







As I was taking all these pictures a truck pulled up on the floor below with a surprise in its bed.

Oh random Korea!

So the Olympics were held here in 1988 and then the winter Olympics will be held here again in 2018. There is a huge area you can visit near the stadium that has a museum, playground, flags, torch and other outdoor things to see and do. We went to the museum and walked around the grounds a bit afterwards. To be honest, the boys were extra grumpy that day so I didn't have that great of a time. I ended up taking quite a few pictures of grumpy kids instead of the museum! Stinkers...










Getting grumpy...

He wouldn't walk with me, so this is Alex all in his lonesome





Oooh, a pretty metal drum! Cool!


My poor attempt at a panoramic picture


Grumpy Cade


and again...


Now outside. Here's all the flags followed by another attempted panoramic shot.



Entrance gates to Olympic Park.


Maybe we'll go back when the kids aren't so grumpy, maybe we won't! Lol...

So there are several military bases in South Korea. We are stationed at Yongsan which is right in the heart of Seoul. You can click on the link to see all of the others. We often travel to Osan Air Force Base because the Exchange is HUGE and has a much wider selection. They even have a full size Chili's. The first time we ate there (and we really never ate at Chili's in the states) we felt like we had found a little slice of home.

At Camp Humphrey's there is a pretty great water park. It's only $10 for the whole family to get in as well. I would be going there all the time, but it's 2+ hours away. It makes for a great day trip, but a really long and tired day!

A few weeks ago a bunch of us gals from church decided to caravan down and make a trip together. We took back roads since the major highway was going to be packed and we all made it without getting hopelessly lost! It was a lot of fun. Really hot, but with as many rainy days as we've had this summer you better believe we wanted to get out and play in that sun.

The pictures aren't the best since i just had a little camera with me, but here they are:

So this is a silly video, but it has some great shots of the subway stations and what the metro system is like here. Take note of all the stairs we hike up and down any time we use the subway ;)



Oh, and the tune to the song is what you hear whenever you are at a transfer station.

In Seoul, if you are willing to travel a bit through city traffic, maybe get lost, or brave the subways with your kiddos then you can find some hidden treasures. I don't always have the inclination to do big journeys but we've had a LOT of rain, as you know, and we just need to get out and do something different. My friend Shauna said there was a play place near where she lived and invited us to come play. See, in most department stores in Seoul you can find a little area for kids with different themes. This one was based on Chiro, a Korean kid's TV show.

To get there:

Subway: Gayang Station, exit 9. This is on the 9 line, which meant two transfers for us. For those of you who don't like transferring more than once like me, please note that these transfers were very easy. Some stations require a lot of walking between lines, but from 6 line to 2 line, and 2 line to 9 line, they were very easy.

Driving: I haven't driven but i marked the location on my phone while we were there and it looks like it would be easy to drive to. Get on the Gangbyeon expressway (the 70) towards World Cup Stadium and cross at the Gayang Bridge. Soon after you cross you will turn right towards the department store and there is parking in the basement. Sorry I don't have any more details than that, but I can repost if I drive there.

Here's a map and a picture of the department store.



This particular play area was only 7,000 won per child and adults were free. It opens at 10:30. They have really good food if you want to get lunch or a snack while you're there. (my kids ate korean food for lunch! this is a big deal for them!) The limit is 2 hours, but we were there nearly 3 hours and they didn't kick us out or charge us extra.

Go in the department store and it is on the 7th floor. Once inside, take off your shoes and pick a locker.


Bring them your key and they will issue you a wristband with the number of your locker.


Now your kids are free to play and you are free to sit and watch them play via the monitors at your table. (America, pay attention!)


Also, if you want a drink or a snack, just show them your wristband and they'll add it to your tab. You pay for everything once you're done! Here's the place and my kids having a blast.



My kids were so excited to see a ball pit!








Here they are waiting in line to go on the train that goes around the ball pit. I had to document them holding hands because they fight more than get along!



The train only ran once while we were there, at about noon and it was a hit!


And almost everywhere we go they have dippin' dots. They are much cheaper here than in the states so since the boys ate their (korean!) lunch they got a treat.



It was so much fun, but I was certainly worn out by the time we got home. We left at 9 and got home at 3. They boys did a great job walking to the subway station, through the stations, and then back home again since mommy felt brave and didn't bring a stroller for Alex! :)