Busan

Today we took the bullet train from Seoul to Busan.

It was pretty impressive. It's only a "bullet" train until Daejeon but we were really moving during that part. I enjoyed seeing the countryside. There were some views of how I thought Korea should look. Very rural, a lot of farming.

Busan is on the coast. Where we are staying is a resort area in the middle of a busy port. Busan is the 5th largest port in the world. While it's the second largest city in South Korea, it is very different from Seoul. A lot less traffic and a lot more green space. Busan has some very pretty gardens. I even saw a community garden being tended by the residents on my walk this evening. And, of course, there is the beach!

Tomorrow we are going to tour the harbor, perhaps on a boat, and then meet with a container company. Friday we will tour Hyundai Heavy Industries and see where they make the massive ship motors.

Chasing the sun

I made it! That was a very interesting experience.

The part that I found my unusual is that the sun did not truly set until we reached Tokyo. After dinner, the cabin shades were drawn so we could watch the movies. Every once in awhile someone would open their shade a bit and the light was always the same. Since we flew over Alaska and the Bering Straits before coming south to Japan, we were truly in the land of the midnight sun. It was very surreal.

Another thing that was interesting was the food. It was actually pretty good! Much better than standard American fair. Well, except for that weird "midnight snack" that was a dry roll spread with what I assumed was a bit of cream cheese, marinated cucumber slices and boiled egg slices. Uh, no thanks. Also, on Korean flights, California rolls are considered "airplane food"! Which don't agree with me at 10,000 feet but that's another story.

Our guide handed out a list of things that we are going to do and see while we are here. She just has "live octopus" list for one of the days. I hope that's not for dinner!

Preflight jitters

It's getting down to the wire and I still need to pack! I'm trying to keep it to just one checked bag but, with a 50 lb. limit and a suitcase that weighs 10 lbs., I'm not sure I'll succeed.

I know I'm worrying about the oddest things but my only experience with international travel is the trip to Mexico when I was three! I'm just thankful we're going as a fairly large group. I'm fairly adventurous but only in an English speaking environment. One thing that helps is reading everything about the country that I possibly can.

The English version of the Korea Tour Guide site has these 10 second animated clips about various aspects of visiting South Korea. They're somewhat amusing. One of them says that South Koreans enjoy spicy food but they think Americans do not. If you want spicy, you have to really press for it. May I just say "thank goodness"? My former sister-in-law is Filipino and she enjoys Korean food, especially kimchi. I saw first hand what that stuff can do and I think I'll pass! I want to try the local food but I'm afraid I will wimp out and stick to the safer versions.