Some differences between South Korea and Canada: The cars are as big as back home, though there aren’t as many SUVs. The ones that do exist tend to be small. Koreans are bad drivers, but they don’t seem to get in many accidents. Gas is about 50% higher than Canada. They are constantly (re-)building here. Seoul is BIG, but the average street here isn’t much different the downtown Toronto.
On Sunday, Andrie and I took a trip out the the DMZ with North Korea. Unfortunately the JSA was closed that day, so we didn’t get to see any North Korean Soldiers up close. It’s still a very weird place. Driving up to it the river Imjin straddles the highway. Since it flows from North Korea, they’ve fenced it off halfway to Seoul and there are armed guard towers every few hundred metres.
Well I’m currently blogging from South Korea! Seoul is a pretty intense place, and we’ve only explored it in tiny amounts so far. After a brutal 18 hours in airports and planes we arrived in the early evening. I was surprised that my CDMA blackberry roams here (no data though). So I didn’t need to rent a handset. The airport was overall very efficient and we were out within 30 minutes after landing.
I get to travel with my job. It is both a blessing and a curse that can take it’s toll on a man. The positives are obvious. I get a paid trip to wherever they send me. I can expense things like meals, cabs, etc. I usually squeeze time to take in some sights and wander around. Some of the places, like Curaçao, I’d never go to otherwise. This is really cool, as it’s something unique that I can talk to people about.
I’m back! Woo! You can see some pictures of Curaçao on my photoblog and my regular gallery. But let me tell you something about the Americans. They are fucking paranoid. I know something terrible happened to you country half a decade ago, but I am just completely irritated. You see, traveling to Curaçao I had to go through Miami. The trip down was relatively smooth because the US has customs at Pearson.
Well, I’m now working in Curaçao. The plane ride was pretty smooth, except having to run through the mess that is Miami International to make my connecting flight. I’d post pictures, but Microsoft sucks so much that it can’t get Windows to understand my camera’s RAW format and I wish I had my mac. The hotel is a million times better than the last one I stayed at. Ocean view, awesome service, I arrive, somebody takes the car, offers me drinks while they get my room ready, take my bags behind my back and there they are in the room…
I’m heading to Curaçao…again! Work has been crazy, lately. There’s a big release coming up, which is why I’m heading away. The last time they swooped me out there I was stuck in a shitty ass hotel (I will never stay at another Howard Johnson again) that reeked, worked 16 hour days, and didn’t have any time to explore the island. The island is nice, but I wouldn’t want to live there.