Motoring Across America

With James "Alex" Alexander

with James "Alex" Alexander



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Travel Blog 251: Short Trip to Korea

Tokyo to Seoul

After an easy two-hour-and-forty-minute flight from Narita, I landed at Incheon airport and then took an hour-long trek via taxi to my hotel.

I had a nice room (good bed, deep bathtub, nice view), but it was about one-quarter the size of my Tokyo room, so a tad tight. Also known for their technology, the toilet in my room had the same vast capabilities as the one I had in Japan. (It’s going to be hard to return to a single lever unit!)

Korean Toilet

I really enjoyed the mural above my bed, as Marilyn Monroe was my roommate for my five-day stay.

Marilyn

Here is a view from my room…I may have doctored it up a little. ;)

View from My Room

Korean View

Work
Similar to the previous week, I spent the next day working in my hotel room. This was followed with two intensive days facilitating a training workshop for the Korean division of the same client I was working for in Japan. Along with the Koreans, Thais, Taiwanese, Chinese, and one Indian participated. Very sharp group…I was pleased to get to know a couple of the Koreans, and we passed along stories related to differences in our cultures.

Cold!
The weather was consistent: gray skies, brisk winds, and low temperatures--getting down to the low teens (Farenheit) at night. Hence, I completed my 10-minute walks to the office in less than five minutes--really glad I took my gloves and headband. Because of the cold, I spent zero time exploring the streets, keeping inside all that I could.

DMZ Trip
The only thing I was excited about seeing was the DMZ, the Korean demilitarized zone. It is the buffer zone between North and South Korea, running across the peninsula roughly following the 38th parallel. It was created by agreement between North Korea, China, and the United Nations in 1953. The DMZ is 250 kilometres (160 miles) long, and about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) wide.

I had signed up for a full-day tour, my last day prior to coming back to the States. The Koreans I had talked to said it was a really interesting place to visit.

Alas, at around 7:00 p.m. the evening before my scheduled tour, I got an email from the tour people…the tour had been canceled because of rising tensions between the North and the South. Not having anything else I wanted to see, I hung out one more day in my room. Hence, all the photos I envisioned taking never materialized.

Back to Florida

Incheon to Atlanta

After a two-hour delay, I had a pleasant flight back to Atlanta, and then an easy return back to Ft. Myers. Long trip, but a good trip.

Old Trucks
Here are four old trucks from the Old Truck Reserve.

Old Truck 1

Old Truck 2

Old Truck 3

Old Truck 4

See you soon.