More thoughts on Sunday

I've just reread yesterday's entry and the welcome reception at the airport doesn't read as funny as it actually was. The pictures will say it all when I get home.

Thoughts on Seoul -- given that it was Easter Sunday the streets were fairly quiet (4 lanes of traffic going in each direction). Crowded, but not too too crazy. Cars of all shapes and sizes really (I thought they would be smaller), mostly Hyundai (Korean made), BMW, Kia. Buses are lime green, blue or pink. We all expected to see more scooters or motorcycles, but they are not allowed on the highways, so don't work for most people -- also driving a bike in the city is quite dangerous. The day was sunny, but foggy. Our host corrected us that this was not fog, but smog -- the yellow river from China. You see quite a few people wearing masks (maybe one in twenty).

Cherry blossoms everywhere along the main street in the financial district which runs along the Han River. It's not a particularly pretty city... oh, this is frustrating -- how can I describe just how blown away by all of this I am. Smoggy, kind of dingy, but beautiful at the same time. Big colourful signs in Korean everywhere with the odd US chain slipped in (7-11, Dunkin' Doughnuts, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, only saw one McDonalds so far), cherry blossoms, neon and big screens (like in Time Square NY), cute little asian cartoon characters everywhere.

I want to take pictures of all of the people here! Adorable little kids. Older women with big visors and colourful track suits marching along (they have a very purposeful march). Cute little old men. Stylish young people (lots of acid wash). We haven't seen one obese person yet (other than the two Canadian tourists we met at the Gyeongbokgung palace tour yesterday).

We stopped for a walk at Chong.je.chen (sp?) -- a 4km long water walkway that runs through Seoul. The man made waterway took only two years to build -- using water from Han River and ground water. There are lots of bridges and stonework along the way. Great people watching -- lots of families out with their kids. There was an outdoor concert going on with breakdancers and three beautiful, hip girls playing different types of violins (La Vida Loca). Very alive!

Prior to that was lunch at Seoul tower at Namsam Park. The tower is in the centre of the city 380M up with a panoramic view (except we couldn't see a thing because of the fog/smog. We looked ridiculous in our uniforms (blue suits) tromping through this family tourist spot. Again, I can't translate just how goofy the scene really was. We had an amazing buffet lunch -- salad, sashimi, korean noodle... too many yummy things to mention and very healthy.

The sun has come up now, I'm off for a run. We have free time until 11am.