Blogs from Seoul, South Korea, Asia - page 12

We landed in Seoul yesterday after a 12 hour journey from Los Angeles. It took about 90 minutes to get through Korean customs with our group of 30 but we managed to not lose anyone and made it to our gorgeous hotel, The Grand Hyatt, in one piece. South Korea is beautiful. Rolling hills and stunning mountain tops, wrap the busy high-rises creating a picture perfect landscape. The traditional Korean architecture mirrored with the modern buildings create a mesmerizing juxtaposition of textures and colors. Our hotel sits atop the southern mountain and overlooks the cityscape and river. It must be the place to stay because our very own Secretary of State John Kerry (and his brigade) are staying here as well! This morning we took a special trip to the Samsung headquarters. A communications specialist spoke ... read more

A trio of mountains. I have previously hiked Yongmasan, many, many years ago, and when I did that hike, we had wanted to tack Achasan on to it, but couldn't find our way, so had to give up. However, this time I would start at Achasan to make sure I got there. Achsan, Yongmasan and Mangusan were all collectively called Mt. Acha or Achasan until the Joseon dynasty. So hopefully I would be able to tackle all three without too much difficulty. I took the subway to Achasan station. The blogs I had read about getting to the mountain form the subway station made it seem quite difficult, but I think I followed the directions from 10 magazine and it was pretty simple. And if you are there at the weekend, you can just follow the ... read more

Spring has sprung! The cherry blossoms were out in force and I wanted to head some where to walk about in their beauty and, of course, take some photos. I don't know what it is about cherry blossoms, but they just put a smile on my face. Maybe their beauty is amplified as they are the first real flowers after winter. I just wished they lasted longer, cherry blossom season is too short. The flowers would be at their peak on 9th April in Seoul. The KTO (at least I think it's the KTO) publishes a guide stating the dates when the cherry blossoms peak in different regions and cities of Korea. So I was only a couple of days late. Ideally, I had wanted to visit somewhere that wasn't too busy, but I knew I ... read more

Lunar New Year, which falls some where between mid-January to mid-February, is a national holiday in Korea. The holiday itself lasts three days - the day before, day of, and day after the new year - and pretty much the entire country has vacation. A group of us from Yangsan decided to take a trip to Seoul for the Lunar New Year as we had five days off. On Wednesday morning we headed to the KTX station in Busan and boarded one of the world's fastest trains to go to the capital of South Korea. (There's something to say about getting to see the capital of a country... in many cases, it is the center of not only their government but oftentimes is a great representation of the culture itself. I've loved most of the capital ... read more

We finished of our time in Los Angeles a bit slower. First we reluctantly returned our mustang, however we didn't leave empty handed as we picked up a smaller car for the day, as it would cost the same amount as catching taxis everywhere. This time we didn't stand out so much in a small, black Mazda 2. It was a good choice to pick up as it served its purpose of getting us around. Our first location for the day was to head down to Venice Beach. Venice beach is the centre of La beach culture with muscle beach, beachfront shops, skatepark and basketball courts etc next to the beach. We casual walked along the walkway around the people, for winter it was very busy, we would hate to see what summer would be like. ... read more