DMZ

Last Sunday I was taken to the De-Militarized Zone by a friend who has good connections, it seems. I was treated as though I was a senior military officer and we got to see parts of the complex that are not usually open to casual visitors.



Then we had lunch at a (very) traditional Korean restaurant (this means sitting on the floor at a very low table trying not to drop too much food on your trousers!). The food was mostly fermented (So Kim-chee, beancurd, and many other little adventures).

This is the area at the back of the restaurant where the food is stored and matured!

Tuesday - Incheon

So, here I am at Incheon Airport (voted best airport in Asia, apparently) -- but using a keyboard with many strange symbols. Internet access here is really cheap!

Monday in Seoul was pleasant as I managed to get some time for myself, so I wandered around the city centre (the subway system is really easy to use). In the evening, I was taken to dinner with some Government officials -- a very interesting experience and undoubtedly the reason why I slept through the alarm this a.m.!

I'm all checked-in, but they are muttering about "this flight is always late", so we'll see. At least I have a boarding card for the last leg of the journey from Paris CDG -> Birmingham.

It's quite foggy outside, but this doesn't seem to be worrying anyone at the moment....

UPDATE
The flight left 30 minutes late and arrived at CDG 20 minutes early -- it's still a long time though. Plane was only about 2/3 full, so more comfortable than sometimes. Just waiting for my flight to Birmingham -- the computer swears it's on time ...

Sunday Morning

Here are the pictures of the toilet controls I promised! Though the images on some of the buttons are quite explicit, I haven't had the nerve to try because other pictures are not! The fact that the seat is heated is interesting, resulting in mixed feelings -- it's that 'just used' notion that's a bit difficult to get used to.

It's a beautiful sunny morning here in Seoul, but everyone is dressed up for winter! (I say 'everyone' but at 09:00 on Sunday, there really isn't anyone about and almost no traffic).

I'm just waiting for one of my friends to arrive to take me to the DMZ so that I can have a look at North Korea (Or, I suppose, that they can have a look at me).

Ah, Hotels!

I'm not that pleased with my hotel today. The temperature's dropped outside, so they've turned the heating on and the airconditioning off --- fine in principle, but my room's at 28C and I can't get it any cooler!

I was hoping to include some pictures of my hotel toilet controls, but the internet isn't playing tonight, so maybe tomorrow?

The Conference

My presentation went quite well, I thought. At least it was to time and made people think (The drawback was that I was approached by several people afterwards who seemed to think I ought to be able to tell them the future of healthcare provision in Korea!).

Interesting food: a no-choice lunch which was lots of traditional Korean dishes. Dinner was a 'formal' welcome dinner, but the buffet was open to all conference delegates. So, while we were being welcomed, they ate all the food!

Weather was very wet this a.m., glad I took the umbrella - but the forecast for the rest of my stay is good.

Tomorrow I get to see an ex-PhD student for lunch and touring...

Brian Westcott RIP

My trip to Korea was uneventful, but long. Good to be met by friends at the airport.

However, the sad news is that Brian Westcott of the Somers Traditional Folk Club died yesterday - I'll miss him. We all will.

Last Day in England

Jane from Nankai arrived last night at Heathrow. Immigration took longer than it should (which says something about UK Immigration, I fear), but she's here in Birmingham now getting settled-in.

Tomorrow, I fly to Seoul for the Social Welfare Conference, but also a chance to do a bit of visiting with some of my Korean students. Longish flights, so I'll have time to work on the conference paper!

Only a week left ...

It's only a week until I leave for South Korea to be keynote speaker at the Korean Academy of Social Welfare 50th anniversary conference. It's a bit bizarre to be traveling to east Asia less than 2 weeks since I left China, but opportunities like this are few and far between.

Getting used to the currency should be a challenge too -- the current exchange rate is about 1864 Won = £1! I'm going to be a millionaire again!

The Wall, Beijing and Home

We're home now, a long flight and then some problems at Amsterdam when the last leg was overbooked! Got home about 22:30 on Friday.

We've been to the Great Wall now -- it really is impressive and to visit during the National Holiday was quite special. Badaling was amazingly crowded (above is Juyongguan, much quieter). Also visited the Ming Tombs:

This is the Emperor's throne in an underground tunnel complex, a little like the pyramids, I think. Again, this is a place of pilgrimage for the Chinese people and it was quite busy, even late in the day.

This was followed by an interesting (!) drive along Beijing's expressway system in the dark. Saw or heard 5 or 6 minor accidents in about an hour!

Our hotel in Beijing (The Beijing International) was a 5-star respite. Really comfortable and near the Forbidden City and Silk Street..

The Forbidden City itself is too big to grasp in one visit, but for me, Tiananmen Square was surprisingly moving. So many important events have taken place there. Full (and I mean FULL) of people, it's an amazing sight!