The Seoul-ful part of my trip

I had to make the obligatory Seoul/soul pun. I'm sorry.

So after spending pretty much the whole day in the Narita/Tokyo Airport I have landed here in South Korea. I had originally planned to take a tour of the DMZ tomorrow, but since I was the only person signed up for the trip, coupled with the fact that the North and the South are having some "peace talks" the tour got cancelled. I had help out hope that I might be able to step inside North Korea for even the briefest of moments just to say I had been. Oh well. Kim Jung-Ill will have to wait for another day for Patrick Barker.

I must say I don't know what to expect from this city. On the exterior, it resembles Tokyo. Bright lights, loads of people and cement everywhere. Hopefully tomorrow I can find a softer side of the city. I'm also looking into taking in a traditional Korean theater performance on Wednesday. Should be interesting.

My hosts in Seoul for the first two nights live near the Olympic section of town. Of course, you remember that Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics. I just finished asking them how they became a couple, a question that is surprisingly easily answered. You see, he is a Spaniard, she is a native of Sri Lanka via Toronto. They now live in Seoul. Pretty cool if you ask me.

I don't have a whole lot to say, since I just arrived, but I did make a few notes.

-When I arrived at the airport going through customs I was stopped and asked if I was a member of the Army or Air Force. Darn this haircut. I even asked the guy if my haircut was the reason he stopped me. It was.

-Want to know how Korean police slow people down on the interstate? Just place random flashing red and blue lights in bushes.

-I am reminded that Korea has the most missionaries per capita of any country in the world as I see dozens of crosses fixed to buildings on the drive in.

-My iPod touch is a spectacular gadget. I recommed anyone who is traveling to own one.

-The cab ride to the apartment was a nightmare. My Korean is limited to Hello and Thank You, so trying to give directions wasn't easy. Luckily I was in the right neighborhood and my host came to my rescue.

-I have a business proposition to anyone who will listen. What we will do is start screen-printing tshirts to sell in Asia. Shirts with English written on them are all the rage. The funny thing is, the shirts don't even make sense in English. So all we have to do is slap a few random phrases on shirts (think: The chimney sweep eats apples, et al.) and we're banking big bucks. Sleep on it.

More on Korea tomorrow...