Seoul, Korea
We arrived in Soeul today about 12:30. To get here we left our hotel in Hyderabad about 5pm to catch an 8pm flight to Delhi. The Jet Airways flight was delayed so they booked us on Indian Airlines and we were able to fly out a little earlier. It was a bit confusing but Jet Airways was very helpful. They helped us in Hyderabad and also greeted us in Delhi to help us get to the International airport. They pretty much helped out with the entire process which would have been confusing withouth them. Huge thanks to Jet Airways and Mahesh and his dad.
The flight from Delhi took about 2 hours. We arrived at 9:30 and our flight to Seoul (Asiana Airlines) didn't leave until about 2am (Sunday) so we just hung out in the airport. I talked to a man from Italy who has travelled to India, China, and was headed to Seoul and then to Paris for work. His company builds the wiring for dashboards of cars (such as the speedometer & tac).
The Asiana Airlines flight is about 6-7 hours long. We arrived in Seoul at 12:30 (16 hours ahead of Seattle time and 3.5 hours later than Delhi), went to our hotel and then took a shuttle to downtown for shopping and a palace.
Seoul is much like the U.S. There are highways and drivers drive in the lanes. There seems to be a large amount of construction being done (possibly more dwellings)? The first place we went was a market similar to a street fair in Fremont. Then we went to the palace and then on to an area that has 24 hour shopping. It's like an outdoor mall with little shops all along the sides, a one/two lane "street" and kiosks outside of shops.
The weather here is similar to Seattle (for today anyways). Unlike India where almost everyone knows English it is more difficult to communicate. There is also a large police presence that is very visible in the streets. Our driver did not speak much English, but demonstrated as to why by flexing his arm muscle so we think it is to show the presence of police.
We came back to our hotel and had dinner about 9pm. Our hotel is outside of town and close by the airport so after dinner, Leena, Nivi, Josh, Luke, Kenta and Charlene and I walked around outside. It's nice out but drizzling. There are convenience stores about every block (kind of like the ABC stores in Hawaii). I recommend the melon popsicle - VERY good. It's a milk and melon flavor. YUM!!
It's about 11:30 tonight. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 5pm and arrives in Seattle at 11:00am that same day. I get to relive the same day. :-) Just kidding. Lauren - we cross the dateline so I get to go back in time.
I actually miss India. Seoul seems a lot like the U.S. yet it's different. I'm not sure this culture is as open to Americans as India seems to be. Hard to say - I've only been here for a partial day but interacting with people here is VERY different from what I experienced in India. With the exclusion of the toilets and lack of t.p., I prefer India. Although - dinner tonight was exceptional. I had a Korean beef dinner that had strips of beef, rice, soup, dried shrimp (shell included - and it was GREAT!), mushrooms, a couple of spicy vegetable dishes and pickeled cucumbers. (They aren't quite pickles). Each of the dishes comes in its own little bowl. Kenta who is Japanese was able to explain what everything was. I recommend this dish.
I am looking forward to coming home but am sad to leave India. We've had such a great experience overall with visiting companies and sightseeing and with the people in general in India. I would love to come back.
Hyderabad was my least favorite because it seems much more western than the other cities we visitied. My favorite cities are Jaipur and Mumbai.
Gotta run. See you all tomorrow.
The flight from Delhi took about 2 hours. We arrived at 9:30 and our flight to Seoul (Asiana Airlines) didn't leave until about 2am (Sunday) so we just hung out in the airport. I talked to a man from Italy who has travelled to India, China, and was headed to Seoul and then to Paris for work. His company builds the wiring for dashboards of cars (such as the speedometer & tac).
The Asiana Airlines flight is about 6-7 hours long. We arrived in Seoul at 12:30 (16 hours ahead of Seattle time and 3.5 hours later than Delhi), went to our hotel and then took a shuttle to downtown for shopping and a palace.
Seoul is much like the U.S. There are highways and drivers drive in the lanes. There seems to be a large amount of construction being done (possibly more dwellings)? The first place we went was a market similar to a street fair in Fremont. Then we went to the palace and then on to an area that has 24 hour shopping. It's like an outdoor mall with little shops all along the sides, a one/two lane "street" and kiosks outside of shops.
The weather here is similar to Seattle (for today anyways). Unlike India where almost everyone knows English it is more difficult to communicate. There is also a large police presence that is very visible in the streets. Our driver did not speak much English, but demonstrated as to why by flexing his arm muscle so we think it is to show the presence of police.
We came back to our hotel and had dinner about 9pm. Our hotel is outside of town and close by the airport so after dinner, Leena, Nivi, Josh, Luke, Kenta and Charlene and I walked around outside. It's nice out but drizzling. There are convenience stores about every block (kind of like the ABC stores in Hawaii). I recommend the melon popsicle - VERY good. It's a milk and melon flavor. YUM!!
It's about 11:30 tonight. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 5pm and arrives in Seattle at 11:00am that same day. I get to relive the same day. :-) Just kidding. Lauren - we cross the dateline so I get to go back in time.
I actually miss India. Seoul seems a lot like the U.S. yet it's different. I'm not sure this culture is as open to Americans as India seems to be. Hard to say - I've only been here for a partial day but interacting with people here is VERY different from what I experienced in India. With the exclusion of the toilets and lack of t.p., I prefer India. Although - dinner tonight was exceptional. I had a Korean beef dinner that had strips of beef, rice, soup, dried shrimp (shell included - and it was GREAT!), mushrooms, a couple of spicy vegetable dishes and pickeled cucumbers. (They aren't quite pickles). Each of the dishes comes in its own little bowl. Kenta who is Japanese was able to explain what everything was. I recommend this dish.
I am looking forward to coming home but am sad to leave India. We've had such a great experience overall with visiting companies and sightseeing and with the people in general in India. I would love to come back.
Hyderabad was my least favorite because it seems much more western than the other cities we visitied. My favorite cities are Jaipur and Mumbai.
Gotta run. See you all tomorrow.
posted by Joyann | 7:17 AM
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