She must be half way across the Pacific.>

There's no stopping her now.

This place looks like a movie.

Everything is TOTALLY DIFFERENT.

There are giant neon signs and really cheap INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS Noodle houses ALL OVER THE PLACE.

I just pigged out on Blackbean extra spicy Noodle bowl.

WHEEE

And they gave me a free Hotel here. It has airconditioning and free internet access.

Tomorrow I will start a week's orientation involvng a "bunch of stuff" (including canooing).

I have to buy a transformer/adapter before I attempt to boot up my poor laptop (if it ever boots again that is).

The outlets here have different holes and twice the voltage.

So far nobody robbed or killed me.

But I lost my shades already.

The price of everything in the airport was RIDICULOUS but here in "run down" downtown Daegu it's DIRT CHEAP for stuff, so far.

The best part of the plane trip was crossing the <MIGHTY NEGEV DESERT>.

You wouldn't believe what Seoul and Inchon look like (I drove through them on the bus).

Different than you could imagine.

Daegu is older, it looks kind of like Montreal.

SEOUL IS BLOODY ENORMOUS!!!

I counted at least 500 neon crosses on the bus trip. (lots of Christians there).

<And they gave me a free Hotel here.> That is indeed more than expected... LOL

Good to hear you arrived safe and sound! <WannaBe>'s imitation of Ol' Blue Eyes must have helped!

This hotel is called teh <shangrila> and it has flyers for strip clubs laid out on the sidewalk in front of it.

No wonder this district seemed like Montreal!!

This is like being in a move.

SO MUCH NEON EVERYWHERE

tomorrow I have to meet the other foreign teachers in some kind of communist training program.

But not before I play chess all night on the internet!!

It will be a few weeks after tonight till I can get my laptop and IP set up.

I just stopped travelling a minute ago..

BUT NOT BEFORE I TRAVELLED TO THE KOREAN "Kwicky Mart" and got all these special Korean energy drink thingies!!

yes I've only been relaxing the last 20 minutes.

The whole rest of the time I was travelling in trains planes and buses to get here.

OH btw there are inflatable poles with pictures of half-naked asian women all over the street here.

Although I have to say the appointments in this hotel room are first rate..

Clean, nicely painted, cable television, free internet, nice shower and bath, wet bar, purified water machine, double bed, and a Kron chocolate on my pillow.

I don't think they have rooms like this in the <Cobalt Hotel>.

Tomorrow I will be bused off with the rest of the foreigners to some kind of communist "orientation" camp.

Right now <Kubrik's> last film <Eyes Wide Shut> is on.

This is perhaps the most bizarre street I've ever seen.

Every single thing is open all night here. And yet there is no noise.

WHAT KIND OF CITY IS THIS???

My kind, I can tell you. People are exceedignly friendly so far.

Lots of bowing, smiling, and sign language.

I think I may have slept only 3-4 hours in the last...

(carry the four..)

er...

getting on 48 hours now....

<This is perhaps the most bizarre street I've ever seen.

Every single thing is open all night here. And yet there is no noise.

WHAT KIND OF CITY IS THIS???

My kind, I can tell you. People are exceedignly friendly so far.

Lots of bowing, smiling, and sign language. >

Everything is brand spanking new and ten times larger than anything you've ssen.

A Giant Suspesnion Bridge at least 20 miles long spans Incheon harbor-- the top of the span is easily as high as a good size skyscraper.

NOT ONE HOUSE can be seen.

Instead, giant clusters of spanking white oblong obelisk apartment buildings, 30 stories high, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them packed together.

And neon crosses from hundreds of Christian churches burning in the twilight.

The Church architecture is close to space age.

Giant, monolithic stylized concrete churches, absolutely enormous.

And on the outskirts of these settlements are tiny "mom and pop" rice paddies and mushroom barns.

And there is plenty of wilderness in between the settlements.

The main highway from Incheon Airport to Seoul and Daegu has about 5000 signs warning of "Deer Crossing" the road.

Though I didn't spot one.

It's about 45 degrees celsius with the "humidex" factor.

And yet no one is bare chested (very bad manners here).

There were soldiers with machine guns in the airport.

HI RAH!!

no, 3 hour drive to Vancouver airport, 11 hour flight to Incheon, 3 hour wait for the bus, and 5 more hours to this hotel room in Daegu.

So far I love Daegu but all I've seen is this amazing street and cool hotel room I'm in.

The food is so delicious here I can't believe it.

I suppose You'll stay in the hotel for a while, before You get an apartment.

Which means, for the time being, You'll have the Internet access?

I played some chess but I'm too excited to play well, moved too quickly.

I don't think I'll have internet access again until I'm set up with an IP in my own apartment.

And if my poor old laptop decides to boot just one more time.

My Mom was going to buy me a new one for the trip, but the old one made a "comeback" for some reason, so she said might as well use that one, and if it won't boot my Mom is going to buy one for me from Canada with her credit card.

But that means I'll have to have a Dell brand delivered here.

Maybe Dell Brand lap tops aren't so bad if you don't drop them on the floor.

(I dropped mine on the floor twice... probably why it has trouble booting and crashing, but I'm no computer expert.)