Seoul October 8th thru the 12th 2008

This was by far my favorite during my trip to Asia. The city was very cool filled with lots of history and tradition and the People were very friendly. During my visit we stayed on the Youngsan military base at a hotel called the dragon hill lodge in Seoul. It was very nice, it is there for Military vacations in Seoul. This is a picture of the Dragon Hill Lodge

Getting to Seoul was another story. Our flight left from Guam at 3AM and landed in Seoul at 7:30AM. We flew business class because that was all they had.......It was quite the experience, we flew Korean Air and it was the best customer service I have ever seen. there must have been 6 people waiting on business class alone and there were only 30 people in business class. the seats were like big leather recliners that virtually laid flat. they gave you the nicest Airline blankets i have ever seen. ( I will show it to you if you come to my house..LOL). The food on the flight was fantastic, and if you didn't like the Korean food just tell them and they will find something to make for you. Here is a picture of my friend Steve on the flight.

We all tried to sleep some on the flight. when we arrived I got my first taste of what I came to find out as normal when waiting in a line in Asia........ The lines are just there as recommendations, you could be waiting in a line for 5 minutes and someone will walk right up and cut in...... once we figured that out we were the crazy Americans because we never waited in a line the rest of the trip. Although we received some dirty looks, it really saved us time in crowded places. We had a Top US Military IT person take care of us while we were in Korea. his name is Roy Hoshino and he seemed to be everywhere for us. we never had to be worried about how to get anywhere because he not only would take us but also deliver all of our belongings before he even took us to the destinations. There were 12 of us traveling together, so we had over 30 bags ( see picture) that was a feat in itself to get all of our bags from country to country. I am now ready to be a roadie for a band!!!!!

We had a free evening the first day and we had a group dinner. It was really cool to go to a traditional Korean BBQ restaurant. You sit on the ground and cook the food in Woks that were heated by placing Nuts and Bolts that were placed in a big fire and then placed under the BBQ grill. The food was really good. we were all also introduced to Korean Liquor the firsts were Soju a wine made from wheat, sugar cane and sweet potatoes...it is clear like sake and takes like sake. the second was Shochu which is made from the same ingredients but tastes 10 times stronger.....don't mess with this one. The last was Makkoli which we ended up naming Macaroni.....it is a traditional Rice wine, like sake. It looks and tastes like unfiltered Sake, creamy and sweet. they serve it to you in a big wooden bowl and wooden cups. this one is dangerous because the hosts keep this one flowing never letting a cup empty......

Ok enough about that,,,, the food was fantastic, it was Beef, pork, marinated in spices and lots of tofu vegetables. if you like pure spicy food Korean food is the ticket.

So a funny story from that night is that we all decided to go to Etawon which is a city where all the US military people go to blow off steam, so it is full of shopping, bars and the other places you hear about in Asia. Since there are so many people looking for American restaurants there is a hard rock cafe, macaroni grill, McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts. We all decided we wanted to get donuts for our 20 min walk from Etawon back to Youngson base. We actually got asked to be quiet inside the Dunkin donuts.....when we didn't they kicked us out!!!!! we had only been in Korea for less than a day and we got kicked out of a Dunkin donuts. we laughed about that for days......

Here is what Etawon looks like

Also while in Etawon I visited the New York Tailors a famous place to buy clothing. I had a suit and shirt made for me from scratch, i picked the material and all style and it was ready in 2 days. for 250.00 US. The suit was fantastic.

Another are we visited was the electronics mart. This area blew my mind, I saw more phones, computers, DVD's and Gaming systems than I ever imagined even exsisted let alone under one roof. I went into a mall that was 12 stories high and every floor looked like a huge electronic Flea market. Here are a couple of pictures of what I saw.

We spent the nest 2 days in seminars. after the seminar one of the nights we took Roy to dinner at the Hyatt which is at the top of a hill overlooking some of the city. It is where president Bush stayed when he visited Korea, many of the US movie stars stay there as well.

on Saturday we had another free day, our largest customer in Korea asked if we were interested in taking a hike. only 6 of us said yes and so we decided to meet outside the Miltary Gate at 3PM. this gave us time to visit the Seoul tower. it looks like the seattle needle but much taller. from up on the tower you can see how big korea really is. Here is a description of it:

Viewable from almost anywhere in Seoul, Seoul Tower serves as an excellent landmark. Built on a 262 meter peak in Namsan Park, the tower reaches to 480 meters above sea level. When the weather and pollution levels cooperate, visiting the observation tower (370 meters above sea level) allows you to view the entire city and surrounding areas. Because of the vistas, many people enjoy climbing up here for early morning exercise or for a romantic stroll after dark.

we then met DK back at the Base and his staff picked us up we went to the top of a mountain and saw the some gates that were patrolled by the Korean army, I tried to take some pictures but they didnt like that very much so I cant share any with you, But the trail that we went on had milage markers and excersize equipment ever half mile or so.

DK put a great hike together because we walked all downhill. when we got to the bottom we ended up near a monument to a Korean war hero and then entered the area containing the equvilant of the Korean White House, It was beautiful. as you will see in the pictures. we then went into a traditional shopping market part of downtown to go to one of his favorite restaurants. we ate really great food.

Dylans Field Trip to the Halle Heart Center in Tempe

Yesterday I went with Dylan on his school field trip to the heart center. It was something I think we should all take the kids to, they teach about proper diet and how to buy and order food as well as great tips on why you should exercise and the damage smoking does on your body.

There are 8-10 different stations that the kids went to each lasting about 10-12 mins. Here are a few pictures. If anyone is interested in putting a group together to go visit the center let me know.

Here is the website that gives all the information about the center:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4855

Also I have added a picture of dill at the end of this. He loves to wear suits, once a week he wears a suit and tie to school. his teachers and principal love it. I do too, it gives him great confidence and he looks good doing it!!!!!

Guam

My trip to Asia was a business trip, we were giving seminars to all armed forces branches in Asia on communication and security technology. I was there to help our sales team with logistics and customer support.

My trip to Asia started in Guam. The flight there went from Phoenix at 7am to San Francisco a 2 hour flight with a 2 hour layover. Then on to Tokyo a 10 hour flight, and a 6 hour layover in the Narita Airport to catch a 3.5 hour flight to Guam that got into Guam at 1AM local time. which is 8am Phoenix time the Next day......So it took me over 1 day of travel just to get there. When I arrived in Guam I wasn't tired because my body was telling me it was time to get up. I layed down for about 4 hours and then woke up to eat breakfast with the the rest of the group I was traveling with.

The Tokyo airport is really big and really modern, there are machines everywhere where you can buy everything from a small television to a local beer. All the shops sell Candy. here is a picture of a display in one of the candy shops.

Since Guam is a US territory, you really looks like what I imagine Hawaii would have looked many years ago. The local areas are underdeveloped but the main road thru town has most of the normal shopping that many come to expect at any vacation destination. Such as Hard Rock Cafe, Gucci, Prada Etc..

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Guam for the 4 days we were there and it was very nice. The shoreline is beautiful and the water is really clear. The only problem is that the Water is ALWAYS over 80 degrees .... So it may look like it going to be refreshing but it is as warm as a bathtub....That was very surprising to me, but I love the ocean so I got in anyway.........

Here was the view from my room:

The people in Guam are very nice. But the service there was not very good. This has become a vacation destination for the Koreans and the Japanese because of the beauty and the low cost to travel and stay on Guam.

Hope you like the pics. Next I will post Seoul South Korea. It was my favorite city visited on this trip.

Introduction

Hello,

Thank you for visiting my site, I wanted to create a site where I can share the things I like and the places I visit for my friends and family to see.

I have been blessed in my life to have traveled the world and have a successful life. I love my friends and family and this site is for all of you to share.

I will post the trips that I have taken and some important events. feel free to post your comments and Ask for some pictures that you would like to see. I have 1000's and will post as many as I can .

I look forward to reading all of your comments and sharing all of my memories.

Thanks

GR