Month: January 2008

During the winter in Korea it gets really cold and it’s a humid kind of horrible cold. But the Koreans seem not to have grasped this at all. At the bus stop you can see girls waiting in short skirts and thin jackets, they do shiver but do not seem to understand that you can do something about it by putting more clothes on. I guess it is not fashionable.

They have totally missed out on the invention of winter tyres and traffic is therefore catastrophic whenever it is slippery or snowy. They simply can not go to work if it is snowing! (imaging trying that with your boss in Sweden..)

Also they have a huge insulation problem which means that they have some difficulties heating the buildings. But when they do succeed with this they are persistent to keep about 30 degrees. This all means that you need to bring a lot of clothes because you do not know if your meeting room is going to keep 15 or 30 degrees. The Koreans usually where their winter jackets inside even if it is 30 degrees (how does their thermostat work??)! Often you end up sweating or getting a cold shock because without warning the temperature changes by 20 degrees and you are still inside! Is this why their major soft drink is called “Pocari sweat”?

I am starting to understand why it is so popular to grill your own meat on the dinner table. It is the only way to keep warm while eating (before they get drunk enough not to notice that is) in the constant draft of the poor building constructions.

If you visit the old temples in Seoul they are very proudly showing the advance floor heating systems they built hundreds of years ago. Koreans seem to have a very bad memory…

…I am leaving Korea and am going to Beijing for the weekend before returning to Sweden on Tuesday. I have never been to Beijing and am very excited to be able to visit the Great Wall (weather permitting, it is cold in these parts of the world now!) and the forbidden city. I have finally finished work for now and can concentrate on going to China tomorrow morning. Looking forward to it! (And the best thing is that when I return to work on Wednesday I have only three days to go to my three week holiday of diving with hammerheads in Costa Rica and cruising around Key West!!)

Just the day before I went to Korea last time in December I read an article about the Samsung scandal involving bribes and economic crimes. It said that there is a saying in Korea that there are three things a korean can not escape; death, taxes and Samsung. And it is so true. The first thing you see when getting off the plane in Seoul is Samsung flat screens and it continues with heaters, cars, buildings, roads, ships, department stores, insurance, telephones, computers, any type of electronic device…. Even the little plastic thing on the dinner table that holds the drinks menu is made by Samsung! They are everywhere! According to my collegues here about 15 % of the stock market is just Samsung. Also about 15 % of Koreas total export is Samsung! It is impressive how one company can be so dominant in a country of this size. I think that I have been able to spot the Samsung logo from everywhere I have been standing in this country. I will give you some examples when I get the chance.

Can someone explain what this means? The sign was mounted at the window in my hotel room in Korea.

Some people are under the impression that I have been everywhere. Several times I have gotten the question if there are places that I have not seen. I might have visited more places than the average person but every time I am equally surprised by the question because there is an endless list of places to go to. I have not even visited all the continents!
When I was in Samoa in the Pacific Ocean I met an elderly man who had the goal to visit every country in the world. At that time he had some 20 or 30 to go. I do not know if he has made it by now but he was very determined and was more or less travelling all the time. He had spent his entire life reaching for this goal. I am now probably about half his age and still have a long list of places to visit and the list is steadily growing as I read and hear about places I knew nothing about before. Often I also feel like returning to some places because I liked them so much or I want to give them another chance.
Perhaps I will travel less in the future, perhaps not. So far I have not gotten tired of it. When I know that I will not travel for a while I can get cramps in my stomach just thinking about it. Especially when I think about hiking in the Alps or somewhere similar. I miss that always. That is funny because I have not been to the mountains for several years now. But it is definately time to go!

Another year has passed and a new one is ahead of us. The first day of this new, exciting year I have spent mostly in my sisters sofa, tired from yesterday’s celebration. It has given me time to think about the past year. 2007 was a great travel year for me although it seems like a long time ago now because most of my holidays were in the beginning of the year. Business trips which I have made mostly the second half of the year are somehow parts of a different category.

I started off with an 11 week holiday travelling around India and diving in Palau. Just to take 11 weeks off work is a treat in itself and adding a fantastic trip to that makes it even better. I have several times been asked if I like India and that is actually a tricky question to answer. I would be lying if I said I love the country, but I do like many things about it. It is not always relaxing to be there, not often at all actually. However I think it was worth going there and I would go there again at some point because it is a very fascinating place. The diving in Palau was a wonderful and relaxing end of the trip.

During the summer I travelled to Italy and spent a week driving around north Italy with mainly the purpose of eating and drinking well. That was not particularly difficult, it is hard to fail in Italy on that topic.

On top of these trips I have visited family around Sweden and made some business trips to Asia, including Taiwan, Japan and mainly Korea. As already mentioned I classify business trips somewhat differently than holiday trips. The main purpose is of course work and is therefore connected to other responsabilities and gives little time for sightseeing or other private activities. If that happens it is more of a bonus although I usually try to plan something else than work to get more out of the experience.

This coming year I have only one trip planned so far. In February I am going to Florida, Miami and Key West, and on a 10 day liveaboard (diving) to Cocos Island in the Pacific Ocean outside of Costa Rica. Of course I have many destinations in mind and am certain I will travel more later this year, exactly where is yet to be seen…

Happy New Years and travel safely!