Last week Brian had a business trip to Shanghai, China and Seoul, South Korea. During his visit in Shanghai he took the Maglev train (shown approaching station in picture below). Why is the Maglev so special?
The Maglev is special because it can reach 220 mph in 2 minutes. That means if you got on the Maglev in San Jose you would be in San Francisco in about 6 minutes. For more information on the Maglev please visit the following site: www.smtdc.com/en. You can also look it up on Wikipedia.
Brian was only in Shanghai for a few days before he left for South Korea (missed the earthquake by a week). I was able to join Brian for the weekend in Seoul.
Here is a picture of me with 45,000 won. High roller? No, low roller. For example, I had breakfast which cost 33,000 won or roughly $33 USD. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce the not-so-powerful U.S. dollar.
The city of Seoul is similar to other large cities; traffic, taxis and densely populated with skyscrapers and people. However, with respect to how densely populated it is, the city is remarkably clean. The air does not smell like car fumes, there is no litter to be found, plant foliage wherever they can fit it and the majority of people you see walking on the street are dressed in suits and formal business attire.
It seems that customer service and appearance are extremely important. I had problems trying to get my "won" from the ATM machine so I went into the bank where three young women were dressed in matching suits to greet and assist me. When they could not explain what was wrong they directed me to the bank across the street where the same entry greeters spoke better english. Below is a picture of two ladies dressed in matching suits, pumps, hats and white gloves. What do you think they are doing?
These ladies are greeting cars as they drive into the mall parking lot and handing them parking passes. The lady standing closest to me is bowing to the driver about to pull up to her station.
Friday was mine to explore Seoul by myself. One of my highlights was finding an excellent Italian restaurant for lunch. I had a spinach salad; if you remember from an earlier blog post, it has been hard to find salads in Taipei. I also had one of the most wonderful appetizers I have ever had in my life; roasted garlic cloves and cheese fondue. These are two things I could eat for the rest of my life and be happy, I was in heaven.
Historically, religion in South Korea was dominated by Buddhism. However, as of 2005, about 46% have no religious preference, 29% are Christian and 22% are Buddhist. One of the traditional Buddhist temples found in Seoul is Bongeunsa, founded in 794. Most of the buildings were destroyed by fire in 1939, but were rebuilt/renovated to the grounds map shown below.
The Mireukdaebul statue is 23 meters high (about 75 feet). It is the largest statue of Buddha in Korea. People come to pray in front of Maitreya (Buddha of the future). The statue symbolizes hope for Maitreya to arrive and save all mankind.
The building shown below is Mireukjeon, a space where people come to pray and listen to lectures. All of the sides of the buildings have very detailed paintings. Originally, the paint helped to protect/preserve the wood but now the paintings/murals have religious symbolism.
The lanterns shown below are strung up to Celebrate Buddha's birthday (this year it was on May 12th).
This man is hanging the lanterns and attaching a tag. The tags are wishes/prayers from temple attendants. I am not sure if they are only done around Buddha's birthday or if they can be done any time during the year.
For more information on Bongeunsa please visit the following site: www.bongeun.org
We finished off our night at a local bar. From the pictures on the menu we thought we were ordering a pint of beer and a liter. However, we ordered a pint and a pitcher.
Oops... Bottoms up!
1 comment:
48 miles / 220mph = ?
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