Vancouver Via Seoul (17 March to 23 March 07)

In the middle of March, I had the opportunity to visit the Land Of The Maple Leaf, Canada.

The denizens of Canada are pretty friendly bunch! I was actually taken aback when a local approached us just to have a little chat with us. Being Asian, i was not comfortable initially as we were in a foreign country for the first time and we weren't really sure of his intentions. Slowly we warmed up to him and listened to his stories of his life in Vancouver and prior to that.

Sight seeing wise, in Vancouver, we headed off to Grouse Mountain and the Capilano Suspension bridge. The suspension bridge was definitely breathtaking, just below the bridge were lush Canadian forests divided by a gushing river gurgling below. Right above the tips of the trees was a misty backdrop to complete the enchanting experience.

At Grouse Mountain, it was my first time seeing snow, therefore, I was definitely estatic the moment that I alighted from the cable car ( Which we had to use to go the mountain). As it was a skiing resort, the sight was not as picturesque unless you climb out to the tip of the mountain and start skiing there yourself. We had a ball of a time having snowball fights, lying on the snow and just savouring the beautiful scenery and weather around us.

My highlight of the trip was actually in Seoul. I had 2 and a half days there. The first night was spent hanging out with my journalist friend who happened to be there on the same day. At the bar, we could not get any waiter/waitresses to attend to us. And when we finally got the attention of the staff there, the manager immediately knelt down to apologize profusely to us before giving more thorough attention to our requests. After a few rounds of drinks, when we wanted to settle the bill, the staff came to explain that since we weren't attended to initially, the drinks will be settled by the hotel( Westin Chosun, Seoul was the hotel, btw). This is the first time I had such excellent service rendered to me.

Day 2 consisted of shopping. We spent the day strolling down the streets of Myeoung Dung and Namdemun for good buys esp Korean skincare and fashion. If you are a Korean skincare fan, you can get items from the Face Shop, Skin Food and Laniege at much cheaper prices compared to Singapore.

Btw, in Myeoung Dung, there is this American Donut shop that sells the tastiest donuts ever, Krispy Kreme. I love the original glazed donuts sold there. Lets hope Krispy Kreme will head down to Singapore soon!

At Day 3, which is the highlight of my Seoul trip, I booked a tour to Panjamun, this demiliatarized zone between the North and South. It was certainly an eye opening experience for me. You could actually see the North from observation tower. All the tree were cut at the hilly areas, from the video shown to us, it was speculated that the trees were for fuel and to prevent ppl from escaping as it increased visibility from the North military. There was a barb wire to fence up the area, with electricity as high as 10,000 watts in case anyone intended to escape( 250 watts was enough to kill a normal human being)

Lastly I got to visit the demilitarized zone between North and South, you can virtually step into the North if you want to, though you might get a risk of getting shot at! And of course, the Freedom Bridge, which was also the starting scene of the Bond Film ( when Pierce Brosnan was still Bond) in Die Another Day.