Ride on Time

Now I am back in Dubai from my recent trip to the Far east, I am facing my usual challenges of getting my sleeping pattern back to normal. Although, I was only in Seoul for 4 days, the 5 hour time difference meant that my 7:30am alarm call for our morning meetings during our trip was a particularly unpleasant experience - equivalent to a 2:30am start on Dubai time so breakfast was not particularly alluring (although that did not stop me from tucking in....). By lunch time I would be feeling vaguely human and by late afternoon/early evening I would be firing on all cylinders which did not make getting off to sleep very easy. I read somewhere that it take a day to adjust for each hour time difference. I am not sure how correct that is, but I certainly struggle with jet lag when I get back from the UK (not so much going) and in the case of trips to the Far East, it is generally whilst I am there that I feel the differences although I did struggle to get to sleep last night even though I was back in my own bed.

A. has been asking me questions recent such as "Would you rather be able to teleport or to be invisible"? I think teleportation has a lot going for it but you would still need to find a cure for jet lag!

Shaken not stirred

The flight back to Dubai from Seoul takes around 9 1/2 hours - considerably longer than the flight out which I guess is because in part the plane is flying into the winds - certainly the flight was quite a bumpy one. However the longer flight time at least gave me a chance to check out the bar on our A380. There is something very James Bondesque about propping up a bar at 35,000 feet chatting to a German professor of Information Technology and a couple of South Africans who claimed to work for a sports wear manufacturer (could they have been spies?). In any event, I could not resist the temptation to order a vodka Martina - shaken not stirred of course!

Now you see it

We finally managed to catch sight of the elusive Lotte Tower mentioned in my last post. I guess Seoul is a little more crowded with competing buildings than Dubai as it was obviously a big building but it did not seem to dwarf the surrounding area in the same way as the Burg Khalifa. Having said this, it is not yet finished so perhaps they will adding some additional towers.

Our trip to Seoul is drawing to an end, and as with previous trips, the overriding impression has been of welcoming people keen that you eat as much food as possible! This trip was however made to a glorious backdrop of golden leaves and beautiful sunshine and we even managed a trip to one of the palaces (with the Secret Garden although we did not have time to see the garden) so in many ways the trip has been very memorable. Apparently it has been raining today in Dubai so a reverse of the usual expectation that the weather we are returning to will be better!

Hidden Tower

The title sounds like a Tolkienesque novel but actually refers to the Lotte Tower which is apparently under construction (and close to completion) here in Seoul. However, notwithstanding keeping a sharp look out during our voyages around the city we have not yet seen it despite the fact it is apparently similar in size to the Burg Khalifa. Give the fact that in Dubai it is difficult not to catch a glimpse of the BK I am intriqued as to what the Lotte version actually looks like - perhaps long and thin and painted sky blue which would explain its lack of presence.

Whole Lotta Seoul

Another quick post in between meetings. I am now in the land of the Han river having arrived late yesterday afternoon. The traffic in Seoul is as dense as ever so I have spent much of the last day ior so in a car waiting in a traffic jam for things to get moving. Like England, Autumn in Korea is currently in glorious technicolor with the leaves a rich ran age of golden brown through to red. The temperature is in the early teens so quite a contrast to Dubai where it is the balmy early 30s. other than business issues, the main preoccupation of Koreans is food so I hope to be able to report on some nice meals over the next few days!

Seoul Man

Not much time for a post today as I have been frantically getting ready for a trip to Seoul tonight which will take up most of my week. Whilst such trips can be very demanding (the flight leaves at an unpromising 3:30am this morning and we do not touch down until around 5pm Korean time) they are generally worth while as the Korean people are usually very accommodating although getting around Seoul can be very challenging wit the traffic and the rather haphazard nature of the satnavs used by the taxis! Hopefully see you on the other side!

The name's Bond

James Bond. We went to see the latest Bond movie this afternoon and it is very much up to the standard of recent offerings with Daniel Craig excelling again in the title role. I think Sean Connery is probably still the best Bond but Craig certainly gives the role a bit of menace and style. It was an excellent movie and well worth the wait since Skyfall which I saw again on the plane over on our recent UK trip. Both movies feature parts of Bonds past and this one raises some interesting questions as to whether he will be around for another edition. When we got home we put on You Only Live Twice which gave us a chance to compare the two and Craig certainly measures up well.

Can't wait for the next one!