Travelogue around Asia Pacific

'Know thyself' - Socrates Bangalore - The city of Bangalore ran its maiden MRT on 20 Oct 2011 after much delay of more than a year.    The next time,  I will try this service... http://bmrc.co.in/ It was originally mean to start operations in March 2010, the metro rail project missed three subsequent deadlines before it was inaugurated with great fanfare.  In the 1st phase, the metro will run from the city's Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Road to Byappanahalli, a distance of 6.7km, six stops away.  When completed in 2014, the metro will have a network extending to 42 km.   This will alleviate Bangalore bad traffic problem with a city population of 9.6 million and still growing. The train services starts every morning from Byappanahalli to MG Road at 6am each direction.  The frequency of trains will be 15 minutes between 6am  and 8am, 10 minutes between 8am and 8pm, and back to 15 minutes 8pm onwards till closing at 10pm.

"To educate a person's mind and not his character is to educate a menace." Theodore Roosevelt Seoul - I took for the 1st time the airport express train to Incheon airport and it was hassle free.  As I stayed in Courtyard @ Timesquare - the bus services to Incheon airport is always not on time.  The reason it is a commute bus and not a schedule Airport Limo bus.   As I had limited time, taking the Airport Express to Incheon Airport was the best decision - cost W13,300.  The train leaves Incheong airport every half an hr and on the hour - 5am till 9.30pm The Airport Railway Express (AREX) train comprised of two lines: an express line that goes non-stop from the Incheon Aiport to Seoul Station (a 43-min ride) and a commuter line, which runs parallel and makes stops at major subway stations in the downtown area.   The AREX extension to Seoul station was only completed on 29 Dec 2010.

Daegu City/Seoul - My alarm woke me up at 8:30am as I  have to meet Young Jin and Tony in the Lobby to check out.   Our KTX express train leaves at 9:55am bound for Seoul.   I was half asleep and catching my bearings after a late night with HanaIT and only got back to the room @ 3am.  It was a very short nap.  So quickly brush teeth, bathe, pack my backpack and to check out.   I called Tony to ensure he is awake.  I do not know Young Jin room number but since he's room is next to mine it should be # 1304 but then the phone had an engaged tone.  I tried a 2nd time without success.   I then realized that there are no number 4 in this Hotel so I called room # 1305 and got hold of him.   Took a taxi to the Daegu KTX station and had a quick bite of Croissants.  The croissants at Paris Barquette was just heavenly.   Tony got fo...

Daegu - Supper time was Daegu famous dish - pig's intestine and lots and lots of Soju.  The beloved liquor of Koreans - we had at least 8 bottlkes of Soju.   It was great fun and supper was a good way to wind down the evening.  With the fermented bean curt soup, it will stave off any impending hang-over. Beef Ribs over hot coals Young Jin, Tony and Cho Pig's large intestine Super spicy baby octopus

Daegu - Dinner was arranged by HanaIT for an outdoor BBQ session.  To route to this restaurant was difficult as it was off the grid down a narrow path - without a Korean friend it would  be near impossible to guide a taxi to this location. Garden Park or Garden Part

Daegu City - Departed Seoul on the 10am KTX bullet train and arrived Daegu City about 400km away @ 12pm.    We were zipped off in Mr Do car upon arrival at Daegu to his office.  We had a signing ceremony as this is an important event for both companies. Tony signing the agreement Mr Lee signing on behalf of HanaIT Shaking hands to conclude agreement After the signing ceremony, we were for a Traditional Korean restaurant.  We had lots of dishes on the table. This is the Korean Traditional Restaurant Tony posing for a photo "My chair has no legs" Tony's long legs fully stretched out under the table Korean Pine nut souop Pine nuts are edible nuts from Pine tree.  In Asia, Korea pine nuts are the most important species for international trade because the Korean Pine tree producces the pine nuts that are large enough to be worth harvesting. Different types of mushroom in the foreground that's rice Korean pancake Ma...

Seoul - Flew out of Haneda Airport to Gimpo (Seoul) Airport and the flight took 2 hrs.  But the best part was that Gimpo Airport is near Seoul City and took about 30 minutes and 18km.   There were 2 emails sent to me from Courtyar Times Square informing me that my current credit card cannot be processed and my room will be released.   I was in Tokyo at that time and was hoping mad as this credit card was used throughout my trip in Tokyo.   I wrote back to the Hotel to express my disappointment and was surprised when I checked-in that they upgrade my room and Tony's to a suite.  Nice! The suite room is about twice the normal room with a cosy living room.  My room was ready whilst Tony's wasn't so we decided to put our luggage down and hunt for lunch at the Mall next door.   We walked around 5th floor and then took the escalator down to the 4th floor.  Finally settling at a Thai Restaurant called ' Ahan Thai' . The mana...

Tokyo - The weather was nice and chilly at around 25 degree celsius.   I took a nice photo outside of my room.  In the background is Tokyo Tower. The Hotel East 21 toilet mirror is heated so that you are able to see your reflection without the fog.  This is what I meant.....the only hotel that I have stayed in that does it. For dinner, Terry brought Tony and I to a sushi restaurant about 2 subways stations from Toyocho station - roughly about a good 20 minutes walk.   The weather was good, windy and around 23 degrees Celsius - so walking was really nice.  Furthermore, this will heighten my appetite for good sushi.   It has been a while since I have to this sushi restaurant.   We sat at the sushi counter and was served by the chef cum owner of the restaurant. Tuna sashimi The sashimi just melted in your mouth and it was so fresh.   scallops and squid with Japanese sauce 2 types of Tuna sushi Just looki...

Ho Chi Minh City - We walked around Renaissance Riverside Hotel looking for breakfast and came to Bon Sen Hotel cafe.   Bon Sen Hotel is within walking distance from Renaissance Riverside Hotel and opposite Sheraton Hotel.   It was so near - Outside of Renaissance Riverside Hotel, make a left turn and the first junction turn right and walk straight down the road and you will surely reach Bon Sen Hotel. The breakfast was reasonably priced. Vietnamese sandwiches We went to visit a customer and was offer fruits - some rambutans on a plate.  The Rambutans tasted very sweet but it's very small as compared to the ones in Singapore.  The Rambutan skin is very thin. Rambutans on the plate For dinner, I decided to go to a Vietnamese restaurant called 'Hoi An Vietnamese Restaurant' located @ 11 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1.     We were directed upstairs and the atmosphere was fine dinning and most of the patrons were foreigners...