Shan in Japan

The first stop - Seoul.  It feels a little like Japan, but the language is different.  I've also found that Japanese is more useful than English here. 

Spent the last few days wandering about seeing all the tourist sites.  Eating lots of Kimchi and doing the usual touristy things.  It's a nice city.  Nothing mind-blowing, but just nice and easy to explore.  I find myself making comparisons and finding similarities between Seoul and Tokyo, or Japan.   It's also pretty cheap!  Who said Seoul was expensive?

Tomorrow I will be heading East to Sokcho on the coast.  Apparently there is an amazing national park there.  Desperate to get out of this heat!!  Might even meet up with an old friend from Nagoya university days this weekend.

Met up with a guy at the hostel who has been exactly where I intend on going - China, Vietnam etc.  He is heading on to Japan soon, so we have been busy exchanging information on each others experiences. 

Once my China visa is processed, I will be catching a boat over to Qingdao on Thursday next week.