Busan, Korea

I'm not sure what I expected on the South coast of Korea - I think a small dark beach town with a few delicious food stalls. I was right about the food, but small this place is not. Busan is a huge city along a long beautiful beach front. It's the second biggest city in South Korea and holds some of the most expensive square metre space in Korea.

Gyeong, Korea

A rainy trip south from Seoul on the 200mph KTX train brings me to Dongdaegu where I meet up with Seth and we get a bus to Gyeong. We check into a motel, not normally frequented by foreign tourists; you need to speak Korean. In fact most motels here are aimed at young couples, getting away from their parents, or naughty people having a "romantic" night away from their partners! Some of the motels are ridiculously gaudy - with huge "romance" signs that flash neon at night! I'm not sure what they thought about three lads checking in, but they're certainly the cheapest option so we didn't care.

The town is the ancient capital and has MANY burial mounds containing treasures of the king and queens. It's freezing after the rains have gone - I wish I'd bought a jumper!

Seoul, Korea

The journey from Kathmandu > Delhi > Hong Kong > Seoul, and associated stops and trains/buses, took 24 hours. I was completely wired on arriving at the homely Bibim guest house in Mapo-gu, run by two cousins Konda and Panda. Despite the extreme tiredness I was excited to meet my good friends Seth and Juchan for a Korean pork BBQ. By the time bedtime arrived I was more than ready to sleep!

Seoul, after Nepal, was like a trip - they're worlds apart. Fashionable, great-smelling people swarm the streets with their heads buried in their super-sized super-phones, always connected to the internet, completely oblivious to the outside world. I almost missed the over-curious and friendly attention received from Nepali people. I'm not sure anyone really wondered who I was and where I came from, but this is big cities for you. Westerners are plenty here; American men mostly; NGO's; with Korean girlfriends. Korea shares a lot with America - unfortunately one of those similarities is a love of plastic surgery!

Food is everything in Korea. They know how to put on a spread! A thousand little dishes surround the meaty main course - this is up there with some of the best food I've eaten on these travels, and possibly ever!

Memorial to sex slaves from the war - cunningly placed outside the Japanese embassy

Chicken Galbi - YUM!

The controversial "tsunami" building - placed behind the Japanese colonial hall

Bibim guest house sign

Panda, me, Konda