Where have I been lately

I haven't been blogging recently because of laziness and lack of time with 2 jobs, and wanting to spend more time with family and friends.

Early Sep: I was in Seoul for a conference. My second time there. Appreciated walking around a lot more than the last time during winter, but didn't have much free time to explore the city as much as I wanted. I had stayed in the Myeong-Dong area in 2005, and this time was in Gangnam-Gu, different feel. Nice city, great food, but I didn't get much shopping done.



Highlight of the trip was heading over to the DMZ. It wasn't a true letdown, but I had somehow expected it to look and feel different. Felt like a stroll through a theme park, didn't seem real.

P.S. Something amazing in Seoul: people on subways watching tv on their cellphones, with earphones!



Mid-Sep: went to Alberta for business, stayed on for an extra week and visited Banff with my parents.

Calgary was nice, but so much smaller than I had expected, since there's been a lot of talk about it being the epicentre of the booming oil business in Canada, and how that was triggering monstrous growth.


Kananaskis, Banff, and Canmore just as expected and more in their natural beauty. Finally, I've been to one of Canada's most famous destinations.

I had the opportunity to golf in Kananaskis, a 18-celsius sunny day after a freak snowstorm the previous night!



Banff Springs Hotel was picture-perfect, like something out of a storybook / hollywood movie.
I visited the natural springs, for $10 you can soak for the whole day!

Mom and dad also joked about having Alberta beef for dinner everyday. Turns out we had sushi, Korean, Thai, and steaks for 1 time only!

We rented a car and drove around the different spots in Banff, and went as far as the Columbia icefields one day, which is in the Jasper national park.

The only thing I missed was seeing more wildlife. Perhaps it was the wrong season for grizzlies, or right one, depending on which way you feel about it (safety vs. excitment)