How will COVID-19 alter our interactions with the Far East… well, in this household it is just bringing us closer with the Son and Heir bound for China in October?
To teach English as a foreign language.
And the football nut that he is, I dare say, he will look out some games.
If he was out in the Far East, South Korea in this case, this weekend he could have watched live football.
Albeit on the TV with the South Koreans first out of the blocks, to mix my metaphors, to resume games.
G Whizz
South Korea falls behind Thailand as a favourite destination for backpackers and Asianophiles but will this spotlight tempt us to put it on our list?
With all things long haul I place my trust in G Adventures www.gadventures.co.uk who took me out to Jordan this time next year… www.visitjordan.com.
And owner Bruce will be telling us travel professionals next week how they’ll get us back out there soon.
The real deal
They are still promoting offers on their site with an eight days Seoul to Seoul package catching the eye.
Valid on October 2 the Korean trip was £1749 but is now £1487.
Now some of these places might sound familiar from the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
After arriving in the capital Seoul, you’ll take a bullet train to the seaside town of Busan on the tip of the peninsula.
My body is a temple
Where you’ll stay in a temple.
You like your temples? Then G Adventures offers you the chance to a 14th Century temple hidden in the rocks Haedong Yonggungsa.
You’ll also get to check out the 500-old UNESCO site, the Yangdong Folk Village
Continue to the next UNESCO site of Bulguksa Temple on the slopes of Mount Toham for the Dabotap and Seokgatap stone pagodas, Cheongun-gyo, and two gilt-bronze statues of Buddha.
Cold War history
Almost not enougb time to check out the football.
No trip to South Korea would be complete without a trip to the Demilitarised Zone between South and North Korea.
With more than a million soldiers on watch each day, it is one of the last remnants of the Cold War.
The buffer zone is 4km wide and is 250km long which means that the wildlife has pretty much taken over… and they’re more sensible than the humanlife.
You’ll need a good three-four hours at the Demilitarized Zone before heading to The War Memorial of Korea.
Seoul music
Before you return back to Seoul for another night in the city.
Talking of the Demilitarised Zone and teaching English as a foreign language my old Northern Irish flatmate Ian went out to North Korea to do just that in the 90s.
Funnily enough I haven’t heard from him for a while.
But the top rugby player that he was, who knows he may have ended up teaching the oval-ball game to Kim and his pals.
MEET YOU ON THE PITCH
