Let’s Visit Asia

Much as I love food and trying out new tastes, I must admit I am quite wary of trying out dishes that are totally unfamiliar to me. I can’t count the number of times I’ve ordered (more like pointed out to) something on the menu, imagining how it tastes like, and ending up quite frustrated cause it was nothing like what I expected. I’ve had so many bloopers of blindly ordering something I don’t know, and I just end up wasting money and sometimes disappointing the cook or wait staff.
If you’re headed to Korea, make sure you read Matt’s experience …read more

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Image used with permission from JetCombo
I received an email reporting that JetCombo, an online airline booking services specializing in chartered flights, has just released its list of the top 10 international summer destinations, based on itineraries booked through the website for leisure airline travel. Here’s where most are off to this summer:
1. France
2. United Kingdom
3. Germany
4. Italy
5. Israel
6. China
7. South Korea
8. Greece
9. Poland
10. United States
China make sense, what with the hordes headed for the Olympic games. But South Korea? I would never have guessed. One more interesting tidbit: Guess which destination is at position #11? The Philippines!
I would have …read more

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Initially called Air Korea, Korean Air’s budget affiliate has been rebranded as Jin Air. There seemed to be a lot of thinking that came into coming up with this name. First, Jin Air supposedly has the same pronunciation as the Chinese character meaning “truth” and “sincerity”.
Pursuing “freshness” and “pragmatism,” the budget airline showed unconventionality in many aspects
The crew will be wearing jeans and t-shirts, and will be called “Jini” ― pilots will be called “Jini pilot,” flight attendants, “Jini flying mate,” and ground crew, “Jini ground staff.” Cool eh? And the best is, according to the report, flights will cost …read more

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Two weeks ago, a giant wave hit a coastal town in Korea and left 7 dead, 14 injured.
Last week, Myanmar was hit by a cyclone, claiming more than 22,000 lives and affecting up to 2.5 million people, according to the UN. That these people are some of the most impoverished in the world and that the military government refuses foreign aid make the situation all the more desperate.
And then, just a few days ago, an 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook China, the tremors reaching as far as Thailand and Vietnam. The death toll is now at 15,000, and still increasing as …read more

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Here’s an important note for members of Korean Air’s Skypass Mileage Program: Mileage earned from July 1, 2008 onwards will now have a validity of just five years (previously, earned miles never expired).
Come to think of it, 5 years is still a long time to accumulate miles. In majority of other frequent flyer programs, accumulated miles are only valid up to 3 years.
The Korean Air management says that they will increase the number of seats allocated for bonus awards, so as soon as you accumulate enough mileage, try and claim your rewards before your accumulated miles expire!

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Some 480 spas across South Korea will now be sporting a new logo depicting waves of water with two circles symbolizing the heads of a father and son amid rising steam. This is to replace a red icon — a circle with rising wisps of steam– which they have been using for nearly a century because it is also being used by so-called “love motels,” which offer prostitution or short stays for couples having extramarital relations.
The new logo is to be used solely at spa facilities that have a natural hot spring, and violators face up to two years in …read more

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If plans pan out, it seems like we’ll be seeing a new budget airline fly the Asian skies in 2008.

Korean Air Lines Co. said Monday that its new low-cost airline was set to begin operations next May with routes to regional destinations including China and Malaysia.
Korean Air said in a press release that its board on Friday approved plans to invest 20 billion won ($21.5 million) to set up a separate corporate body for the carrier, tentatively called Air Korea, by the end of December.
The airline will connect Korea to international destinations such as Shandong and Hanna provinces in China, …read more

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If do go and get a chance to visit Korea, here’s a curiosity you might want to see for yourself:

This $1.6 million toilet shaped house is owned by South Korea’s sanitation activist, Sim Jae-duck, who heads the Korea Toilet Association. He plans to move in by November 11, but if you have the dough, you can rent it for $50, 000 a day before he moves in. Proceeds will go to his campaign to provide proper sanitary facilities in poor countries. See more photos of the property from CNN Asia.

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Here in my piece of the Asian sky, I see a lot of ads inviting to visit South Korea. Is this vibrant place something for you? See this one-minute video for a preview:

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Forget luxury wellness resorts. If it’s meditation and soul-searching you’re after, how would you like to try staying in a Buddhist Temple instead?
Temple Stay Korea allows tourists to have a sampling to life in a Buddhist temple and learn, experience and appreciate Korean culture and the lifestyle of Buddhist monks. Organized by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism’s Templestay Division, the program promises visitors “a magnificent chance to relax, reflect and revitalize themselves in the tranquility of nature”.
Are you up for it?
I got my first hint of this austere lifestyle when I arrived and was greeted by Cho Hyemun-aery, …read more

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