Land of the Morning Calm

We landed earlier this morning in Central South Korea. The weather was crisp, cool and the skies were clear but coated with a light yellow tinge--not sure if this is part of the yellow winds that stir up from the Gobi Desert, or not. A faint scent of smoke lingered in the air which I presume was from smoking fish in the villages. Korea is so unique in its various 'smells' each season--you can literally mark the days by what one smells in the air, sees for sale in the markets and what produce/items are being prepared in the village streets and sidewalks.

We soon made our way about 60 km north toward Seoul and are getting settled for a bit. We collected several books and movies to help us prepare for our upcoming tour of the Land of the Dragon. So, we'll soon explore:

Culture Shock! China by Kevin Sinclair with Iris Wong Po-yee (despite all its bad press I read on Amazon)

China: The 50 Most Memorable Trips by Frommer's

Magnificent China: A Guide to Its Cultural Treasures by Petra Haering Yu-Chien Kuan

National Geographic Journey into China

Insight Guide: Beijing 2000

Into China by John Lowe 1987

55 Days at Peking Parts 1 & 2

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

& of course, the Usborne Guide to World History

So, we've got our homework set out for us for the next couple of weeks before we depart on our 'big' trip! ;)