不在韩国

Funny story...

On the day that I got back from the bike trip, I went out to the pub with some teachers.

I had already decided to stay in Korea for the coming semester, but I didn't realise that the semester didn't start for two weeks. I originally planned to cycle about Korea, but I found the heat uncomfortable.

All I have to do during these two weeks is wait for the Korean Government to process my working application, and then go out of the country to get the visa. Most people take the hydrofoil to visit the Korean consulate in Japan. The next day they come back, visa in hand.

But back to the pub. A couple of the teachers mentioned that they were soon flying out to a country I hold dear to my heart... I mentioned that I wished I could go as well, and they pointed out a computer conveniently located in the corner of the bar.

Within half and hour I had purchased my ticket, and the following morning - about seven hours later - we headed out to places unvisited.

Here are some pics. Name that city?

Old buildings in the "Concession" - an area put aside for use by the European countries doing trade in the port way back in the day.
GuiZhou Road, in front of the Railway Hotel where we stayed a couple nights - a hotel where Zhou EnLai held a secret meeting in 1937 to rally fellow revolutionaries to resist the Japanese Imperialists.

Consider yourselves taught. I know I did.

This should be a dead giveaway. The landmark of the city. It's surely the ugliest building in existence. Contrast this building with my favorite, the stunning Bank of China building in Hong Kong - See Images (1) (2) (3) .

From the 88th floor of the JinMao Building, third tallest in the world I hear.
There are hundreds and hundreds of skyscrapers. They are located all over the city, rather than in one concentrated area, which gives you the impression that you are in the biggest modern city in the world. There are bigger ones though...

I also added some more pictures at the bottom of the previous post from the bike tour.