Asia Update #39 - It's All Relative

Went for a hike after work last week. Clearest skies I've seen yet in Korea. It was about as clear as a normal day in the Bay Area. Yes, a clarity which we would be complaining about in California, yet was a treat here. Asia on the whole is very polluted (except for Australia/New Zealand, and maybe Japan). The air is almost always hazy. Have seen it so hazy that I couldn't see the buildings a block away from office. How you feel about the air is all relative.

No photos from this hike. Went to the local mountain to my apartment. This is the one I have talked about before as having military bases on it and signs telling you not to take photos. Part of living in a quasi-military state, I guess.

On relativity, I was walking home from the subway station on Friday after work. Exited the station where I normally did, walked one block down to the main street and make a right. Walked down this block and only half noticed the riot police buses on the side of the road. And didn't really notice that they were riot police buses, but instead just made a comment to myself about how they were blocking a lane of traffic and the bus stops. After I turned off the main road to go up to my apartment, I was thinking about how this is all normal for me now. Land mines near where I mountain bike, military bases all over the place, and riot police popping up anywhere at any time. I guess I have acclimated to many of the aspects of living in Korea.

These updates likely won't happen nearly as often from now on. Partly because I am getting acclimated, so things don't seem to stand out as being so different any more. Partly because I will be spending a little less time in Asia now. But I will still upload write ups from time to time.