Onward to Tokyo

So now I'm in after what boiled down to a travel day. I left the hotel at 3:45 in the morning for my 6:45 flight to Seoul. Two hours there and I continued on to Tokyo.

So it's understandable that I was very tired but the highlight was meeting random people along the way. People are so much more probe to chance conversations while flying, particularly Americans deep within foreign speaking countries.

In UB, I spoke briefly to a GM exec from Bangkok who was here to sell cars here. He was impressed by the uses American cars (seen in suburbia in the US) were put to on the rugged Mongolian roads. He was saying that Hummers were still actively sold in the used car market. I think this is one country where the average driver could justify a Hummer...

I also meet a woman who worked for a NGO that promoted democracy and women in government. There was a big women's leadership conference in UB that she helped coordinate. Hillary Clinton was there last week for the conference.  She even got to see the President of Mongolia!

In Korea, I met several US serviceman who were heading out of Korea to go back to the States.  They had some interesting perspectives on life in Korea as a serviceman.

I took an airport bus that went straight to my hotel. I sat next to a Japanese man who was coming back from Irvine, California for a trip on meditation techniques. To give you an idea of the vote of language here, when I first asked him if he spoke English, he only said a little. I later learned he lived in New York for ten years and sore very well. Maybe he didn't really want to talk to me... :-)  Seriously, though, I think his thoughts on English prowess and a reluctance to speak it is fairly common...

After taking a real shower (so nice!) And cleaning some clothes (it's amazing how much dust there is in Mongolia!), I went out to dinner. I settled in a sushi bar in the fiftieth floor of a nearby building. Communication was difficult but the omakase dinner (chef's choice) and sake were excellent. I had sake (salmon), uni (sea urchin -- so much better here), anago (sea water eel), toro (fatty tuna), anaebi (sweet shrimp) , ika (squid), tamago (egg), maguro (tuna), sea bass, and saba (mackerel). I also tried a piece if a high-end toro, which actually didn't impress me. A very good sushi meal, though pricey -- nearly $60.

I spoke to Ema and set up plans to meet her for dinner. Other than that, my day is open, so I'm going to explore. It should be a fin, relaxing day!