Off to Korea, the land of morning calm

It was about three weeks ago that my boss had called me to find out if i am interested ingoing to Seoul,South korea on a month long assignment. Over the past few years, I have been adding various countries to the list of places i would want to see but never did i think of going to Korea. So, I was kind of completely taken by surprise by the request. I told my boss that i would get back to him by that day evening. I always knew that I was going to say 'yes'.

From then on, I was on internet pretty much everyday looking up details about the country, things to do and places to eat. Days rolled by with me applying for a business visa and making other travel arrangements. And finally the day arrived. I departed from minneapolis airport yesterday. After a brief layover at the Narita Airport in Tokyo, I was on my way to Incheon, Seoul. It was 10.00 PM by the time i reached Incheon airport. I found the airport extremely well maintained and without doubt, could be compared to the best in the world (Just my assumption!! I don't really know about all the best airports in the world). Immigration was a breeze, especially since all I had to do was hand my passport and stand still for a few minutes. I walked out of the airport to catch the airport Limousine bus that would take me to the Hotel. These buses typically take passengers from the airport to various Hotels in the city for a charge of 12,000 Won (about $12). That day, due to some reason, I was the only passenger in the bus. After an hour of bus ride, I finally reached the hotel. Found the hotel staff to be extremely courteous and was able to check into my room within no time.

So, Here I am finally, in a completely new country and am absoultely thrilled about the days that lay ahead of me. Looking back, it almost seems such a strange turn of events over the last few months, me quitting a very safe and secure job, going through various hardships to get my visa stamped in India and finally getting a chance to visit a different country within one month of joining the new company. As Paulo Coelho puts it 'When you want something with all your heart, the whole universe conspires in helping you achieve it'.