I was very tired this morning and it was hot, so instead of riding the metro, I hopped in a cab hoping to get a little nap during the 40 minute drive (lots of traffic).
Taxi Driver: You're not Korean, are you?
Me: What do you think I am?
Taxi Driver: Japanese.
Me: Nope, born in Korea but just came from the U.S.
I put on my sunglasses and leaned back in the backseat -- the universal symbol of "I'm sleeping so don't bother me."
Taxi Driver: Isn't Korea great?
Me (mumble): Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
Taxi Driver: You know there's a lot of distinguished Koreans all over the world.
Me: Uh huh.
Taxi Driver: The UN Secretary, Ban Ki Moon, is Korean. And the World Bank just got a new president who is Korean and he was the president of Dartmouth College. Even the Philippine president is dating a Korean news announcer. They are going to get married soon.
Me: Uh huh.
Taxi Driver: Well, I guess it's not confirmed if they are dating, since the Philippine president is kind of corrupt. But wouldn't it be great if they are dating? Girl's Generation was in the U.S. a couple of months ago. They performed at Johnny Carson's show! (It was actually Letterman.) Korean music is becoming really popular all over the world now!
Me: Uh huh.
Taxi Driver: Do you know that the World Expo started last weekend? Can you believe that a World Expo is being held in Korea? The last time an Expo was held in Korea was in 1993 in Daejeon. The theme this year is on environmental and water conservaton and that's why it's being held in Yeosu. Yeosu is such a small city and it's incredible that they are even hosting the Expo.
Me (sighing, I raise my sunglasses over my head and sit up): Yeah, well, the organizers are doing a piss poor job. I can't believe they didn't upgrade their infrastructure.
Taxi Driver: They built a huge hotel!
Me: Yeah, great. What is the total number of hotels now? Four? Do you think approximately 1,000 rooms are enough to accommodate an expected 10 million visitors in the next three months?
Taxi Driver: Well, the organizers didn't want to build too many hotels in case people didn't come back after the Expo.
Me: No one wants to go to the Expo because they can't get a hotel room. And they didn't make it any easier for foreigners to reserve rooms. Why do you think the international participants are pulling out?
Shades are back on and I lean back in the seat for that long awaited sleep.
BTW, I'm off to Yeosu this weekend to see the Expo. But Jess, why are you going if you think it's going to be piss poor? I'm old school like that and barely even got a hotel room (it's 23km from city center). Think back to how amazing it would have been to see the Crystal Palace in 1851 (London), Eiffle Tower in 1900 (Paris), the Space Needle in 1962 (Seattle), etc.
I want to be a part of it.
Taxi Driver: You're not Korean, are you?
Me: What do you think I am?
Taxi Driver: Japanese.
Me: Nope, born in Korea but just came from the U.S.
I put on my sunglasses and leaned back in the backseat -- the universal symbol of "I'm sleeping so don't bother me."
Taxi Driver: Isn't Korea great?
Me (mumble): Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
Taxi Driver: You know there's a lot of distinguished Koreans all over the world.
Me: Uh huh.
Taxi Driver: The UN Secretary, Ban Ki Moon, is Korean. And the World Bank just got a new president who is Korean and he was the president of Dartmouth College. Even the Philippine president is dating a Korean news announcer. They are going to get married soon.
Me: Uh huh.
Taxi Driver: Well, I guess it's not confirmed if they are dating, since the Philippine president is kind of corrupt. But wouldn't it be great if they are dating? Girl's Generation was in the U.S. a couple of months ago. They performed at Johnny Carson's show! (It was actually Letterman.) Korean music is becoming really popular all over the world now!
Me: Uh huh.
Taxi Driver: Do you know that the World Expo started last weekend? Can you believe that a World Expo is being held in Korea? The last time an Expo was held in Korea was in 1993 in Daejeon. The theme this year is on environmental and water conservaton and that's why it's being held in Yeosu. Yeosu is such a small city and it's incredible that they are even hosting the Expo.
Me (sighing, I raise my sunglasses over my head and sit up): Yeah, well, the organizers are doing a piss poor job. I can't believe they didn't upgrade their infrastructure.
Taxi Driver: They built a huge hotel!
Me: Yeah, great. What is the total number of hotels now? Four? Do you think approximately 1,000 rooms are enough to accommodate an expected 10 million visitors in the next three months?
Taxi Driver: Well, the organizers didn't want to build too many hotels in case people didn't come back after the Expo.
Me: No one wants to go to the Expo because they can't get a hotel room. And they didn't make it any easier for foreigners to reserve rooms. Why do you think the international participants are pulling out?
Shades are back on and I lean back in the seat for that long awaited sleep.
BTW, I'm off to Yeosu this weekend to see the Expo. But Jess, why are you going if you think it's going to be piss poor? I'm old school like that and barely even got a hotel room (it's 23km from city center). Think back to how amazing it would have been to see the Crystal Palace in 1851 (London), Eiffle Tower in 1900 (Paris), the Space Needle in 1962 (Seattle), etc.
I want to be a part of it.
Jess, how was it? I *heart* those old school World Expo posters - they're so gorgeous. Miss you!
ReplyDeleteHope you had fun! I went to the one in Shanghai... it was really interesting! Had never heard of world expo before I went -- liked how the whole world represented! Sure it was hot though...
ReplyDeleteI didn't end up going to Yeosu. I got sick that weekend and I had to recover before going to China. But I heard from people that went that it was a waste of time and money. That's unfortunate.
ReplyDelete