Back in the PRD

We made it back safe and sound to Shenzhen, aka the Pearl River Delta (PRD), from our whirlwind trip to Seoul. We were worried about traveling with sick little Dean, but he was a real trooper and made it through fine. He goes crazy with excitement when he sees airplanes in the sky or on the ground, so right now a trip to the airport is a special treat for him. He especially loves to look out the window on takeoff and landing to see what's out there in the big wide world.

As for seeing sights in Seoul, the trip was a bust. Work consumed my entire time there and taking care of sick Dean was a full-time job for Matt. Once again, mom guilt weighed heavy on my shoulders. I hated leaving the guys alone in the hotel room in the morning and I was sad to arrive back after Dean was in bed each night.

Monday and Tuesday night Matt headed out to get dinner at local restaurants after I returned to the room. Fortunately, he was able to try authentic Korean BBQ and loved it. He also managed to make friends with a street food vendor selling what Matt referred to as "rotisserie chicken and kimchee wraps with yellow sauce." I tried a bite of one and it was tangy, sweet and zesty with very moist chicken, kind of like a soft chicken taco with honey mustard and sauerkraut. After buying two wraps on Sunday and Monday night, the vendor laughed when he saw Matt Tuesday night and gave him a free wrap.

A few observations about Seoul - though keep in mind while reading this that we were there about 72 hours and saw little outside the hotel:
1) It feels cleaner than China and much more westernized. I only experienced western toilets, no 101's
2) There's more orderly traffic than Shenzhen, and fewer scooters and bikes used as the main form of transportation
3) It's easy to find English speaking people to ask directions or to help you out. A woman at the airport looked highly offended when I asked her if she spoke English before asking her a question.
4) It's expensive. For example, a buffet lunch at the hotel where we stayed cost $70 per person (we passed). There was a Starbucks on every corner - seriously, we passed 4 different ones within a couple blocks of our hotel when we drove to the factory - and a ton of donut shops, including Duncan Donuts and Krispy Kreme. I didn't make it to the night market, but Matt explored it a little and quickly decided the deals were not good enough to waste time on.

With such a short trip and no time to get out and explore, it kind of felt just like any other big city. I would love to go back someday when Matt and I have free time to explore.