2017 - FIP Seoul

We were able to have a little sleep in as we had nothing special to do apart from pick up our registration packs. So, we chatted over a leisurely breakfast and then went back to our rooms to catch up on pers admin. We left about 9:30am for the COEX, picked up our packs (less the Congress bag, they had not yet arrived, but would be there at 11am) and walked home. Our hotel is not far from the COEX so we were back in no time. After a Maccas lunch, I walked the short distance to the COEX to get my bag - for the first time in a while, the Congress bag is something useful - a back pack. Task completed, it was back to the hotel for a snooze. It was then time to do MEPS work seeing as though the Congress starts tomorrow. That took a little longer than expected but was mostly completed by the time we met for pre-dinner drinks at 5:30pm. We (Steve, Ann, Nicole, Sam and I) met in the lobby at 6:30pm and walked up the same street as last night. We found a Korean-American burger place and all ...

After having a relatively late breakfast we met in the lobby at 9am to catch the subway into the city to where the Hop on-Hop off (HOHO) bus departed from. We successfully interrogated the subway ticket machine and boarded a very clean carriage. People are quick but polite and orderly when exiting and entering the trains. The platforms are all sealed possibly to prevent anything nasty (CBR) from escaping to other areas? Or maybe just for safety? There are lots of gas masks around though so you do have to wonder. Found the HOHO bus departure point and bought our tickets. First stop was Korean War Memorial with free entry. This is a very impressive three-storey building with seven indoor exhibits.  Unfortunately, we ran out of time and were unable to get to view the outside area of the museum which looks just, or maybe even more, impressive than the inside.  The indoor exhibits concentrated on the war between the North and the South, with very detailed descriptions.  Our ...