the plan

For some reason, prepping for international travel always turns into a giant hassle. For the past two weeks, I've been trying to get my affairs in order so that the universe doesn't disintegrate while I'm away. Living alone, I have to make sure certain bills are paid so that there is still hot water and lights when I get back. I'm trying to time that last mowing of the lawn so that there is not a jungle and angry neighbors. The same is true for the company. I'm trying to make sure we don't miss the health insurance payment and our customers don't have any major emergencies while I'm gone. Still, the gremlins have been working against me. Our 'favorite' customer, The EvilOne, has been casting her dark magic, placing insane demands on me when she knows I'm busy as all get out. Random dark events have also been hitting the customers. I'm sure this madness will continue until I'm 36,000 ft in the air. Sometimes, you just have to Face the Wang.

Anyway, one of my checklist items was to post my general travel itinerary:

5/19/2007 1:55pm - Depart JFK on Korean Air flight 82 (link will work on day of flight)
.... 15 hrs and 7,000 miles later...
5/20/2007 5:30pm - Arrive Seoul
5/20/2007 8:05pm - Depart Seoul on Korean Air flight1405
5/20/2007 9:05pm - Arrive Busan

5/20-5/21 Take care of pre-wedding crap in Busan

5/21-5/24 Goof off in Changwon

5/24-5/27 Back to Busan for wedding

5/26 - The Wedding

5/27-6/2 More goofing off in Changwon

6/2/2007 4:45pm - Depart Busan on Korean Air flight 1406
6/2/2007 5:45pm - Arrive Seoul
6/2/2007 7:30pm - Depart Seoul on Korean Air flight 85
6/2/2007 8:40pm - Arrive JFK

During the Goofing off periods, I'm hoping to explore a big mountain range to the west and a series of islands to the south. With all things 'wedding', you can never predict how things will go. We'll have to see...

blmapping sucks

I want to try to put maps on this log. The big problem is that Google Maps, for some unknown reason, does not have any map detail for Korea. What the hell is up with that? It seems that Microsoft's Virtual Earth does offer some Korean detail. The problem is that it seems that none of the mapping APIs have a good way of placing interactive maps in a post. I can do it w/ a ton of manual coding. I guess if I had more time I could write something to handle this, but time is something I don't have.

I guess I'll have to limit my maps to static ones for now. Here's a high-level view of South Korea. I'll be spending my time in the greater Busan area. The actual wedding will be in Busan, but I think we'll be based in Changwon for the bulk of the trip. From what I understand, Changwon isn't terribly exciting from a tourist standpoint. To paraphrase Lonely Planet: Korea, Changwon exists to serve as a bureaucratic and industrial center; there is nothing of interest for tourists. Normally, I take these warnings with little note, but when Lonely Planet says there is nothing interesting, I am a bit concerned.