We landed late, immigration took a time as there were loads of Chinese tourists (who viewed the queueing system as more guidance than something to follow 100%). A driver was waiting for me, and it took an hour from Incheon to the Aventree Hotel in Seoul. I tipped the driver 10,000 won, not sure whether that was too much or too little. Being rather jaded I made do with pot noodles from a convenience store inside the hotel, rather useful like the one in the first hotel I stayed in Japan at. The hotel knows me as "Peter Smith Rootham" - it will do. Like Japan the toilet (sorry bidet) is heated and has a complex control panel for doing odd things to you. The room card is necessary to use the lift, the staff had limited English, hope the guide tomorrow is better! The room came with slippers to wear inside. It took me a while to get the air conditioning to do what I wanted, buttons being all in Korean is a challenge!

My first impression of Korea is a confident society, one that has embraced modern technology, but with some extent its feet still in a traditional past. We drove past stylish buildings and far reaching bridges and shiny stainless steel artwork but also rice paddies and greenhouses and villages needing renovation. The Aventree Hotel is close to a Buddhist Temple which I'll investigate tomorrow given time.