Epilogue: JeJu

Here are my final thoughts on the JeJu trip:

• It has created a new focus of interest for my career. Prior to going to this conference, I had been going through a program to get my PMP (Project Management Professional). Now I think I want to pursue a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM).
• Tremendous personal and professional contacts
• My paper was very well received; now I need to keep the momentum moving and get the proposed Protection Profiles built
• A new set of friends and colleagues that I respect and respect me; these are people that will help me both professionally and personally; I would do the same for them
  
• An exposure to a world that previously had only existed in movies, books and tv shows; the Far East
• Somehow Korean Airlines has managed to maintain a terrific customer service standard, without creating a 3rd class for flying like United, while remaining solvent financially
• United has reached new depths in reductions in service, comfort and experience; even the business class with its exorbitant pricing, was essentially not that comfortable; the execs from UA should take a ride on British Airways to see what Business Class should feel like
• How filtered we are here in the states with regards to food-stuffs; the next time I see dried Pig Head on the menu in the US, it will be the first
• I really love Karaoke!
• Facebook is a fun experience; its a unique way to stay in touch real-time
• Jeju has the MOST beautiful women that I have ever seen in one place; the reputation cannot be overstated
• The Shilla Resort is amazing
• JeJu drivers don't need to use signals; they just honk their horns (yikes!)
• Jet-lag in reverse is the worst; when its 3am and you can't sleep
  

Wednesday after the Gala

I didn’t move so quickly on Wednesday. When I went up to bed after Karaoke, just shortly after I had washed up, I started to hear some laughs and noises…the Brits had decided to move the party next door to my bedroom. I tried to sleep with ear plugs, but by 3am they were still going strong, so I had to knock and said, “Hey guys, I’m getting up early tomorrow to go golfing, there are like 500 acres on this resort can you find someplace else?” Apparently David had brought some Rum from Duty Free and they were determined to finish it that night. Paula immediately shut off the TV but the others weren’t so keen on moving. As Amy likes to say, they were all “three sheets to the wind.” I prefer the more blunt, “shit-faced.” Anyway I pleaded with them, saying that I had an early tee time the next day (not true) but it didn’t seem like they were going to budge. They promised to keep it down. A few minutes later, they finally left….and I immediately crashed. I found out later that they had spent at least another hour or two down at the beach. I couldn’t imagine walking down there at night….

I got up later then I had hoped but eventually found Inna, David and Eric and we decided to go shopping. I had already decided that I was not going to the morning sessions…and the conference was over at mid-day. I wanted an authentic shopping experience…but the concierge kept suggesting that I go to Duty Free…finally she pointed at a place on the map she claimed was an hour a way. We all hopped in a taxi and headed towards Jeju City. I couldn’t believe how urban this was. To me I could have been in Seoul or Tokyo…it had big buildings and lots of cars…many shops. The driver dropped us in front of an alley which lead to an alley. The alley contained vendor

after vendor selling fish, shellfish, and other “goods.” Food was definitely on the bizarre side: dried pig heads, Live abalone, Octopus, various fish. The colors and scents were overwhelming (not all good). The volume was particularly impressive? So much stuff…how much can they possibly sell each day? Some of the seafood was just scary. There were also alien looking fruits and some amazing ones as well! The tangerines were perfect, sweet with no seeds. Giant seedless purple grapes…endless kiwis…all grown on the island. I bought a bag of grapes to munch on just for that day.

We also stumbled upon a very long underground mall, with clothes and jewelry etc. I bought a few gifts and mostly enjoyed the real culture.

Our driver picked us up and brought us back to the hotel… I went to lunch at the conference and attended a final meeting with my peers. I found out that next years conference will be in Norway!

After lunch, and the meeting we decided to take a bus to see a famous waterfall, an authentic ancient village, and a Buddhist temple. That sounded like a lot to me, but at this point, with leaving the next day, I wanted one more shot at seeing something besides the resort. The waterfall was impressive, with people dipping their feet in the pool at the bottom. I had never seen one that was next to an ocean before. The steps down were really scary but I managed to make it with out wiping out.

Next the bus took us to the Ancient Village. This was like Plimouth Plantation; it was a simulated village, no one really lived this way anymore. They did have scattered wood carvers, and jewelry makers within the village, but it was mostly a museum. My favorite part was the punishment area and jail. There also wasn’t a lot of English on the displays…we started to hear some Thunder in the back ground and began to think we should head back to the bus. The last 1/8 of a mile it really started to rain then just as we got on the bus the skies opened like a monsoon. Lightning and thunder crashed around the bus as he meandered back to the resort. It took him a LONG time to get us back. They don’t really believe in signaling or speed-limits on this island either by the way.

I wasn’t really up for Karaoke that night again so I headed up after dinner in the hotel to spend a quiet evening uploading my blog and packing.

The next day I woke up and said good-bye to my friends. We all made plans to stay in touch and are looking forward to Norway. I’m now in Business Class writing this entry: its 7:47pm Korean time (which is what my body feels like). I land in about 5.5 hours and its Ground Hog Day; it will be 9:45am again in Friday. Basically a 36 hour day…but I’ll be home tonight and I’m really looking forward to seeing my family.

Gala Dinner and Kareoke

The big debate was whether to wear my suit or not. The Gala dinner was to be outside on the side lawn. But it was so humid and hot that I knew I would melt. Even though my picture was going to be taken, I decided to stay business casual. They had setup a huge stage...it reminded me of the kind of stage you would see at rock concerts. This year I was accepting one certificate on behalf of CA for a completed evaluation. In Rome last year I had accepted 3...
When I got down to the dinner, I was grabbed by the deputy director of NIAP . Apparently they did need me go back to my room and bring down my own certificate, as they had not brought it. I was completely confused as I thought that they had brought it for me, as I was instructed earlier. Luckily I had brought a framed version with me as originally I was told that they did not have one. So when my name was called I walked up with a plexiglass 8-10 cheapo frame and not the original certificate. Of course no one could see it so that didn't really matter. I told NIAP that I heard frames were available at Wal-Mart.
Dinner was very similar to all the lunches here, but they added in some pretty descent sushi and lamb. I sat with my friends and we all had a good time. After the dinner the Korean entertainment began. First it was very traditional dancing in ancient costumes. Then there was a terrific performance by professional rhythmic cooking entertainers. They danced and juggled pots and very sharp knives. They even brought on a couple of people from the audience and did a skit with them in which the end result was that they got married.
Now the Shilla has an on-site Kareoke bar. We decided to go there as they had a 20,000 WAN all you can drink special of draft beer (about $20). Considering that one bottle of Heineken cost 17,000 WAN, most people thought it was a good idea. Finally I had found my Lost in Translation moment!
We all had a blast singing and dancing. I sang Sister Golden Hair, Piano Man, Under Pressure (duet) and Hungry Heart. We went till 2:o0 AM and all agreed that it was a great time.

Wednesday, Day 2 of the Conference

I went to sessions in the morning and some of them were quite interesting. Overall the conference so far had been much better content wise then last year. After lunch, though, I decided that I had to check out the beach....it was hot and humid (although overcast) so I threw on my swim-suit and started walking down the path to the beach.

The path down had two options, I decided to go to the left. However after I had walked for about 10 minutes, I ran into a road-block: apparently the bridge to the steps down, were under repair. So I had to loop all the way to the other entrance, which was at least another 15 minutes of traipsing along the path in my sandles. The path is an uneven merger of wooden decking, stone steps and gravel. I was beginning to regret not wearing my sneakers. Finally I reached the end of the path and came to a steep set of stairs that wound down the cliff towards the beach. The steps were uneven; at first I was trying to film my walk down, but after I nearly wiped out, I put the video camera safely away in my bag. Another 10 minutes of walking and I finally landed on the beach. It was a spectacular beach with a very strong current. The water was as warm as Miami but the surf was very strong. Standing on the edge of the water I almost wiped out as a wave hit. I ventured further in and dived into the waves. I rode them like I used to do on the Cape as a kid. I was covered in sand from head to toe. The sand had some volcanic rock in it so it was partially black sand.
I was basically alone at the beach, except for two Korean men who had obviously forgotten their swim-suits since they were galavanting and body surfing in their white briefs. It was all quite absurd, as they couldn't care less how ridiculous they looked. I sat back enjoyed the view and the entertainment and started thinking about heading back up. Eventually I made the trek back up the path to the hotel. I showered off at the pool and climbed into the outdoor one. I chatted with a woman from Sweden who came to the conference with her husband, then decided to go shower and attend my friend David's talk at 5:30. After that talk I went back to my room to get ready for the Gala Dinner (which will be the next post).

Tuesday, 1st day of the conference

I got a terrific sleep and woke up quite refreshed. I think I got about 10 hours. I went down for breakfast and it was a buffet with omelets and waffles basically Amercan style...that was very comforting after the meal the night before.
I then went to the conference and it was rather dry in the morning but I enjoyed the Key Note Speaker's talk (Prof. Tai-Myoung ChungVice Chair of OECD Working Party on Information Security & Privacy, at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea). Later I had about 10 minutes of his time in the hallway and he was quite engaging. His talk was about the history of computing and the digital age, and the security challenges.
When I got to lunch, I started to feel nervous about my talk that afternoon. We had made some minor revisions to the talk that morning and once I realized that the conference was much bigger then last year (I'd say over 500 attendees) butterflies started to fly in the stomach.
I had thought that I had packed 2 suits but when I went to my closet I had one suit and my recently acquired tuxedo. So I had grabbed the tux instead of my blue suit. So that stressed me out a bit, not a wardrobe malfunction, but a wardrobe crisis.
Around 2:15 Eric and I went to our Track room and sat in the back to wait to deliver our talk. Other then Eric asking me to do the Agenda (that was supposed to be his) it went REALLY well. In fact we were surrounded by interested parties after our talk.
The rest of the day I attended the rest of the conference and then we decided to go OUT for dinner. Now this area is truly a resort...there really is nothing within walking distance other then other resorts. The group voted to do the Western dinner at the Hyatt next door. We all were feeling a little homesick for familiar food. The menu had some Korean, Japanese but also Steaks, and even a cheeseburger. We all ordered our comfort food and some wine and we were very relaxed...then realized it had been about 1/2 an hour since we ordered and all we had was wine and bread. So I asked the host about our food and he said it would be another 15 minutes! Four of us had ordered sandwiches! Another 1/2 hour passed and we asked again, and he was very apologetic....no explanation but apparently they had limited ability to cook Western food (Korean foods came out in 5 minutes). Finally about 75 minutes after ordering my cheeseburger and fries came out. It was very good but certainly shouldn't have taken that long.
After dinner my group was tired and went to bed. I hadn't walked off hotel yet. So I grabbed the video camera and had the notion to walk down to the private beach. Well it was a bit dark and the cliff gave me 2nd thoughts. I will get to the beach today or tomorrow.
I ended having a beer with the British crew by the pool until about 12:30 am.
Today is the 2nd day of the conference and I may try and sneak out for some sightseeing and shopping. The "Gala Dinner" is tonight, won't be wearing my tux though!

Monday..to JeJu

Well after I blogged last night, I had a really hard time falling asleep. I watched some of a Woody Allen movie, some Sumo wrestling, and did some reading. I think I finally dozed off at about 3am and the wake-up call came at 6:30. I'm feeling it now. By the time I adjust to this time-zone it will be time to go!

Breakfast was extremely disappointing at the hotel. They supposedly had a Western breakfast and a Japanese breakfast, but the eggs were really undercooked, the sausages tasteless, so I basically had fruit for breakfast. So far I was not impressed with the Asian food I had found here.

I got on the shuttle for the airport and I have never experienced as positive a process as Narita. From getting off the bus to the gate took all of 15 minutes. I was whisked to the front of the line (and I was flying coach). There was NO line for security. I did not have to take my shoes off. Customs was a breeze. Then myself and the other 3 North Americans on the flight to Jeju boarded and found ourselves in the front of the economy seating with about 10 feet of leg room. The plane was completely full and yet they put us in front!

Then as soon as the plane got to a level the stewardess started to squirm. Apparently one of the doors (to my right) had sprung a leak. Whether the water was residual from the rain in Tokyo or from flying through clouds, there was clearly water dripping through, and landing on this guys leg. So we are in full ascent and the two flight attendants start wiping up the leak with blankets and paper towels. They seemed more concerned about the passenger getting wet then the fact that it was leaking in the 1st place. No one seemed concerned that the plane was leaking, apparently a regular part of the experience on Korean Air. As soon as the plane leveled off they offered us food and drink. At first I was impressed with the fact that being in coach, with all the ads about nickle and diming that we were being offered anything for free. But once I had a look I thought better. I guess it was a traditional Korean breakfast, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

When we landed Jeju was also easy, very fast customs and the bags were there quick as well. I decided to share a cab with my American friends and off we went. Jeju is much bigger then people think; it isn't just a resort island, it has a thriving fishing community and it was a good 20 minute drive from the airport to the resort.

I am staying at the Shilla which is a resort on this island. My room is fabulous with a view of the

Pacific Ocean. Behind my room is a fish pond, a stream and a beautiful pool.

We then decided to have lunch in the "Western Cafe" at the hotel. I had French Soup and salad which cost me like $27. Prices are very high at this hotel. Unfortunately I then had a meeting to go to which I won't bore you with the details about. Suffice it to say it was a collasal waste of time.

After the meeting I went back to my room to post the previous nights blog....then it was time to get ready for dinner. I've been having flashbacks to Lost in Translation this entire trip, and it continued yesterday with the entertainment. We ate outside on the veranda, and I briefly thought, wow grilled meat! Well it was that, sort of, but for $70 this buffet was definitely not worth it. When I get home, I will post some video from this particular evening it is priceless.

Saturday/Sunday

I boarded at 3:45 but we didn't take off until close to 5:30pm. It was a big 747 but I was again not on the upper deck. Someday, hopefully I'll be able to sit upstairs. Later I decided would finally go upstairs and check it out...and it was just more business class. I talked to the flight attendant and we discussed how when the 747's came out in the 70's the upper deck was a bar with tables and chairs...that went out A LONG time ago.
The food choices were steak wrapped in bacon, some kind of chicken and an "authentic" Japanese meal. I decided to order the Japanese meal. I thought I knew Japanese food pretty well, but I couldn't identify a lot of the foods on my plate. I drank the soup broth and then later realized I was supposed to pour it on top of the noodles. The Japanese guy next to me also wanted this meal but they ran out, so he got the chicken. I should have switched with him....
I did some work on the plane, read, and watched a pretty good movie In Brugge. I have been to Brugge and the entire movie was shot there. I would highly recommend it.
When I landed I called my friends from Rim (the makers of the Blackberry). They met me at my hotel and we went to dinner. We wanted to go for Sushi (of course) but many of the restaurants around here close early on Sunday nights. Tokyo was not an option as that is 1.5 hours away. We got in the taxi and just said Japanese sushi...the driver took us to a place that was practically empty. The menu was all in Japanese, but at least it had pictures. What can I say, the sushi was just ok. It wasn't nearly as good as Tomoe Sushi in the Village or Kotobuki in Long Island...
Thats what you get with a last minute sushi dinner near the airport I guess.
Tomorrow its off to JeJu Island...stay tuned!

Delayed already

Flight from Boston to Chicago was smooth and 10 minutes early. Unfortunately, the flight from here to Tokyo is delayed FOUR hours. The explanation? A "crew" change. This is unacceptable...they have taken 4 hours of checking out Japan out of my life. Instead I have to spend it at O'Hare. At least I'm in the "Red Carpet" club...
I considered going into the city for lunch but realized that it will take an hour to get into town and by the time I figured out what I was going to do, I would have to come back to the airport.

So I'm online for now....thinking about "sushi and glasses of Sake."

At Logan

Well I'm getting ready to board for my big trip to JeJu Island. I am excited but nervous...

In case you didn't know why I'm going, I giving a paper at the International Common Criteria Conference. You can find my name in the Program.

I would love any feedback you can give me on what I write...

McCain

A Maverick? You think he can take back Palin? You know say "my bad, can I change my mind?"

Uggh, can't wait for the debates.