Finland: Entry 1

7 July 2003: Turku, Finland

Subject: Finland

I thought I'd better update you all on where I've got to, but I don't have long so it will be a very brief update. Coming back to Europe is like going back to the dark ages in terms of public Internet availability - I'm writing this in Turku library where you can queue up for a 15-minute stint. Ture it's free, but the prices in S. America and S.E. Asia were often so low as to be almost free as well! Anyway.

First the rest of Korea: I spent a couple of nights in Busan and saw a nice temple (Beomeosa) and met some Russians. Then I went to Gyeongju which is full of ancient tombs that look like telly-tubby land. Then to Gungju which is similar and back to Seoul, from where I did a day trip to Pamunjum, the village where North and South Korea face each other over the frontier. I could write lots about this and will do when I have more time.

Then after a few short hours in Hong Kong and many more long hours on plans I finally got to Helsinki. A pleasant city. And then by train here to Turku, the nearest point to Sweden. I'll be crossing to Stockholm by ferry in the next couple of days. But first I'm going to see a Medieval town that someone found when digging in their cellar!