I wanted to jot down some memories from my first-time-back-in-13-years trip to Korea before my aging brain locks everything away into the dark corners of obscurity. And since I love making lists, here are 10 things that are freshest on my mind from my trek back to the motherland! 1.  First and foremost (in what is probably a no-brainer for most of my readers), Korea far surpasses the U.S. in terms of everyday technology. My relatives' apartment complexes, for example, had retina-scan security systems and motion-activated lights in hallways which automatically dim at night. There were security and emergency intercom systems in every bathroom. Underfloor heating systems. Filtered faucets and showerheads. Heated toilet seats. And much, much more. When I commented on these to my uncle, he...

The current time here, back home on the east coast of the U.S., is 2:47am and I am WIDE AWAKE. :-? It figures — just as my body was finally becoming accustomed to the day-night reversal in Korea, my vacation came to an abrupt end. When I was still planning this trip, J (who has taken 3 trips to Hong Kong in the past couple of years) warned me that I would need at least a week in Korea and another week to fully recover because "We're old now! Our bodies can't handle the time difference like we could in our twenties!" And it seems that he is correct. If I could say one thing about this visit to Korea, it would be that nothing was...