The warm heart of Asia?

Well, we have landed in Korea. We took a little twin-prop plane from Maseru to Johannesburg (Ella wouldn't sit by the window because she found the propellers scary). Then we flew on Emirates airline from Joburg to Dubai, then on to Korea. Two 8-hour legs. Emirates is definitely bucking the trend of cheap, no-frills travel. They had the most space of any coach seat I can remember, the food was pretty decent (the "light snack" had smoked salmon), and the cabin crew was very international and extremely attentive. They took Polaroid pictures with Ella and were showering her with stuffed animals, Dr Seuss books, etc. The icing on the cake was the in-seat, in-flight entertainment with a menu of a few hundred movies to choose from. Ella was in movie heaven, and it made the flight quite easy for us. In the airport in Seoul, there was a tourist billboard with a new campaign declaring Korea the "warm heart of Asia". Oddly, Malawi's nickname has long been the "warm heart of Africa", which I think is probably more appropriate. As much as I like Korea, it's not really the "warmest" country in the world, let alone Asia (Thailand and Burma in particular have strong reputations for effusive friendliness). Korea is temperate in weather and pretty formal in culture, but I guess those adjectives don't really attract tourists. I kind of like the old "Land of the Morning Calm". Anyway, with temperatures hovering around freezing in Lesotho (winter in the South), and peaking above 80 degrees here, and with plenty of family to entertain my daughter, Korea at least occupies a warm spot in my heart. Now that we're here, I'm adjusting to the time change and the spicy food, which has a rather rapid intestinal transit time... I think that's why Koreans stay skinny... Ella is delighted with the attention and gifts from her grandparents, aunts and uncles, and it's been nice to be able to get out and walk around at all hours. It's such a relief to be able to let down your guard and not have to be vigilant about your surroundings. I kind of feel like the "clear/claritin clear" commercials. I didn't even notice how tense and vigilant I had been until I no longer have to be so. It also helps taht out the window we have a nice view of pretty wooded mountains just a few hundred feet up the road. My goal is a daily morning hike with Ella on my back (I have to get back in shape for my planned adventures in Bellingham). Today, though she's got a little fever, and I'm still sleeping at odd hours, so maybe tomorrow. Meanwhile... back in Lesotho, there have apparently been armed attacks on the homes and vehicles of a number of politicos... In response, the government has imposed a 6pm to 6am curfew and are searching cars to try to find the attackers. Spooky. I need to try to get a hold of my peeps and make sure everyone is coping. More soon. No excuses now that I'm in what is widely regarded the most wired country in the world (although there are doubters out there...)