Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 47 of 58

Drumming with the Dancers at Korea House

Tuesday, February 23rd

Learning Moment: Seoul, Korea

Korea House is one of my favorite places on the planet. Great music, pounding drums, beautiful women, energetic dances, colorful costumes, and great food; that's tough to beat.

We never make a trip to Seoul without visiting Korea House, and this one would be no different. They've redesigned the stage and the program since we last visited. I loved the changes. The stage is more dramatic, and the new dances are still brilliant.

The legendary fan dance

The fan dance is always a highlight, as are the 'drumming dances'. But, the highlight of tonight - for me, anyway - was when I was invited on stage. When they invited me (along with a few other foreign guests), I started to say no. Then I realized that they didn't want me to dance, they wanted me to drum. I couldn't pass up that opportunity.

So, up I went. At the end of the song, they gave us all souvenir drum sticks, which was pretty cool. And I have to show a picture of Angie with our dinner. Do you think we got enough food?

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 13 of 58

Bharathan, myself, and Angie

Wednesday, January 20th

Learning Moment: India

Tonight, my wife and I were invited to the home of Bharathan and Sharmila Prahalad. Bharathan is the head of Human Resources for KLA-Tencor India and a great guy.

He wanted us to meet his family, eat a home-cooked meal, and see an Indian home. We were impressed by all three.

His wife, mother-in-law, and three children greeted us warmly and made us feel welcome.

The dinner was incredible: diverse, tasty, interesting - and it seemed to never end!

His home was comfortable and beautifully decorated.

All of the literature I've read extols the hospitality of the Indian people.

As we saw, the literature is right on target.

Two Things You Must Do in Seoul, Korea

I'm in Yokohama, Japan now. but I wanted to close out our Korea trip with two pieces of advice, if you happen to visit Seoul.

1. Eat a dinner at Sanchon, home of delicious vegetarian temple food (pictured here with my wife, Angie). And, just to be clear, I am a confirmed carnivore. These canine teeth of mine get a regular workout. However, this is one vegetarian restaurant that doesn't leave me wanting...

2. Make sure to see a Korean dance performance. Sanchon has a show every night. Korea House and the Chongdong Theater also have shows. All are worth seeing...