Mr.+Ross+(iHOG+Reporter)

**I am currently Traveling in Asia until April 21, then to Germany and The Netherlands.** **See update bleow. China & Korea **

Seoul Korea - April 19


Today, I flew to Seoul, Korea. We were hosted to dinner at a Korean Barbeque (Kalbe) Restaurant, where the cook the meat at your table over super hot coals. Here is a short video that shows the meal - yes they serve ALL of these items along with the meet. You use chop sticks and a spoon to eat with. Korean beef is very good. They do not put sauce on the meat, but all other items have many spices added.
 * Korean Kalbe Video**
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Here is my previous summary on Korea:




 * __South Korea__****__:__**

Korea is a peninsula located in the eastern most part of the Asian continent. A peninsula is a piece of land that is surrounded by water on three sides.South Koreais small. It is about half the size of the state of Missouri(~55%)

People have been living inKoreafor at least 10,000 years!

South Korea has a population of 50 million people. This is a lot of people on small amount of land.Missourionly has a population of 5.8 million and is twice as big. That means that Korea is a pretty crowded place.

South Korea is very proud of being a modern country. They are proud of rebuilding their country since the Korean war, 50 years ago.

The Korean people are passionate about electronics and modern things. 93% of the population have cell phones (that’s more than nine out of ten people).

April 17 - Shanghai, China
I flew from Singapore to Shanghai, China yesterday. This is about the same distance as flying from San Diego, California, to New York, New York.

After my flight, I rode on the MAGLEV train from Shanghai, Pudong Airport to downtwon Shanghai. This is one of the fastest trains in the world. It reaches speeds of 420km/hr !!!




 * __China__****__:__**

China is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations. But it has only become a modern country in the last 20 years. Chinahas changed faster than any country in the world.

Chinahas more people than any other country on Earth. There are 1.3 billion people inChina. Over 400 million live in cities.ShanghaiandBeijingboth have about 20 million people that live there.

China’s government is called Communism.

The capital of China is Beijing (Bay jing)

__**Here is a link to a great video about China from Discovery Channel**__ []


 * Internet Information:**

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Click on the link to see my China Report:




 * Language:**

The people ofChinaspeak Chinese. The language is written with characters similar to Korean and Japanese. There are actually 20 different “dialects” of versions of Chinese that are spoken in the country. Can you imagine if people spoke English 20 different ways? That would be like a different language inIllinoisthan inMissouri!

Here are three things you can practice saying:

你 好 ni hao (nee haw) = Hello 谢谢 xie xie (she she) = Thank you 不客 气 b ú kè qi (boo ka chee) = You’re welcome


 * __Shanghai__**

I am spending my next two days in Shanghai.

Here is a video link for Shanghai from Delta Airlines: []



= **April 14, 2012 - Singapore, Shanghai, Seoul** = On Saturday I flew to Singapore. The trip took 26 hours to complete, covering over 9,000 miles of flying. The time zone is 13 hours ahead of St. Louis. When I landed, it was two days later than when I started - I lost a day due to flying and time zones.

The flight to Singapore flew over the North Pole, through Canada, Russia, China, Malaysia ad in to Singapore.

The flight was 9,700miles and took approximately 26 hours to complete my trip (19 hrs flying) from when I left St. Louis.



Travel videos for Singapore:
Travel video:
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History of Singapore Video _ great summary of how Singapore became a city-state.
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Welcome to My iHOG Global Reporting Page. I'm excited to share my international travel with you. Mr. Ross

__**Countries I've visited**__

__**Reports from previous trips:**__

Here is a picture of the flight path I will take on my trip to Brasil (Dec 6 - 11) STL = St. Louis; ORD = Chicago; GRU = Sao Paulo, Brasil; POA = Porto Alegre, Brasil; IAD = Washington DC Total round-trip miles = 11,987 miles




 * I left St. Louis at 9:30 PM on Tuesday and arrived in Sao Paulo, Brazil at 11:30 AM
 * on Wednesday morning. There is a 4-hour time difference between St. Louis and
 * Sao Paulo. How long did my flight take?
 * It is the begining of Summer in Brazil When I landed, I had to remove my sweater and change to a golf shirt.
 * It is 85 degrees today.


 * __Brazil__****__:__**


 * Brasil is the largest country isSouth America. It is the fifth largest country in the world by geography and by population.
 * Brazil occupies a large area along the eastern coast of South Americaand includes much of the continent's interior. It shares a border with every country in South America except forEcuadorandChile. It also encompasses a number of oceanic archipelagos.
 * In the early 1500’s, the country of Portugal colonized Brasil.
 * There are over 190 Million people living in Brazil.
 * Language:**
 * Brasil is the only Portuguese-speaking country inSouth America. Portuguese is the fifth most spoken language in the world.
 * Food:**
 * Brazil has many cuisines, especially in big cities. It is a mix of Spanish and Latin style cooking.Brazil is most famous for its “churascaria” style restaurants, where they serve all kinds of meats (mainly beef) on long skewers and the waiters cut pieces from the skewers directly onto your plate.


 * Population:**
 * Brasil is the fifth largest population in the world. There are 190 Million people.


 * __Brazil__** **__is known for:__**

Rio de JaneiroisBrazil's primary tourist attraction and resort. It receives the most visitors per year of any city inSouth Americawith 2.82 million international tourists a year. “Rio” is famous for its beautiful beaches, the statue of Cristo Redentor, and the annual Carnival festival. The people ofBrazilare passionate about carnival. There is even a famous Barry Manilo song about a hotel inRio– The Copacobana. (Ask Mrs. Kennedy or Mr. Thompson about it). Some of the greatest soccer players in the world come fromBrazil. The sport is a national passion, much like baseball and American football are in theUSA. When the national team plays the whole country stops to watch (like our Super Bowl). Every city has one or two professional teams, and the team you choose to support is very important to your friends and family.
 * Rio De Janeiro****:**
 * Football**

The Carnival inRio de Janeirois starting out as a festival before the sombre mood of Lent and is considered one of the greatest shows on Earth. The first festivals of Rio date back to 1723. The purpose of carnival is for samba schools (groups of people from neighborhoods) to compete with fellow rival schools with floats, costumes, and dancing. It is the Brazilian version of Mardi Gras.
 * Carnival**

Cataratas del Iguazú are waterfalls of the IguazuRiverlocated in the Brasil state of Parana. The falls are also a border betweenArgentina, Brasil, and Paraguay. These are the waterfalls that were filmed at the end of the Indiana Jones & The Crystal Skulls movie. It is bigger thanNiagara Falls!
 * Iguazu Falls**

The Amazon Rainforest, also known as Amazonia or Amazon Jungle, encompasses seven million square kilometers (1.7 billion acres), of which five and a half million square kilometers (1.4 billion acres). This region includes territory belonging to nine nations. The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest. The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests, and it comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world.
 * Amazon Rainforest and River**

The Amazon River is the largest river in the world with an average discharge greater than the next six largest rivers combined. It accounts for approximately one-fifth of the world's total river flow

Sao Paulois largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the Southern Hemisphere, and the 7th largest city in the world. Almost 20% oBrazil’s population lives in this city. It reminds me ofLos Angeles. The climate is tropical and the temperature is warm most of the time. The traffic is VERY bad there and it can take up to 2 hours to get to the airport that is only 30 miles away. From the air, the city seems to go on forever.
 * Sao Paulo****, Brazil**

__**Internet links:**__

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__**Thailand, Malaysia, & Singapore --**__ __**September 17 - 27**__
Here is a picture of the flight path I will take on my trip to Asia (Sept 17 - 27) STL = St. Louis; LAX = Los Angeles; SIN = Singapore; BKK = Bangkok; KUL = Kuala Limpur, Malaysia Total round-trip miles = 22,539



My plane home is the Airbus A-380, the largest passenger plane in the world. It has two full floors on the plane.

__**Thailand.**__
 * ==== Thailand is the geographical heart of South-East Asia on the Malay peninsula ====
 * ====Thailand is the only country in SEA that was never controlled by a foreign country====
 * ==== Thailand can be an extremely hot and soggy place. Its tropical climate is divided into three seasons: cool in November to February, hot in March to May, and rainy in June to October. It has rained every day since I arrived last Monday (Sept 19). ====
 * ==== Thailand has a population of 54 million people ====
 * ==== Buddhism is the dominant religion in Thailand, and there are Buddhist shrines on most street corners, where people actually pray or give offerings of food, flowers, or burning insense====
 * ====Elephants still roam wild in northernThailandand are domesticated for herding, farm work, and people moving throughout the north.====
 * ==== Thai people use animals to help with their work. Elephants haul lumber out of the mountain forests in the north and monkeys help harvest coconuts in the south ====
 * ==== Bangkok is the capital and largest city in Thailand with about 12 million people. There are many shrines (“wat”) and temples to Buddha all across Bangkok, where Buddhist monks still live and worship. ====
 * ==== Silk, Rice, Emeralds, and Rubies are the main products exported ====

Some photos from my trip: The temples in Thailand are called "Wat". They are very improtant to the Buddhist religion.