I've been working in Asia these past 2 weeks

[The Polack MSgt]

12 Days in the Republic of Korea and the next 4 in Japan.

While in the ROK I used the KTX high speed rail system to get around the peninsula, its very impressive. Truthfully, the whole country impressed me.

I was last on the R.O.K. 31 years ago as young newly minted Staff Sergeant. Back then the country was building maniacally to host the Summer Olympics, but the infrastructure was not great - Uneven may be the best description.

Not any more. I went to several areas in the Southeast (Pohang and Gyeongju) and Northwest to work (Incheon Seoul and Tongducheon) and I was impressed.

Back to the train though - How would you like to live in a nation where you can go 256 miles in 2 hours 15 minutes for $70. Comfortably, safely and with tasty snacks? Hahaha. We can't...

We can't because Republicans say we can't - there is no other reason. It's a tired trope that remains true, government can't work if half of the government is sabotaging everything.

The only time the GOP cares about infrastructure is when they can shovel pork filled contracts to their donors.

Every time I travel to functional nations I want to cry about the state of our great nation - being crippled by a willfully ignorant greedy cabal more interested in establishing a hereditary Gentry/Serf feudal society than it is about moving us forward

[CrispyQ]

1. This:

...being crippled by a willfully ignorant greedy cabal more interested in establishing a hereditary Gentry/Serf feudal society than it is about moving us forward

And that half the voting pubic doesn't see this is amazing.

[sheshe2]

2. This!

Thank you, MSgt.

[spanone]

3. K&R...👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[pangaia]

4. Great.. I travel to ROK 2-3 times a year. Just love it!!

Japan as well, and China..

The Subway APPS are even better for Seoul than Tokyo !! LOL..


And getting from ICN or GMP to anywhere in Seoul is so much easier than from JFK, EWR or, God forbid, LGA to Manhattan...

[The Polack MSgt]

7. Not to mention the quality of the wireless communications

I have to believe that Americans in general just don't know how badly we are being ripped off on the price and quality of the communications/data network in America

[pangaia]

9. So true,

while most South Koreans use data, because it is so cheap, they also do use WiFi.

I always get a pocket Wi-Fi at the airport, And I often get speeds up to like, 65-80 Mbps in and around Seoul/Incheon. Some places get well over 100 Mbps...

[NewJeffCT]

5. I was just in China and took the high speed rail twice as well

Went from Nanjing to Xi'An. It's about 600 miles by train. With a 30 minute stop along the way, along with a few other brief stops, it was about 4 or 4.5 hours to get there. Not a bump, rattle or shake the entire route. Even airplane wouldn't be that quick - it's a little under 2 hours for the flight, but considering you need to get to the airport at least an hour ahead of time and then need to check and pick up baggage, it ends up being more time. (You just bring your bags onto the train...) And, it's way more comfortable.

Previously, we went from Shanghai to Nanjing - a little over 200 miles in about an hour on HSR. Because of a reservation mistake, they also put us in first class for the trip. I'm sure for a plane, we would have been bumped to the next flight and arrived even later. I barely slept a wink on the flights from Hartford to Chicago and then to Shanghai. However, as soon as I hit that comfy reclining first class seat, I fell asleep for the entire hour.

[Locrian]

8. comparison

I did the Shanghai to Nanjing as well - super smooth, and about 1 hr (180 mph) for the trip. Contrast the with the train I took to Chicago last week - about 100 miles, took 2 1/2 hours. And NOT very comfortable!

[sharedvalues]

6. Yup

Singapore good too.

[Paka]

10. K&R

I love trains. As child, in 1948 I fell in love with train travel going to visit my grandparents. I live in Thailand and a big factor in not visiting my family in that I can't get around easily on trains. When I take a break from Asia I go to France where I can take trains everywhere. I buy my senior discount card and take off. The deterioration in US infrastructure is truly, truly sad.

[betsuni]

12. Yes, such a shame.

In my neighborhood (in Japan), there's a bus terminal down the street, subway stop three blocks away, train station a fifteen minute walk. I can walk to do most of my shopping, sidewalks everywhere because people walk and ride bikes. Yesterday during a drive to the countryside, from the highway I saw local trains connecting all the little towns along the cherry blossom-lined river. Compared to the States, these towns are amazingly healthy (although because of the low birth rate fewer young people than old of course). There's still manufacturing (both small and large factories), small farms (and gardens), generations living together, healthy food. I've noticed many solar power fields in the last couple of years. My husband's young niece and nephew love their town, never want to leave and no reason they have to. The middle class is alive and well.

Oh, and last week I went to a local clinic. Didn't have an appointment, took a number, waited about 20 minutes to see a doctor. Visit and medicine cost around sixteen dollars.

[The Polack MSgt]

13. I know, I come to Japan much more often than the ROK

Although it has been 8 years since my last visit I used to come here regularly.

Japan respects small business in a way that the US seems to have forgone since their embrace of big business oligarchs.

Plus a healthy active lifestyle supported by the transportation and health care system seems to be magical to the US.

We pump profit producing drugs into an obese sedentary population with no care as to the health of these people - just their survival as a revenue stream

[betsuni]

24. Small businesses are great.

Up the street there's a little factory that makes soup broth. I see containers full of animal bones outside. There's a laboratory of some kind, an old dirty workshop where signboards are made, warehouses, a place that makes stone tombstones, lots of businesses like that. Mom-and-pop stores, too, although mom-and-pop are elderly: dry cleaners, barber shop, stationary store, coffee shop, noodle shop, a small convenience store that's now mostly attended to by the middle-aged son of the mom and pop. My favorites are a tiny grocery store with hardly anything on the shelves run by an ancient toothless man, and a grilled pork place without a sign that's only open on weekend afternoons (if the grumpy old guy who does the grilling feels like coming in to work that day, that is).

Also, another thing I love is how, when you go sightseeing like I did yesterday, there are local products you can buy. In a mountain town I bought locally made miso, honey, wood products, charcoal, pickles. My husband's hometown is famous for sweets made from chestnuts. In summer I go nuts at roadside vegetable stands, fill the car with bags of delicious things incredibly cheap. I'm planning a trip to the Noto peninsula soon because I need to stock up on the good sea salt they make there. In very rural areas like the peninsula, yes, there are lots of abandoned buildings, shrinking populations, not many job opportunities. But no drug epidemic. It's a complicated situation, but I wonder why Americans lost ... I don't know, they lost something. Some kind of cultural poverty.

[pangaia]

28. You forgot.............

SUSHI !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[world wide wally]

14. Yeah, but we build bigger bombs

[Beartracks]

15. There's nothing wrong with government that getting Republicans out of it can't fix. n/t

[MrScorpio]

16. You and I were both in Korea at the same time 31 years ago.

I would love to see how much the country has progressed today.

[The Polack MSgt]

19. The place has progressed by leaps and bounds

One thing that really made a difference is that the busses and big trucks in the cities are running on LPG - not diesel. So the soot isn't an issue.

And just overall the difference between rural and urban areas as far as power sanitation and roads it is a lot more even

[MrScorpio]

20. Wow.

Because back in the 80's, basically everything outside of Seoul at the time was one step above a third world country. Personally, I'd love to see what they did with Songtan, the ville that just outside of Osan where I was stationed.

[pangaia]

29. And for what it is worth,

South Korea is turning out the most highly successful concert violinists, cellists and pianists per capita in the world.

[Left-over]

17. We keep getting fed through the msm that we are still the most

modern and advanced country in the world. However we have been and are now being passed by many other countries in infrastructure and technology. The right wingers are dumbing us down and tearing everything in this great nation apart in the name of corporate profit. If we, as a nation, do not get a handle on this very soon, the damage, if it isn't already, will be irreparable.

[jpak]

18. K&R

[Bernardo de La Paz]

21. Countries around the world are going to eat the US lunch on sustainable technology.

The US will be buying billions of dollars worth to catch up.

Those are NEW jobs that tRump and GOP want to export because of short-sighted short-term thinking.

[Honeycombe8]

22. The U S is woefully behind the other industrialized nations in infrastructure. nt

[Bigredhunk]

23. -

Yup

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

25. I love taking the train, and we absolutely need more and better

and faster trains.

However, keep in mind that an awful lot of city pairs in this country are a lot more than 256 miles apart.

But yeah, we need more trains.

[mwooldri]

30. But #45s budget talks about killing Amtrak off.

The long distance routes anyway...

http://www.masstransitmag.com/press_release/12322126/220-cities-losing-all-passenger-train-service-per-trump-elimination-of-all-federal-funding-for-amtraks-national-network-trains

We're talking no more passenger trains south of Charlotte, NC on the east coast (State of NC pays for a train between DC and Charlotte, NC). Odd, given that the Southern Crescent was one of the last long distance routes to pass over to Amtrak... and the Crescent is on the chopping block now

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

35. It's despicable to even think of cutting train service.

Several years ago I took the train from New Mexico to Portland, OR, and it was simply the best trip ever. I'd like to do it again, as I have a son who lives in Portland, but of course money is always a bit of an issue.

Actually, what I'd really love to do is a giant trip from here (NM), to Los Angeles, then up to Seattle, then across to Chicago and back to NM. That would be at least four days on the train, which would be giant fun for me.

[NewJeffCT]

38. I agree that it's not easily done in some areas of the country

but, it's also crazy that it takes Amtrak 3 hours to go 200 miles from Boston to NYC, but you can go 300 miles from London to Paris in 2 hours via rail. (average speed 66 2/3 mph vs 150 mph)

Cut the Boston to NYC time in half and it's a great alternate to air or car. Right now, it's $200+ for Acela and not much faster than driving if you can avoid rush hours.

If you can really upgrade the speed in the northeast corridor - Boston to DC - you'd show people what rail can really do.

Another area where it would be good is in Texas, believe it or not. The land is relatively flat between Dallas, Houston and Austin...but, that would mean overcoming Republican control of the state.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

44. Yes. Start with the highly used routes in the Northeast

and go from there.

California is another state that could use high speed rail.

Plus, there are too many cities that no longer have train service, and too many city pairs that it's not possible to take the train between. For instance, I'm in New Mexico. If I want to go from here to Denver, I'd have to go to Los Angeles or Chicago first, which is utterly ridiculous.

[kcr]

41. Yep, we need more trains. The fact we don't even have HSR in the Northeast is ridiculous.

Our gridlock government fails us. There is no real reason we can't have decent infrastructure including high-speed rail.

[pansypoo53219]

26. sadl the TEEVEE media LOVES the GOP more. see turnip. they massaged this result. BIGLY.

[liberal N proud]

27. I have been screaming about this for years

America is becoming 3rd world at the hands of republicans.

[defacto7]

31. what a great story... a great dream...

Last edited Sun Apr 16, 2017, 10:34 PM - Edit history (1)

and the sad reality for the US. Thoughts of what we could have been go though my mind all the time... high speed rail, the end of fostle fuel, unlimited health care for all. I'll never see it if it ever comes about but I hope my kids or their kids will be able to realize that potential.

[yuiyoshida]

32. South Korea also has the fastest Internet on the planet

We don't even rate as far as internet speed goes, and many places in this country still use DIAL UP!!

[progressoid]

33. Donald will get right on that. Coming soon to a city near you: TRUMP TRAIN!

[ProfessorGAC]

39. Off The Rails in The First 100 Yards

Don't you think?

[NewJeffCT]

49. Direct routes to Trump resorts & casinos!

and, all the contractors that built it getting ripped off, of course.

[Cha]

34. KICK

[smirkymonkey]

36. K&R

[dchill]

37. K&R.

[SticksnStones]

40. Here in NY you pay $15 to drive across the George Washington Bridge

That's a lot of sweet cash that no politician wants to lose to a faster, more cost effective way of moving across the river.

When I see opposition to sound ideas, like many, I say follow the money. Who benefits from inaction?

[harun]

42. Great post. Need to shed more light on the world moving ahead without us because of GOP saboteurs

[DFW]

43. Here in Europe, fast trains are THE preferred means of intercity travel

I haven't taken a plane between Brussels and Düsseldorf in probably 15 years or more. I used to sometimes take the commuter plane because it took only 35 minutes, and the train between Köln and Brussels used to take 3 hours, plus the extra half hour from Köln on to Düsseldorf. Düsseldorf to Frankfurt used to take almost 3 hours as well.

Now, the run from Köln to Brussels takes only an hour an 47 minutes, and Köln-Frankfurt just 80 minutes. Düsseldorf to Paris has been reduced to under 4 hours. It isn't worth the hassle of flying any more, as the CDG airport is far from the city, and traffic in Paris is so crazy that it makes more sense to take the train the whole way unless the half hour saved is so extremely vital. The nonstop Paris-Brussels run has now also been reduced from 3 hours to 80 minutes.

Chris Christie was right that it would cost a fortune to upgrade our rail infrastructure. He is wrong to say it isn't worth it. Few things would be more worthwhile.

[Martin Eden]

45. The automobile is subsidized BIGLY

Taxes for roads, cops, and courts.

Car owners also pay for purchase,, interest, insurance, maintenace, licensing, gas, etc. -- plus all the people killed and injured every year.

Americans love their cars, but we could not have chosen a more expensive, dangerous, and environmently unfriendly mode of transportation if we tried.

Light rail makes much more sense on so many levels, but implementation requires a government which truly values the concept of the Commons.

[The Polack MSgt]

46. The whole concept of our nations Common Wealth seems to have been forgotten

Because the push now is to prioritize corporate profit

[Martin Eden]

48. Corporate profit and individual "freedom"

But we are slaves to our cars where adequate public transportation does not exist, and to the degree that disposable income gives us freedom the cost of our cars also curtails freedom.

Same goes for being chained to a job when you can't afford to give up the health benefits.

[Adrahil]

50. It's hard to transport anything of size....

On public transportation. I'd like the option, but I doubt the car is gong anywhere fast.

[Martin Eden]

51. That could be modified if public transport became more universal

However, I agree that even if the political will existed, cars won't disappear anytime soon because the existing infrastructure to accomodate the automobile is so pervasive.

Self driving electric cars are the wave of the near future, since we don't have a clean slate for designing the best matrix for ground transport.

[Adrahil]

52. I love a public transport option with accommodation for cargo. NT

[moondust]

47. I got spoiled in Europe.

In more ways than one. More than 40 years ago. AFAIK, they don't have states like Texas and Oklahoma whose economies are deeply rooted in fossil fuels and the internal combustion engine. Norway does a lot of drilling but I think they use the proceeds to take care of their people and provide a lot of foreign aid.

[LiberalLovinLug]

53. I weep at what America could have looked like today

If there hadn't been allowed such a take-over by the top .1% over the last 40 years or so. Where most all new money was redistributed upwards. Some of the blame going to the Clinton led "third way" and "triangulation" that was set on out-Republicaning the Republicans, that pushed it was better to join 'em than fight 'em. Add to that an out-of-control MIC spending train, even before Trump came in.

The richest country in the world should by now have a high-speed rail system from coast to coast. They should have some form of medicare for all (to afford the initial startup period), maternity leave, a livable minimum wage, much more spent on public education including healthy meal programs and classroom computers, and new buildings. As well, instead of killing the electric car back in the seventies, America could have been so far ahead of the game in that industry. Same thing as what is happening with the alternative energy industry, with outright denial of any need or future market for that and minimal investment, and instead doubling down on coal and oil, other countries will leap frog ahead, if they haven't already.

[IronLionZion]

54. South Korea's tax rates are comparable to the US

and it sounds like they value infrastructure. They probably spend a lot of their taxes on defense against North Korea, but not as much as we do.

The GOP wants to make America great again. Back when people were poor and desperate and had lower wages while a few assholes could exploit us.

There is often the argument of America's car culture has to encourage driving on interstates, or flying across our large country. South Korea also has a car industry but that doesn't stop them from investing in high speed trains.

[Blue_Tires]

55. k+r