|
Seoul 2023: Annyeong Seoul
posted : Saturday, July 01, 2023
So here comes the day to day reports of the Seoul trip! I joked about this to people around me…my flight experiences this time round are two extremes. The plan was to redeem a business flight back from Incheon coz it would fall on my birthday, and after searching around…the most viable option was to fly budget for the flight to Incheon LOL. Because it’s June hols so tickets do get snapped up early and maybe an opportunity to jack up prices, and while I half considered full airlines like Asiana it fizzled out in a while coz moments of indecisiveness and prices had shot up, so nope. Ah well. So as usual costs saved on transport were channeled towards accommodation instead. And red eye flight too, at an ungodly timing of 3.30am coz I wanted to maximize time in Seoul. Hur hur. Bit the bullet and paid for window seats in a bid to get some sleep, which was somewhat successful, I think I managed a solid 4 hours (albeit interrupted), before sunrise and cabin got too bright to sleep. Also visited SATS lounge before flight for some supper (I reached airport like 5 hours before, and checked in early since I didn’t have check in baggage), and before that I even OTed a bit at work and after going home I still managed to squeeze in a run in gym. That’s how much time I have from a 3.30am flight lol.
 Feels like I’m not going to pass up a chance for this delightful laksa from SATS lounge, I don’t know why but everybody agrees this laksa is the bomb But anyway arrived at Incheon Airport not super concussed but I did move at a slower pace la. There were forms to fill in online before arriving in Seoul which is the customary post-COVID and a few stations to flash QR codes etc and that’s it. Immigration queue was kind of long too and by the time I came out I had just missed an AREX train to Seoul, so had to wait a bit for the next one. Not that I am in much of a hurry la.  Incheon Airport, actually my first time here coz we didn’t fly in via Seoul the last time round.  Queue took about an hour  The transport centre connecting to Incheon, feels kind of deserted though. Half heartedly tried to buy KFC but kiosk somehow didn’t accept my card so I gave up  Exchanged AREX tickets, bought via Klook  Train to Seoul, about 45min ride Arrived in Seoul! The feeling of arriving in a country where everything is in a foreign language is always a bit disconcerting at first but got used to it after a while, navigated my way to metro and off to the first of my three hotels, in the Hongdae neighborhood.  The feeling is worse than I remember though.  One of the first things I saw and I was like…that’s one way to do incidental shelters. Coincidentally the CLT people were also in town for a conference + study trip and they were absolutely gushing over this supposedly ingenious idea  First hotel of the trip I always felt that there’s a lot of Seoul that I didn’t manage to see the last time round and Hongdae was one of it. Hotel was a short walk from metro, I was a bit earlier than the official check in timing but my room was ready anyway so they let me check in. Then it’s the usual freshening up and planning my next move (like checking my list of saved posts in IG and finding out which one is in the vicinity) before heading out. Agenda for the rest of the day is really just exploring the Hongdae neighborhood.  Editor’s Room  Love a nice bathroom  View from room  Complimentary snack and some sort of game  Out to explore the neighborhood!  Hongdae’s youthful energy  One of the cafes on my list is just nearby, so of course that’s my first stop  Mont Blanc + Nurungji Latte. Both good!  Hanok cafes are such a vibe  Off to the other half of Hongdae  One of the flagship stores, have a mission so got this out of the way first  Off for dinner! There’s a FOC pancake starter  Dakglabi with cheeeeese. Could have added on rice but the portion is a bit too big for one person already  Had to get one |
