First Night in Incheon, South Korea
I arrived at the Incheon International Airport close to 10PM and dragged my luggage around trying to figure out where the taxi stand was. I was super excited about this trip as it was my best friend's first time in Asia and we were about to explore South Korea for the first time together! However, I didn't have much (any) expectation for this trip. I think my main goal was to visit the tourist attractions and see the cultural differences. I have no prior knowledge of the Korean culture nor do I watch Korean dramas (except for the first few episodes of Secret Garden-- which I still need to finish).
My first impression of the airport was.. It's gigantic. No wonder it's one of the largest and busiest airports in the world and apparently for seven years in a row (05-12), it was rated the best airport worldwide by the Airports Council International. (Ranked by passenger traffic for 2014, Beijing is first, Hong Kong is seventh, Seoul is twentieth, and San Francisco is twenty-seventh.) The airport also happened to have a golf course (?!), spa, private sleeping rooms, ice skating rink, a casino, indoor gardens, a museum, and basically a whole duty-free shopping mall.
I guess all the flights got in from all over at the same time because Immigration was packed! It took approximately 45 minutes in order to get through it. Among people/tourists from other countries, the majority was from mainland China. During the wait, the lady in front of me struck up a conversation and she ended giving me her business card after telling me to visit the Philippines. And as we got closer to passing Immigration, there was an older guy from mainland who tried to cut the 45 min line by injecting himself behind me while the guy behind me was checking his email. The guy who tried to cut in line was later escorted. Mmm mm mm.
Without knowing any Korean (I'm a terrible traveler, I know), I was able to easily navigate through the airport (duh, it's an international airport) and I was able to find the Taxi stand. They have different sections where the taxis were waiting depending on how far the driver is willing to go. The taxi I got in was so. cool. It had blue lights on the floor (as you can probably tell, I'm easily impressed).
Incheon is a coastal city (explains the cold weather) and in very close proximity to South Korea's capital and the most populated city, Seoul. The weather in Hong Kong was I believe 28°C (translates into 82°F) and I get into Incheon and it was like I was back in San Francisco, super chilly. I had to wear my jacket to sleep. Brrr.
I booked Airport Incheon Hotel Queens for the first night in South Korea by myself since Ilisha was arriving the following afternoon. For the price, the room was definitely impressive but it reminds me more of a dorm room than a hotel room. Everything was super tidy and neat though even though the building looks a bit run down. There was a door, where you had to swipe your key card and after that door is a step and another door!
The room was definitely spacious and the service I received from the front desk was super nice (especially since they were able to offered me late checkout without any additional charges). I never like staying anywhere by myself as I get super paranoid with every noise or creek I hear.
I wandered outside the hotel after I got settled and grabbed water, Korea's famous banana milk, and dippin' dots from the local convenience store.
The next day, I set out again on foot to explore the surrounding areas. It reminded me of Toronto's Chinatown. Shops everywhere, but they all looked closed.. maybe because it was still early (10AM, I believe).
The outside of the hotel. One of the main reason why I booked the hotel was because it had free airport shuttle!
Love love love cherry blossoms.
I googled the area and found a Lotte Mart! Lotte Mart is similar to Aeon's Jusco in Hong Kong or Macy's and a Safeway combined in the U.S. The mall has a lot of levels selling a variety of groceries, clothing, toys, electronics, and goods from Japan and South Korea. I was there right when they opened, which was nice since I got to take my time to look around.
Instant rice? Like cup noodles.. cup rice?
Lotte Mart carried Clean and Clear products! I was surprised to see that especially since Hong Kong doesn't.
Made my way outside again.
A lot of cars that I passed had these styrofoam block things stuck to their cars. To prevent banging their doors against a wall? It looks so strange though.
Super cute 7/11! I still find it interesting that an American company (which now stationed out of Tokyo) has franchises everywhere with Japan being the largest market and the U.S. comes second, I guess the same could be said for McDonalds.
By the time it hit 2PM, I headed downstairs to catch the free shuttle to the airport to meet up with Ilisha, who lands around 3PM.
Once I got to the airport, time to find food! There were so many options. All different kinds of cuisines. It was basically a food court, but you have to place your order at the central cashier in the front and head to the station (whether you ordered rice, noodles, porridge, etc) to get your food when your number is called. They also had banchan! Mmmm
If I remembered correctly, I ordered Korean spicy noodles. And when they say spicy.. they mean it.
Final remarks:
1. Most hotels by the airport have complementary airport shuttles by the hour so save on taxi costs! Hotel Queens Airport was a good transit hotel. The staff are all extremely helpful and they also have free* late checkout policy.
2. Research Lotte Mart before entering because there are WAY too many options. I didn't end up buying anything because if I started, I would've gotten one of everything.
3. Have fun traveling!