Leahs Cafe

The flight was leaving at 12.05 p.m. Left the hotel at 9.30 a.m, thought should have ample time for checking in baggage and browsing the duty free stores. However, the commuter train ride and walking from one end of airport(collected the baggage in storage) to the other end (United Airway’s checking in counters) were taking longer than expected. Ended up only have 40 minutes, after checking in the baggage and obtained the boarding pass.

Since the terminal was quite far (need to take a commuter train) and there were security check points to go through, didn’t have time to shop at all. The airline staff asked to see the brown envelope which contained the visa documents from US Embassy, apparently they need to input the data on the cover of the envelope into the system!

Anyway, was pleasantly surprised to get a complimentary upgrade to business class for the first leg from Seoul Incheon airport to Tokyo Narita airport. Nice!

Arrived at Incheon Airport in Seoul at 8.50 a.m local time. A bit tired as I did not really sleep much during the 6.5 hours flight. Claimed the baggage and went through custom smoothly. I do not want to lug the two big baggage around, so found a service that store the baggage until I come back here to take the next flight to Chicago. It cost 13,000 wons (about RM40) per day to store this two bags !

The transport system in Seoul is very efficient and convinient. Bought the bus ticket at the arrival hall, it cost 9,000 wons (about RM29) for the 1 hour journey to the city center, where I will be staying. The airport bus (what they called “airport limousine”) came within 5 minutes and left according to schedule, though they are only about 8-10 passengers.

The bus driver announced before every stop and came down to help unload the baggage! I got down at the second stop and found the guest house with the direction given. It was not too difficult to find.

Washed up and decided to go out for lunch. Found a small restaurant on my way out, saw a lot of office workers had lunch there, so I went in and had my first bimbimbard in Seoul.

Loom around the area around Hongik University, it’s a hip place with a lot of university students. Full of activities and small shops selling clothes, cosmetics and all sort of things that the young people in Seoul are into.

Found a tourist information booth at this area. Mr Kim who works there used to study in America and works as an English tutor now. So he speaks good English. He is very friendly, he got me a bunch of brochures and maps, very helpful. We chatted for half an hour and he told me that he was let go from his previous job and only working part time at this tourist information kiosk. He is looking for small business opportunity to start a travel agency!

After walking around this area for 2-3 hours, decided to go back to the guest house and took a nap. The host of the apartment came home and was cooking dinner when I woke up from nap.

The guest house is actually an apartment, a few Korean girls live here! I guess they rent out the rooms to tourists to help to pay their rentals. That’s why they only accept cash payment and have do not have credit card processing like many other small businesses in Seoul, they are not a business!!

Anyway, the place is comfortable and the girls are friendly. The host Sherri speaks good English, she works at the city hall as town planner.

Going to stopover in South Korea for six days on the way to Chicago. Have booked a place at a guest house or hostel in Seoul for the first three nights. Will decide later whether to move on to another city or may just stay in Seoul for the entire 6D5N.

This is how the hostel looks like. The ground floor is a restaurant and the hostel is on the  upper floors. It’s very close to the subway station and cost 20,000 Korean Wons per night (1 000 KW equals to about USD1 or RM3.20). It’s slightly more expensive for accommodation in the same category, but it’s cheap compare to hotel rooms that cost at least USD120-150 per night. :-)

I am a cheapo independent traveler who doesn’t want to spend much on accommodation. Just need a clean and safe place to rest after all the sightseeing and walking. This  hostel which is catered for women has a 98% user rating on the booking website and all the comments said it’s a safe and convenient space for a woman traveling alone!