I ♥ Seoul: My 8-hour Seoul Stop-over

[nItO/pIrEnA]

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i just arrived here in Canada...

but before getting here, i had a really swelltime in Seoul...it's a great city, even better than Toronto in many aspects...

the airport, well as we all know, is top notch, the service was excellent and i cleared immigrations in just less than 10-minutes (initially, i was expecting it to take longer than 30-minutes)

AREX was great and was definitely worth my $ 3 fare, and the subway system itself is very navigable. although i was shocked at first to see how complex it is compared to that of Toronto's, in terms of lay-out and the technology used...

the city itself was very enjoyable, although i was not able to stick with my itinerary, i had a great time all the same. there was a rehersal for a cultural show held at City Hall, and i had the perfect opportunity to hear traditional korean music live. it was a great, almost romantic (albeit, i was walking alone) experience walking along the Chonggye stream and Sejong Road with traditional music filling the air.

but the highlight of my short visit was Insa-dong. the tourist services were very good, and thanks to my very basic knowledge of Hangul, i was able to navigate my way, did some shopping, and had a hearty lunch of good korean food.

by the way, i had the chance to attend a korean mass in this small church located near Seoul Station. after the mass, a korean who used to work for Imelda Marcos helped me find my way to the City Hall.

I miss Seoul...even if i've been there for only 8-hours...or is it exactly why i miss it? i do feel that discrimination is in the air, but in establishments like restaurants, when someone asks questions, i stick to the "i'm an English-teacher" defense...it works wonders...it even got me a discount for my meal : D

what i miss most about Seoul is its unique charm, and almost eerily, the place does not seem alien to me at all...i was walking through the streets of Central Seoul without a map in hand, just with the information that i am going to Insa-dong, and ended up having a pleasant stroll around the capital of the land of morning calm.

P.S. the stars must be aligned to my favor these days...imagine, while in Cebu Airport, i met a former student from the academy who was going home to korea. Since he had no adult to accompany him, and since we know each other, the airline assigned me to be his chaperon and upraged my service class for the Cebu-Incheon leg of my trip...i got to use the First Class Lounge at the airport : D

Seoul, saranghamnida

[nItO/pIrEnA]

pictures to follow later...(moderators, feel free to merge this to a thread with a similar topic)

[Motownkid]

nice one bro.. a brief yet informative description of what Seoul has to offer!.. can't wait for the pics..

manguyab nya kog Koreana sa Cebu pra mka-adto kog Seoul..hahaha

[shaxyra]

nito! wa ka nigudbye namo

someday makaara ra nya ko..haha

[crinkle]

nice read... makes me really wanna try going there.

my brother told me bout this really affordable package to Pyongyang... as in NORTH Korea jud! i wonder what that's gonna be like...

[edblasco]

i agree with nito, in fact there are still lot of great things here in korea, you missed hanggang river, the ains world, everland, lotte world and a whole lot more, another thing korea is a crime free country,,,true enough and i can attest to that...i love this country more than the places i had been to, incheon in a very nice airport, immigration papers processing at most is around 15 minutes but more ofter i cud have it in less than ten minutes, our airport personnel shud take a look at how these koreans manage their airport........reds go korea....fighting!!!!!

[nItO/pIrEnA]

Incheon Bridge


Incheon Airport


near Chungjeongno Station (N Seoul Tower can be seen in the distance)


Yakhyeon Church


Seoul City Hall


a railroad crossing


Central Seoul


Chonggye Stream


Jonggak (Samsung?) Building


once I get my Canadian citizenship, I swear that I'll apply for a teaching job in Korea...I've fallen in love with the country and its people (they're racists, so some say or otherwise...I don't care)

[nItO/pIrEnA]

i agree with nito, in fact there are still lot of great things here in korea, you missed hanggang river, the ains world, everland, lotte world and a whole lot more, another thing korea is a crime free country,,,true enough and i can attest to that...i love this country more than the places i had been to, incheon in a very nice airport, immigration papers processing at most is around 15 minutes but more ofter i cud have it in less than ten minutes, our airport personnel shud take a look at how these koreans manage their airport........reds go korea....fighting!!!!!

yeah, i've heard a lot from my friends na nindot daw ang Hanggang...actually i was thinking of getting off at Youido Station sa line 5 to try to get a view of 'Seoul's Manhattan' and the river itself, pero natalaw ko in the last minute, like i started thinking of scenarios: "what if ma-sirado kalit ang AREX?" hadlok ko ma-stranded...pero looking back to that day, i wish na nagpa-stranded ko ug tuyo...there are a hundred alibis to tell the airline staff later on...kk

[saijo_18]

hmm. do u need required papers to get into the city

I heard, Korean accommodations are really great! Even their airlines... in fact There are lot of friends of mine love to ride the Korean air...

[lima_sierra]

nice read! thanks...KOREA is one of my next stops...puhon!

btw...lisod ba mokuha ug visa?