Hawaii to Korea [5.27.15]
On Wednesday morning, I arrived at the HNL airport and went straight to the self check-in kiosk. While checking in my luggage, a mob of Chinese people suddenly came and surrounded me. They were asking me something, but I couldn't really understand ;__; After ten minutes of being overwhelmed by all of these people, I finally figured out that they were asking me to help them weigh their luggage. I haven't even left Hawaii yet, and I'm already getting my first taste of China this summer.
After checking-in my bags and going through security, I made my way to the gate. At the gate, a local Korean lady sat down by me and we made small talk together. She was so nice! She gave me recommendations on where to go in Korea, and I found out that she has a daughter in California who is 26 years old. Too bad we weren't sitting next to each other on the plane, because she was incredibly friendly. She even told me that she wished we sat next to each other on the plane so we can talk, drink, and eat together LOL.
The flight wasn't too bad. It was definitely long, but I passed the time by watching three movies (Oblivion, The Imitation Game, and a Chinese movie about plastic surgery), eating, and "sleeping"...well, trying to sleep. I tried multiple times to take a nap, but failed. The Korean girl next to me, on the other hand, slept throughout the entire flight -- impressive. She woke up at the last hour and guess what? She puked all over her seat. Yeah.
Korea [5.28.15]
Arrived in Korea around 6:30 pm and made my way to Immigration. I got lucky with Immigration. Incheon Airport is known for notoriously long Immigration lines, but when my plane landed, they opened up three new booths, so I was only 4th in line!
After Immigration, I got my luggage, exchanged my money, and then stored my two luggage at Hajin Express (besides luggage storage, I believe they also provide packing and postal services). Hajin is located behind counter A on the Departure floor, and it costed me about 18,000 Won to store two X-Large bags for 24 hours.
As soon as I stored my luggage, I went back down to the Arrival section and met up with Arlyss. If you guys don't know Arlyss, she is also a NSLI-Y alumni, but for the 2012-2013 Korean season. Because my other friend couldn't pick me up, Arlyss came in her place! Both of us took the metro from ICN Airport to Hongdae (a district of Seoul with a lot of clubs and a great night life due to the existence of many colleges and universities in the area), where we walked around and got some street food. The ride from ICN to Hongdae took about 1.5 hours.
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| Guess who we saw? |
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| Side street in Hongdae |
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| Street food stall |
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| Left to right: Sundae, Tteokbokki, various fried snacks |
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| Look at how cute these ice pops are! |
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| The famous banana milk |
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| In the Ice Room |
The Ice Room was definitely our favorite. It wasn't too cold, so it felt nice just sitting in the there. We stayed in the Ice Room for a really long time actually...a bit too long. I felt bad that we were hogging it, but honestly, other people could have came in too... -__- They just chose not to, because they wanted the room to themselves. While in the room, we had a dance party and made those hats out of the towels! You know, the one you see in Korean dramas and on Korean variety shows LOL.
After a while, an ahjusshi came in and started talking to us! He only spoke Korean, so Arlyss translated for me while he was talking. Apparently, he was saying something about how he wished he knew more English because the world is such a global place nowadays. The current generation of Koreans are able to study abroad, but his generation is a lot more traditional and homogeneous. He mentioned that it was good of us to travel and study different languages!
At around 1:30 am, the three of us got hungry so we bought two bowls of instant ramyun from the little store in the co-ed jjimjilbang area. One of the bowls that we bought is supposedly the spiciest instant ramyun in Korea. I forgot what it was called, but it comes in a round, black container. It's not that spicy at first, but if you keep eating it, the spiciness hits you in the face.
Once we finished eating, we went back down to the locker room, and I finally got the courage to strip. Or maybe because I was just so desperate to shower that I just didn't care anymore. Being naked wasn't that bad honestly. Maybe it was because I'm Asian, so I don't attract a lot of attention anyways...or maybe it was because it was 2 am, so only three other people were trying to shower as well. Oh wells.
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| Shower area - I think this place is called UCity Spa? |
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| Technically not supposed to wear clothes in here lol |
After showering, Haneul and I went up to the women's lounge, grabbed some thin mats and pillows, and promptly went to bed. Arlyss stayed downstairs because she can't sleep in public places. At around 8 am, both of us woke up, met up with Arlyss, went back down to the locker room, and then changed into our normal clothes.
Korea to China [5.29.15]
Incheon Internationl Airport is literally SO nice. First off, it's huge. Second, it's super clean. Third, there are so many amenities -- especially for transit passengers. Near the check-in counter, Haneul and I utilized the free charging station. You don't even need to bring your own chargers because they provide the chargers for you! And they have everything from chargers for androids, iPhones (both new and old), and many more!
Inside the secure area where the gates are located, passengers are able to take free transit tours of Incheon or Seoul with Hana Tours depending on how long your layover is. There is also a free cultural center, where you can watch performances and do arts-and-crafts -- like building your own Korean paper lantern. My favorite amenity provided by the airport, however, were the free showers. Yes, you heard me! FREE SHOWERS. And these showers are not just public shower rooms; they are individual showers complete with shampoo, body wash, a sink, a toilet, and a hair dryer!! This airport is. amazing. That is all.
As I was walking to my gate, there was also a parade of people dressed up in traditional Korean clothing. Korea really wants people to enjoy their stay here, lol. Much thanks to Korean taxpayers for providing us with these free amenities.
Something to note is that only Asiana and Korean Air are in the Main terminal where all of these amenities are located. All of the other airlines are located in the Concourse terminal. You have to use the airport shuttle to get to it, but it's really easy to spot. There are escalators leading down to the train shuttle nearby Gate 27 in the Main terminal.
Once I got to my gate, I waited there for an hour before I was able to board. We were supposed to board at 12:25 pm, but ended boarding at 12:55 pm -- even though the flight was supposed to DEPART at 12:55. Why was the flight delayed? Because so many people bought duty-free items and the plane was quite small, so the workers had to spend time taping each bag and checking it in.... -__-
On the bright side, the flight from Korea to Shanghai was only 2 hours, and they even served us food! You don't get this kind of service in the US. Heck, I took a direct flight with United from Hawaii to DC on the NSLI-Y trip and they didn't even serve us food even though the flight was 9 hours long... My flight from Hawaii to Korea was that long and I was served three meals... The only bad thing about the flight was that there was A LOT of turbulence, but I think it's because there is a lot of turbulence in this region in general.
China [5.29.15]
When I arrived at Pudong Airport, I went through immigration (very short lines, thank god!), got my luggage, and bought my ticket for metro line 2 and line 4. The trip took about 1 hour 45 minutes, and I had to transfer 2 times. An advantage of taking the metro to my apartment instead of a taxi was that it was super cheap -- only 7 元 = $1. The disadvantage of taking the metro is that with two large luggage and a heavy backpack, it was hard carrying them in-and-out of the train...as well going up and down the escalators to transfer lines. Everyone that I met on the subway, however, we all very nice and they even helped me carry my luggage :) This happened every time I transferred -- a different person would always help me pull my bag or carry it onto the train. Also, a guy helped me push my bag through the turnstile, in order to exit the station. Because the turnstile was not big enough for a bag, I had to push one luggage through and then the other one after. But because a ticket only gets you one turn on the turnstile, one luggage was on the outside of the turnstile, I was stuck between the turnstile, and then my other luggage was on the opposite side of me. Thank gosh for that man! Chinese people are so nice ;__;
Anyways, after I got out of the station, I walked over to my apartment. It only takes about a 5 minute walk, which is really nice! The apartment is soooooo pretty. I love it. It has 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room + dining room, laundry room, and a patio. Each room has an AC included in it, too! Also, because we got the apartment on Airbnb (highly recommend, but definitely be careful about which apartment you rent), there were already appliances and supplies available to use free-of-charge! We have cups, utensils, plates/bowls, pans/pots, water boiler, soap, detergent, drying rack, etc. We also recently got a full length mirror and a rice cooker courtesy of our landlord, Luke! Luke even came to check-up on us Friday night. Off to a great start already.
Until next time,
Incheon Internationl Airport is literally SO nice. First off, it's huge. Second, it's super clean. Third, there are so many amenities -- especially for transit passengers. Near the check-in counter, Haneul and I utilized the free charging station. You don't even need to bring your own chargers because they provide the chargers for you! And they have everything from chargers for androids, iPhones (both new and old), and many more!
Inside the secure area where the gates are located, passengers are able to take free transit tours of Incheon or Seoul with Hana Tours depending on how long your layover is. There is also a free cultural center, where you can watch performances and do arts-and-crafts -- like building your own Korean paper lantern. My favorite amenity provided by the airport, however, were the free showers. Yes, you heard me! FREE SHOWERS. And these showers are not just public shower rooms; they are individual showers complete with shampoo, body wash, a sink, a toilet, and a hair dryer!! This airport is. amazing. That is all.
As I was walking to my gate, there was also a parade of people dressed up in traditional Korean clothing. Korea really wants people to enjoy their stay here, lol. Much thanks to Korean taxpayers for providing us with these free amenities.
Something to note is that only Asiana and Korean Air are in the Main terminal where all of these amenities are located. All of the other airlines are located in the Concourse terminal. You have to use the airport shuttle to get to it, but it's really easy to spot. There are escalators leading down to the train shuttle nearby Gate 27 in the Main terminal.
Once I got to my gate, I waited there for an hour before I was able to board. We were supposed to board at 12:25 pm, but ended boarding at 12:55 pm -- even though the flight was supposed to DEPART at 12:55. Why was the flight delayed? Because so many people bought duty-free items and the plane was quite small, so the workers had to spend time taping each bag and checking it in.... -__-
On the bright side, the flight from Korea to Shanghai was only 2 hours, and they even served us food! You don't get this kind of service in the US. Heck, I took a direct flight with United from Hawaii to DC on the NSLI-Y trip and they didn't even serve us food even though the flight was 9 hours long... My flight from Hawaii to Korea was that long and I was served three meals... The only bad thing about the flight was that there was A LOT of turbulence, but I think it's because there is a lot of turbulence in this region in general.
China [5.29.15]
Anyways, after I got out of the station, I walked over to my apartment. It only takes about a 5 minute walk, which is really nice! The apartment is soooooo pretty. I love it. It has 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room + dining room, laundry room, and a patio. Each room has an AC included in it, too! Also, because we got the apartment on Airbnb (highly recommend, but definitely be careful about which apartment you rent), there were already appliances and supplies available to use free-of-charge! We have cups, utensils, plates/bowls, pans/pots, water boiler, soap, detergent, drying rack, etc. We also recently got a full length mirror and a rice cooker courtesy of our landlord, Luke! Luke even came to check-up on us Friday night. Off to a great start already.
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| Dining table |
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| Living room |
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| View from outside apartment |
Christine
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