Wanderlust Series : South Korea Day 1

And so my visa was approved to visit the Land of the Morning Calm, South Korea.

        I packed lightly, without even thinking about the current weather in South Korea, it's November 23 and winter is about to begin. Knowing that the current one degrees Celsius or less cold cannot even make me killed,  with less than 2 thick jackets, I went to the airport at 10:00 PM with much excitement for this will be my first time to ever come to South Korea. 

Flight OZ710 of Asian Airlines, part of Star Alliance took me from Cebu to Incheon. Since I'm a planespotter, being on anything that flies excites me. Being in foreign airports excites me even more.

onboard flight OZ710 RPVM to ICN

        I arrived at Incheon at around 7:00AM and the coldness of the atmosphere could be felt after opening the Exit gates. It was a bit dark when I first land on South Korean soil and the coldness woke up my soul with no sleep. My destination was Pyeongtaek-si, a city of Gyeonggi Province located in the southwestern part of the province. My mission : business trip to our HQ.  Boarded in Airport Limousine, from Incheon to Pyeongtaek took nearly two hours via the Incheon Grand Bridge. Oh, did  I mentioned that the sun was rising by the time we were traveling? Oh yes, on my first day in South Korea, the universe conspired to let me see the sun on a different side of the world, it allowed me to witness why this country is called The Land of The Morning Calm. 

The mighty sun did a grand welcome for me on my first day at South Korea

        I relished and amazed myself with what I was seeing. It's a totally different world out here, totally different. One thing I noticed was their transportation system, everything seemed organized and well maintained. You don't see any mess around. This place is a mixture of an old and modern civilization. And oh, yes I kinda noticed that most of the hard labor here is mainly old citizens. Younger generations are living so modern that I think this place could be the fashion world of the Asian, okay, so next to Japan I think. 

        When we reached our HQ, we had a few meetings with the Korean guys, did a plant tour, and took lunch at their canteen. I was warned by my colleagues who had been here that every day, kimchi is always on their menu. Well, what could I expect, I am in South Korea, I expect to see a lot of kimchi everywhere I go. Well in Cebu, every time the Korean guys from HQ would come for a visit, we always have samgyeopsal dinner. It doesn't taste foreign to me anymore. 

        By the time I got to the hotel, I dozed off, sleep has finally claimed its demands. I don't know who got it first, either my tired soul or the comfy heated bed. I stayed at Hotel Bene, along with lots of hotels along the strip, a few meters to Pyeongtaek AK Plaza. 

        We took dinner in Suwon, a few train rides from Pyeongtaek. Getting there was for me, a bit tiring. Being able to try their train with this weather is  bit crazy. My body screamed for more sleep but I had no choice but go to Suwon. Taxi's are so expensive here, bus rides usually took a lot of stops. Taking a train is the best idea. Took a train at the Pyeongtaek AK Plaza to AK Plaza Suwon. Such a tiring night. 

Trying the South Korean Subway System 

        We took the usual samgyeopsal dinner, the restaurant we're in was heated when you're outside, it was freaking 3 degrees Celsius cold! It was stupid of me to wear only one layered clothes that night. I forgot to layer myself for the night. But somehow I managed to go back to the hotel warm and happy. 

        Dozing off, I am looking forward to seeing more of South Korea the next day. My first night in South Korea was tiring but fun!