Most of the people who know me are aware that I got hooked on Korean dramas last year. When I found out how long our vacation in the Philippines was going to be, I asked JP to let me go on a side trip to travel to Korea. I didn’t expect him to say yes, but when he did, well, miracles do exist!
Anyway, I planned to go with my sister and my nephew (it was supposed to be my graduation gift) for a week, but the Korean embassy in the Philippines changed its visa processing times, so it ended up that they wouldn’t get their visas in time for the trip. Lesson learned: always submit visa applications early!
Our backup plan was Japan, whose visa processing time was faster. But my heart was really set on seeing Korea, because who knows when I’ll get the chance to travel again, right? I just wanted to see Seoul IRL apart from what I saw in the K-dramas that I’ve watched.
So, I had 24 hours in Seoul by myself. Travelling alone wasn’t an issue for me, it was the time constraint. How do you see and do as much as you want in just a day? The answer is–you don’t.
If I had been younger, I’d probably do this trip “Amazing Race” style, where I’d get to one venue, take a quick photo then proceed to the next destination. But I am now in my 40’s and I much prefer taking my time looking around, understanding the stories behind a place, and just take in the atmosphere.
Early Arrival
The plane landed in Seoul at around 5am, I and got out of the airport by about 630. By that time, traffic from Incheon to Seoul was already getting heavy–pretty much like any metropolis in the world.
After a quick check-in at the hotel, I went over to Dongdaenum Plaza to get on the Seoul tour bus. On any other trip, I would not avail of this service, since I prefer to take public transportation—“get lost”, “live like a local”, to explore the city. But since I didn’t have time, the hop-on/hop-off bus was a convenient and I have to say (as an older traveller), comfortable way of seeing most of the highlights of the city.
Of course, I had to go down at the Gongbyukgung Palace which was crowded with tourists, most of whom were dressed up in hanboks. For a future trip, I intend to wear one myself, but for now, I have to settle for taking photos with random (but nice) strangers.
Just across the street is the large statue of King Sejong, a well-loved figure in Korean history. He introduced Hangeul–the Korean alphabet, that made education accessible to the common folk, and Admiral Yi Sun-sin, an admired military general.
There are offices in this area, and I had the chance to walk around the neighbourhood in search of food. I ended up in a small canteen, because they had a sign for chicken and beer. Apparently, these were served from 3PM onwards. With my very basic knowledge of the Korean language, I understood the nice ahjumma (old lady) when she said that for 7,000 W($9 NZD) I get to have a lunch buffet-cafeteria style.
I hopped back on the bus and didn’t go back down until the tour finished. Yes, I bypassed the stops–Myeongdong, N.Seoul Tower. Honestly, I was too sleepy and tired to go around (I didn’t sleep on the plane, guys!). But here are a couple more photos from the bus.
In the evening
I went back to the hotel around 4PM, and fell asleep until about 630. There was only one thing I wanted to do by that time, and it was to see the Starfield Library at COEX Mall.
It was almost an hour by train to Gangnam where COEX is, but I managed to get there, and spend time at the mall just before it closed. Man, my bookworm heart was so happy seeing those books arranged that way.
The night ended with checking out what McDonalds has to offer, something I do on every trip.
See you again, Seoul
In the morning, it was cold and raining (like Seoul was sad to see me go). The 10-minute walk from the hotel to the bus stop so I can take the airport shuttle would have left me drenched. So I took taxi to the airport–the most expensive one I’ve ever ridden in all my years of travelling.
The good thing about the hour drive to the airport was that I got to talk with the driver, in a mix of English and basic Korean. He pointed out places that we were passing by, we talked a little about the Philippines (currently a favorite tourist destination for Koreans) and of course, Korean dramas and K-pop.
At the airport, it was just a matter of returning my wi-fi device, checking in and waiting to board. I hoped to see a Korean star walking around the airport, as what I see on the internet, but alas, it was not meant to be that day.
Verdict
Twenty four hours was definitely not enough to get to know Seoul and South Korea. It is a city that I will definitely visit again (and again, and again :)) It has a good, exciting energy, similar to Hong Kong, and now I wonder why I haven’t gone when I was single and going around Asia. There’s so many places I want to see, some of them are not even in Seoul, and the food has to be a top reason to return.
Tips:
Though I said at the start, this is not a How-To post, I’d like to share some things I found useful
Getting around:
- From and to the airport, it’s really best to take the bus, because Incheon is far from Seoul (about 1 hour, with traffic). The taxi ride I took from hotel to airport cost me Php3,000 (yes, you read that right). There is a bus terminal inside the airport, you just have to know which route your hotel belongs to so you know which bus to take.
- For riding the subway and buses, get a T-money card for convenience. There are special cards for tourists, depending on the length of stay, and also gives discounts on entrance fees in top attractions. But for this trip, I didn’t have time for the attractions, so I just bought the regular T-money card, which does not seem to have an expiry date, so I can use it when I visit again.
Clothing and others
- December is the beginning of winter in Korea. There’s no snow, but the temperatures, especially at night, drops to single digits. It’s best to do layers, use those Uniqlo Heat tech clothes, and have a nice warm coat.
- Somehow, the cold weather drained my phone and camera batteries pretty quickly. So it’s best to bring an extra powerbank (or two), and extra camera batteries.
