Dear readers, if you would like to read Part 0 - planning stage - for this trip,
please go to my earlier post.
Alas, the date of departure is here. We arrived at Changi Airport T2 at 7:30 pm for our 9:20 pm flight to KUL. Check-in was a breeze using the business class counter. And once we got into the transit area, it's straight to the MAS Golden Lounge for some light snacks.
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| Relaxing at the MAS Golden Lounge in Changi Airport T2 |
At 8:45 pm, a very thoughtful lounge staff came around and reminded everyone that it's boarding time, and that our gate is quite a long walk from the lounge.
We reached our gate at 9 pm and boarded straight away. As in all other airlines, the business class section is situated up front. The B737-800 has 4 rows of business class seats, with 4 seats per row. The seat has 42" pitch and 21" wide, ensuring ample legroom for even the tallest people.
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| The bird taking us to KUL. A Boeing 737-800 in the old MAS livery |
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| Ample legroom on MAS 737-800 Business Class |
Once we are seated, the cabin crew came around to serve the welcome drink and took our orders for the light snack. As this is a short flight, there are no alcoholic drinks and we're given a choice of either apple juice, orange juice or plain water. For the snack, the choice is either a chicken pie or mushroom quiche.
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| Welcome drink is served |
After a short flight (with a 20 minutes delay due to airport congestion before landing), we landed at KUL for the short transit to ICN. As the SIN-KUL flight arrived at the main terminal while the KUL-ICN flight depart from the satellite terminal, we have to take the shuttle train to the satellite terminal. On reaching our departure gate, we found out that there has been a change in gate (and aircraft). Due to this, our departure time was delayed by 45 mins.
Once aboard, another round of welcome drinks are served for the business class passengers. This time round, we chose apple and guava juice. I also had the time to look through the business class menu.
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| Welcome drink on the KUL-ICN flight |
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| Breakfast Menu |
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| List of alcoholic drinks served on-board |
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| Champagne and white wines |
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| And the Red wines |
Shortly after take off, supper is served. Consisting of fruits and the famous MAS chicken & beef satay. We took about 4 to 5 satay each. Satay, being an all time favourite food for people of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, are commonly found in these countries. But eating one while cruising at 36,000ft is a first time experience for us.
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| Satay for supper while cruising at 36,000ft |
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| Champagne to accompany the satay |
After the supper, we had a short 3 hours sleep before being waken up again for breakfast.
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| Muesli, fruits and yet-to-be-served bread platter |
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| Mixed grill for breakfast |
Finally, at about 6 am Seoul time, we touched down at Incheon International Airport. After clearing immigration and collecting our luggages (which due to the priority tags, arrived on the carousel before us), we first head to the K-Books at the arrival hall to collect our EG Sim Card. Next, we head to the bus ticket counter to purchase bus tickets to Myeongdong, which is where our hotel is located.
The bus number we took is 6015, costing KRW 10,000 (USD 10). The bus ride itself took 1 hour 30 minutes, and dropped us off right in front of our hotel.
As we're very early, our rooms are not ready. Therefore, we put our luggage at the concierge and went hunting for lunch plus a little exploring at the surrounding area.
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| Good morning Myeongdong |
We found this small eatery(and by small, I meant the maximum number of guests that the place can sit is around 20 or so). They have K-pop posters pasted on one of the walls, and also sell K-pop merchandise.
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| K-pop merchandise for sale |
For dinner, we found this eatery serving nothing but Korean Kimchi Steamboat, which is perfect for a cold winter evening.
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| Steaming hot kimchi steamboat |
After dinner, we spent some time walking around Myeongdong, checking out the various shops selling discounted clothings, shoes and cosmetics.
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| Even with temperatures below zero, the streets are still crowded with both locals and tourists |
The next morning, we head over to the street market outside Ehwa's Women's University (The area between Sinchon Station on the "Blue" line and Ehwa Women's University Station on the "Green" line).
To our disappointment, when we arrived at 10 am, most of the shops and stalls are still closed because we're too early.
And so, after walking around for half an hour, we head back into the Subway and took 2 stops to Hongik University Station (Green line).
Thankfully, the streets around this area are more lively, with more shops and stalls open. We even chance upon the a Hello Kitty cafe and the cafe opened by
Running Man's cast member,
HaHa.
Note: During my research for this trip, I found out that there is a weekly Sunday bazaar at this area, but I never manage to find it's exact location. So if any of my readers know the exact location, please drop me a comment below to help your fellow travellers.
Update to the above "note": A friend of mine has very kindly inform me that the weekly bazaar is actually on Saturday, and only opens from March to November.
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| Hello Kitty Cafe at Hongdae |
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| Haha Cafe |
We found this family run
Korean BBQ (고기구이) restaurant tucked away in the residential area between Hongik Univ. and Sinchon Station (Green Line). As with many traditional Korea BBQ, they use charcoal instead of gas stove for you to roast the meat, and price is typical of Korean BBQ restaurant pricing, costing about KRW 20,000 per person.
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| Korean BBQ for lunch |
One interesting thing about some stations in Seoul subway system is, the information screen at the platform actually tells you where are the trains with respect to the station. Also, 30 seconds before the train arrives, the PA system will play some music before the announcement of the arrival of the train. So if you're at the platform gate and hear the music, it's time to run if you want to catch the train.
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| Something which SMRT can learn. A display where they tell you exactly where the trains are 'live' |
After lunch, we spent the rest of the day walking around randomly, visiting cafe to sit down and people watch.
Day 3 & 4: It's skiing time!!!
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