Seoul Travel Diary: Vol. 1

Hello. Only dusting off my blogging chops before I vanish into my autumn cocoon, my true niche, my natural habitat.

It's already been a few weeks since the weekend holiday my family spent in Seoul. I hadn't traveled with more than one person in a long while so if I'm being completely honest, planning for 3 days, reading maps, constantly checking my Seoul Subway app and making sure that we don't fall behind our itinerary (we did and horribly) almost drove me a little crazy. Thank goodness it was in a city with panic-inducing shopping, strangely energy-sustaining soju and of course, unlimited kimchi. And having my family thrown in that already amazing mix, it was a pretty tops weekend. And so begins my diary in instalments I dub as travel volumes.

Having landed and all checked in our hotel well in the afternoon, there wasn't much time left to dillydally. I had to put my foot down and yell at everyone to freshen up quickly and assemble in the lobby in 30 minutes. Aren't I the BEST TRAVEL PARTNER you can ask for? In my defence, I had to go all time-Nazi if we were going to catch the sunset. We stayed at a hotel in the Myeongdong area (hidden behind a dodgy arcade from another side) where catching the metro or the bus were painless. We successfully ticked off our first order of business for Day 1: Namsan Seoul Tower. And after we got our more than fair share of photos, we quickly bolted for some Korean BBQ realness.

The hike up to the deck was like a symphony of whining and heavy breathing among us which paid off once we got our point and shoot on. You might be wondering why there aren't any sunset photos, I am, too. We were robbed of clear skies and were under heavy clouds instead but everything made sense at the end when we got to the viewing deck. Seoul came so alive with all its modern skyscrapers lit up. I have a soft, warm and melty spot for killer views.

I had intended to write about the trip in a more comprehensive and detailed way in the most random chance that someone might look to me for tips on traveling to Seoul but I've put off posting this for so long that my memory escapes me. However I will share a few things that impressed on the first day:

• The Incheon Airport lives up to its title of being the best airport in the world for 7 years now. You'd be in and out in 20 minutes. I also reckon taking the airport limousines to your hotels to be the best mode of transportation especially if you're lugging large bags with you. Just make sure you look up the nearest bus stop from your destination and that will tell you which bus you should get on.
• Everything's in at least 4 languages: Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese. So there's less worry of literally getting lost in translation.
• Transport is relatively cheap. As in terms against the Yen, everything was half the price. The metro and the buses had a flat rate of 1,150 won (I think). Very clean, too!
• Seoul is couples central! There is great reason now for me to believe that the infamous Couple Shirts' conception was there. Such a refreshing (for lack of a better word) sight for someone who lives in Japan where holding hands is looked upon as PDA. For hard evidence, don't miss the Love Locks at Namsan.
• Drinking soju with beer is a great side dish. It's cheap, it's cheerful, it's a dream.

I'm trying to be stingy for words and details but I will sign off by saying that the first day made me extra, extra keen to wake up for Day 2.