Day 263: Sightseeing In Seoul & More Airport Check-In Drama!
G'day,
Today I had a full-day to go sightseeing in Seoul and hit the markets one last time before catching my 8:00pm flight to Australia.
I went back to the markets at Meyondon to pick up some souveniers for my nephews in Oz and got in another round of kimchi - spicy korean pickles.
Phuket Flashback!
However, my day was not without drama! Anyone who has followed my previous travels to Australia and Phuket know that I have a weird tendency to get my flight times wrong, and consequently make last-minute dashes to the airport.
For example, I literally made my connecting flight from Phuket to Bangkok with 3 minutes to spare back in March of this year. Would you believe I was actually getting fitted for a tailored suit at my hotel...90 minutes before my flight was due to take-off!
My "Master Plan"
Well today was different...kinda. I made sure I was back at the hotel by 4:20pm in time for the 4:40pm bus to Seoul International Airport.
This bus would get me to the airport by 6:00pm, a full two hours before my flight was to leave! My master plan started well, I actually did board the 4:40 bus...but then things started to go wrong as we closed in on the airport.
I Started To Smell Smoke!
Would you believe the bus broke down! Its true, a fair dinkum "limosuine bus" carrying me and another 10 people actually broke down and had to pull over on the highway!
The driver then called in for a backup bus which took 20 minutes to arrive. My master plan was already falling apart!
A Mammoth Check-In Line!
We eventually got to the airport at 6:20pm which was not so bad...until I saw the check-in line. In all my travels I have never seen a line so long! It literally snaked around 7 times.
My master plan was in tatters by this stage as I started to wonder if I'd even make it on the plane in time. Half and hour had soon passed and I figured by the length of the line It'd be another 40 minutes until I could check-in.
My Saviour...
Once again, I was going to cut it very fine...until a "bright spark" from KAL decided to cut the line in half by opening up more check-in counters on the other side.
Hooray! I was then able to check-in within 10 minutes, get through customs and immigration, all with 30 minutes to spare!
This was a personal best for me...that I will try to beat on my return flight back to Osaka!
Peace,
Adam Waters, NESTA-CPT
P.S. Below my Day 263 pics are some photos of my brief time sightseeing in Seoul.
In front of the hotel I stayed at, Best Western Kukdo (pretty decent hotel gym).
Hittin' the markets at Meyondon
In front of the Dongdaemun baseball stadium.
A dance performance by some high energy Korean teenagers on the sidewalk.
