It was the first time I flew Air Asia Zest to an international destination. I was a little hesitant but then it might be worth a try since I was able to purchase a ticket for around PhP7000.
We got early at NAIA Terminal 3 on the evening of Oct 31st since this is (supposedly) a peak season. On the contrary, T3 is not congested. It might be that a lot of people have already taken their holiday as early as last weekend due to the Monday holiday.
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| NAIA Terminal 3 |
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Upon Arrival
We got to ICN earlier than expected. But it took us almost an hour to get past through immigration. Our plan was to go straight to Seoraksan National Park so we bought a bus ticket to Gangnam Express Bus Terminal (bus 6020) for KRW15,000. It was already around 8:15AM when we got to the terminal and the next bus with available seat is at 9:00AM. Upon hearing this, we decided not to push through going to Seoraksan today and just go to Nami instead (that is after dropping our bag at the hostel).
Our Accommodation
I was able to book Songwontel Guesthouse via booking.com at KRW40,000/night for a double room with private bath. The room is ok for the price. They have free wi-fi, hot and cold water in the shower, air conditioning and fan in the room and a big LCD TV. They have a shared kitchen where breakfast was supposedly available (I've only seen coffee, no bread), hot and cold water dispenser, a microwave oven and some other kitchen facilities.
However, you need to pay cash upon check-in. They don't accept credit card. The hosts also do not speak much English so it's a bit of a challenge to communicate with them.
As for location, it's conveniently located near Jongno 3-ga station. You just need to prepare yourself to go up the station stairs everytime you use the subway. It'll be better if you would be able to take Line 5 Exit 4 as there's an escalator there.
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| Directions from the hostel website |
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| Guesthouse Facade |
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Itinerary
We've made changes to the original itinerary due to time constraint (as what happened when we got to Seoul) and weather. It rained on our 2nd and 4th day. Both times, it stopped around 2:00PM.
Day 1
Day 2
- Paju Premium Outlets
- Lotte Premium Outlets
- 63 Building
- Deoksugung Palace
- N Seoul Tower
- Myeongdong
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI come across your blog when I searching for Songwontel. I cant find much review on the guesthouse. I will like to know if the place is clean - room & bathroom and safety of the area?
Then if I exit from Jong-3-ga MRT Line 5 Exit 4 (with escalator), is that exit far from the guesthouse entrance?
Mandy
Hi Mandy,
DeleteAs per our experience, the room we stayed in is clean. It was small but it was ok for the price we paid. Good thing I've requested a room on the 1st floor as they don't have elevator and I'm with my mom who doesn't like going up another plight of stairs after a long day.
I haven't had any bad experience in the area, so I think it's safe. Although when night comes, you would see drunk men in the area (due to the pojang machas/food tents along the street), but they would just pass by you.
Jongno-3-ga line 5 exit 4 is on the same block as Songwontel (the corner to the left of Jongno-3 ga exit 3 in the picture) so it's not that far. It's far from the hostel if you'll compare it with exit 3 though. If we had a choice, we always take line 5 going back to the hostel to avoid taking the stairs. If from the airport and you have big luggage, I think it would be better to take the airport bus and just walk the block to the hostel so that you wouldn't have to drag your luggage up the stairs (like we did).
Hope that helps.