South Korea [Autumn 2013]

The Flight

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.

NAIA Terminal 3

At exactly 11:30PM, the boarding announcement came.  We have a full flight, there were more Koreans than Filipinos.  I think all the passengers were already aboard early and the runway is not congested so we were able to depart earlier.  ETD was supposedly 12:40AM but I think we took off at 12:20AM.  Food was served after about 30 minutes from take off.

MNL-ICN In-flight Meal

ICN-MNL In-flight Meal

Generally, the whole flight experience from and to Manila is ok.  The flight back to Manila was delayed for 5 minutes, but still acceptable.  The only thing I didn't like is their seats.  For a full flight for 4 hours, it is not comfortable.  The flight back to Manila was more comfortable as we have the middle seat empty that left us some room to stretch.


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.

Directions from the hostel website

Guesthouse Facade

Guesthouse Lounge

Shared Kitchen

Room

Bathroom

Inside the room

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

• Nami Island
• Seoul Lantern Festival

Day 2

• Paju Premium Outlets
• Lotte Premium Outlets
• 63 Building

Day 3

• Deoksugung Palace
• N Seoul Tower
• Myeongdong

Day 4

• Seoraksan National Park