Trip to Seoul: My first day

How one uncle gave me his card and how I most likely became a fare-dodger

Korea is awesome!

Hello peeps. I'm blogging from Seoul, Republic of Korea! It was really a funny funny day, you would not believe it. I think when I travel alone, there has to go something wrong on the first day. And after my Macau adventure, when I walked in circles for 1h, because I couldn't find a hostel, I decided to make a really good plan for my first day in Seoul. I didn't want to get lost and not find my hostel. But guess what? I found the hostel! :) So that's not what went wrong, something else did. But more about that later.

My flight was pleasant

Let's go back to the start. I woke up early in the morning and rushed off to the Banqiao railway station. I took the high speed train to Taoyuan to Taiwan's main airport. Everything went smoothly, from check-in to boarding. I flew Korean Air and they are pretty good. We took off at 13.25, the ride was pleasant, with few minor turbulences. The was food ok, too. I had chicken with rice. The flight attendants were extremely friendly and spoke perfect English. The only minus was the lack of space in coach, but I guess it was still ok. We only flew about 2h 30min, so it was bearable.

At the Incheon International Airport

The airport in Incheon is huge and very modern! It's probably (one of) the best airports I've ever been to, for me even more impressive than Changi in Singapore. Everything was going smoothly here as well, only the queue at the immigration was long and I had to wait a little more. So many foreigners go to Korea! It's amazing. Compare that to Taiwan, it's a big difference. And I can stay 90 days here and in Taiwan only 30. Anyway... after I got my bag, I was finally in. In Korea! Yay! In one of my dream countries.

From Incheon to Gimpu with the Airport Express

The first thing that happens at the arrival hall are taxi drivers, who ask you where are you headed to. I wasn't even listening to them, because I was checking the Euro-Won exchange rates and comparing them. I changed my money and then I was off to find the AREX (Airport Express train), that brings you from Incheon International Airport to Gimpu International Airport. That airport is closer to Seoul, but still very far. But it has a Seoul Subway or SMRT connection, which is the cheapest way to go around Seoul. Since I'm a backpacker, I chose the cheap way, but that one acquires some good map reading and a sense of orientation. The single fare card for the AREX train cost 3400 Won (a little more than 2 Euro). If I'd taken a cab to Seoul, it would cost me like 10 times more, too expensive. You just have to use the ticket machine, luckily the menu is in English, too. You pay 3900 first and you get 500 Won refunded at the end of your ride in Gimpu.

View from the AREX train

Koreans were so friendly!

So there I was with my AREX single fare card at the 2 platforms and wasn't sure which train to take. An uncle (No. 1) saw me and asked in good English where I wanna go. I said to Gimpu Airport and he showed me the right train. One minute later and we departed. Phew, last minute call. The ride was great and I saw some awesome parts of Korea already. The sunset was beautiful. And while waiting to alight, one young man (No. 2) told me in perfect English: Have a nice trip in Korea. That made me smile.

The confusing uncle at Gimpu

Just when I alighted the AREX train and started to check my map, an old and a bit messy looking uncle (No. 3) started to talk to me. His English was not so good, I had a hard time to understand him. He asked me where I wanna go. I told him my direction and he pointed me to a train on the other side. But oddly, I had the feeling he doesn't understand me. Somehow I felt that train is not the right one, because the name and the color of the line were different on my plan. But he kept talking, saying the train goes in 5min and that I have to take that one. I nodded out of politeness. At the same time I was thinking I need to somehow walk around and see, if I'm wrong or not. So I told him to give me a minute and that I'll come back, but he reminded me, that the train goes in 5min. I don't know whether he was right or wrong, but I found the directions to the train I was looking for. It was SMRT Purple line and I decided to head that way. I left the uncle behind.

The helpful uncle

When you change from AREX to SMRT (subway), there's a card reader and you need to tap your card. I was a bit unsure, whether I should tap or not, still a bit confused from the uncle before. And then another uncle (No. 4) came to me and asked me, where I wanna go and what I wanna do. That one's English was very limited, but he was extremely friendly. He looked very neat and around 50.

My fear was, that since the AREX card was a single fare card from Incheon to Gimpu and not an SMRT card for the Seoul subway, I thought I can't just use it for the latter. But he read the Korean and told me, it's fine. So I trusted him, tapped the card and it worked. He smiled. I had to go up with the escalator and there I was, a bit lost again. I observed other people, looked at the map. I must have seen really lost, if all these people came to help me. Imagine a blonde white man with a big backpack, a Korea map in his hand and a Pentax DSLR. Can I get more touristy? :P

After a while, the same uncle came to the same train and asked me, if I need help again. I felt pathetic, but I really needed help. He said I can take this train. Inside we talked in English and he kept explaining to me at which stations I need to transfer to reach my destination. He asked many questions, even gave me his business card with his phone number. But it's in Korean, I can't read, hehe. But anyway, so kind of him, right? He left after few stations and I had to find my way alone again.

Was I a fare-dodger?

I needed to transfer twice and after 50min I finally reached my destination. A station that's not far from Seoul's historic center. I went out of the train, took my AREX single fare card and wanted to go out, but... beep beep and the turnstile didn't move: An error. It said the card was already tapped "-_- FML. So, there I stood, in some abandoned station, almost no people and didn't know what to do. They had a help-button, but nobody came. Seems it didn't work. After 10 minutes of waiting, I decided to walk around and find other exits. Then I pressed another help-button and it finally worked! :) A young guy came to me, but spoke no English. I explained what happened and he probably had no clue what I was saying. I told him, that an uncle told me I can use this card for SMRT. Then he just opened a small door for me and I could leave, he even gave me the 500 Won refund, lol. But actually I should pay, right? I think my ride from Gimpu to Seoul was free, I didn't pay a bit. I would pay, but nobody said anything. So I didn't want to complicate and explain in English why I want to pay... I think they wouldn't understand it anyway. I only asked how to buy the SMRT card, but they guy didn't understand. One student saw me and helped (No. 5), he spoke good English and told the SMRT employee, that I want a subway card and they got me one for 2500 Won. Cheap. I topped up 5000 Won and tomorrow I can ride around Seoul with the SMRT - without being a fare-dodger :-P

Seoul Subway station. I stood here like 10 min.

The hostel and the evening

The hostel is really nice, it's a home stay. The owner Danny told me where all the awesome places are and I will check them out tomorrow. Koreans so far were really nice, friendly and helpful to me. In the evening, I decided to walk around nearby. I came to a part that's called Heyhwa. It's really a nice neighborhood with lots of clubs, pubs and theaters. Everyday something's going on here.

Seoul at night, Hyehwa district.

I wanted to eat like Koreans at a hawker.

I had this rice cake in a sauce. A bit spicy, but yummy.

It was a great first day. I love Korea and Koreans. Let's see what will happen today. See ya!

[All pics by MKL, 2010][My main SEOUL page]