Got a Stopover In Korea? Go Shopping in Seoul!

I have toured friends in record-breaking time around Seoul! Knowing Seoul like the back of my hand, so to speak, I draw up a route in my mind that included the tourist spots need to be visited by any visitor and a timetable that fits within their free time before heading back to the Incheon International Airport.

On my first trip, I successfully toured my friend Maria around Seoul for five hours!  Then, another friend Jean came over for a stopover and I toured him, too, within five hours!

But this time, another friend Judy Ann is asking me for a suggestion. She'll be flying from the US to the Philippines and will have a stopover at Incheon Airport for about 12 hours. Her flight will arrive early morning at Incheon Airport and her connecting flight will leave early evening. So, she's planning to go shopping in Seoul between 6AM and 3PM. 

Just what Maria and Jean did before during their layover at the Incheon International Airport, Judy Ann will simply present her passport and her boarding pass (for her connecting flight) to the Immigration officer before she's allowed to leave the Airport. But I do emphasize that the decision to allow a passenger to leave the Incheon International Airport rests solely on the Immigration officers.

Here it is:

SUGGESTED ITINERARY/INSTRUCTIONS (I added links to my BLOGS related to the instructions):

           (The bus stop in front of the Dongdaemun 
                    Design Plaza or DDP)

1. Take Airport Bus 6702 from Incheon Airport and get off at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza bus stop. If you want to have your morning coffee in Dongdaemun, there are few cafés in the area. The ride from the airport up to Dongdaemun may take more than an hour. (Read this AIRPORT BUS BLOG.)

• Exchange a few US$ to Korean at the airport in order to buy a bus ticket at the ticket booth, depending on how much you're going to spend. 
• The bus ticket may cost about KRW16,000 one-way; coffee about KRW 5,000; lunch about KRW 10,000; a bag at Dongdaemun about KRW 10,000-40,000. Purses are as cheap as KRW 7,000.
• Small shops and market stalls only accept cash; cosmetic shops accept credit cards.
• Currency exchange stalls in Dongdaemun and Myeongdong tend to give better rates than banks at the airport.
• At the airport's information desk, ask where you can find the bus ticket booth, the gate number where you can wait for the bus, and the bus departure time. The first Bus 6702 leaves at 4:56AM for Seoul.
• Wait at the designated bus stand for Bus 6702; it will swing by and stop for a minute to pick up passengers.
• Show the bus driver your bus ticket.
• If he asks you where you will be getting off, just tell him 'dongdehmoon-dee-jja-yin-pla-jja'. That's how 'Dongdaemun Design Plaza' would sound if written and read in Korean. 
• There's a red bell above your seat at the bus. 
• Press the red bell if you're getting off. (Read this AIRPORT BUS BLOG to find out about the red bell.)
• Once you see the spaceship-looking building, that's the DDP and you need to get off!

Here's the online info on the airport bus: https://www.airport.kr/ap_lp/en/tpt/pblctpt/busstoinft1/busstoinft1.do

2. Visit NPH Bag Market behind MaxStyle Building, which is to your left if you're facing the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. The bag market is on the ground floor and basement of NPH Building, opens at 9PM and closes at noon the next day, and is closed on Sundays. 

• Use your charm, if you want to haggle at the bag market, especially if you're buying more than one bag. (Read this NPH BAG MARKET BLOG.)
• Always bear in mind that you will probably hand-carry these bags on the plane. So, make sure you're within your limit at the end of your shopping day.

3. Visit the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (opens 10AM and closes at 7PM). You can go around the DDP and inside the DDP. Behind the DDP is a garden full of the interesting LED white flowers. Read these blogs about the DDP and WHITE LED FLOWERS.

http://www.ddp.or.kr/main?hl=en_US

NOTE: There's a tourist information booth in front of GoodMorning City mall building, near Exit 14 of the Dongdaemun Culture and History Park Station in case you want to know more about the area or have questions about directions, etc.

             (Tourist information booth in front of 
                  GoodMorning City building)

4. Lunch around the Dongdaemun area. There's also a fast food restaurant on the ground floor of Doota.

5. Take the subway at the Dongdaemun Culture and History Park Station. Get on the Blue Line 4 and get off at Myeongdong Station (2 stops from where you are). You can buy a subway ticket from a ticketing machine inside the station. Be prepared with your Korean won cash.

       (Upon getting out of Exit 6, this alley leads 
           to the Myeongdong shopping center)

6. At Myeongdong Station, head out from Exit 6. At the exit, turn left and you'll see alleys upon alleys of cosmetic shops, clothes, cafés, souvenirs, and others. Make sure to ask for 'samples' when you buy cosmetic or skin products. 

NOTE: Do remember that you may have to hand-carry all the things you have shopped for, which means NO LIQUIDS!

NOTE: If you see a team of two people wearing RED jackets, they are tour guides from whom you can ask tourist information or directions.

7. Try the food stalls along the Myeongdong streets. (Read this blog on Myeongdong's STREET FOOD).

8. Visit the MYEONGDONG CATHEDRAL. It is located on the other side of Myeongdong, just a short walk from the busy center.

9. Visit the Seoul Global Cultural Center in Myeongdong for photo-op in Korean traditional costume and for other Korean experience activities. It's on the 5th floor of M-Plaza.

The Seoul Global Cultural Center was the venue of the Filipino Christmas party hosted by the Philippine Women's Club last December 2017. Also, I always hang out at this center whenever I am in Myeongdong because it's a quiet place, they have a strong wi-fi and very friendly staff! I remember giving them dried mangoes once to show them my appreciation.

For more info:
https://www.seoulculturalcenter.com/faqs/

NOTE: Do ask the RED JACKETS for the location of the airport bus stop near Exit 8 of Myeongdong Station. (Read this blog about the RED JACKETS.)


10. For the airport bus going back to the airport, go the airport bus stop a few meters from Exit 8 of Myeongdong Station. Earlier, you went out of Exit 6. Had you walked straight, instead of turning left, you would have ended up at Exit 8. 

         (Airport bus stop for the bus going back 
                     to Incheon Airport)

At the bus stop, wait for any of these bus numbers: 6001 (KRW 15,000), or Bus 6015 (KRW 15,000). Any of these will take you back to Incheon Airport. Be prepared with your EXACT change of KRW 15,000 as the driver DOES NOT have a change. Drop the money inside a plastic box upon entering the bus. (This stop also includes Bus 6021. Do not ride that bus number).

This airport bus stop is in front of KB Bank, and a few meters from a pedestrian lane a Tour Les Jours bakery.

Note to Judy Ann: Tell the airport bus driver you will be getting off at TERMINAL 2. Upon arriving at Incheon Airport, the first stop is Terminal 1, then Terminal 2.

                          *   *   *   *   *

Anyone can use these instructions during a stopover at Incheon Airport, but ALWAYS make sure you have ENOUGH TIME to go to Seoul and shop. 

Because other than your shopping or sightseeing, you have to make enough time for your ride back to Incheon Airport (about 90 minutes), queuing at security and Immigration (about 30 or more depending on passenger traffic, and your walk to your plane's assigned departure gate for boarding.

Do let me know if any of you have questions.

Have fun! :-)

PS. Thanks to map.daum.net for the street-level views I used as screenshots!

Airline Review: Bravo, Asiana Airlines!

Seven years ago, I flew to Tokyo from Seoul and decided to take Asiana Airlines. And since it was my first time to visit Japan, I figured I should see Mount Fuji!  Unfortunately, my holidays were limited and I could not travel outside of Tokyo to see the most famous peak in Japan. But there was another way!

I did some research and I found out that the flight route from Seoul would fly over Mount Fuji! So, when I was buying my plane ticket, I asked the Asiana Airlines staff to seat me on the window that would allow me to see the famous mountain.

And did you know what she did?

To make sure I got the correct seat, she called a pilot!

The same thing I would do! In case of doubt, ask!

And I was able to see Mount Fuji without having to leave Tokyo!

And this time, seven years after I was impressed, I had to run again to Asiana Airlines for a ride home!

You see, I waited for the last minute to get me a plane ticket home for Christmas as I wasn’t sure of my schedule. So, when I started calling travel agents, it was already late! All I got were fully booked flights and expensive plane fare responses.

                (Incheon International Airport)

Armed with my passport and my Asiana Airlines membership card, I headed to the Kumho-Asiana Building in Gwanghwamun area in Seoul. This was the same area where Pope Francis celebrated a beatification mass in 2014. When I got there, I was told that the flights from Incheon International Airport to Cebu International Airport from mid-December until the 31^st were all fully booked. I didn’t believe her. An hour before, I visualized that I would be able to get a seat, and what she said didn’t even register; I knew there was seat for me somewhere.

She checked again, and this time, she said there was a seat, not in the economy class, but business class! I then asked her whether my mileage amount was enough. And she said “Yes!”

That was the moment I realized my visualization technique actually worked! Ha-ha-ha!

This was the singular moment the universe conspired to help me!

A week before I decided to get my ticket home, I received tennis rackets that my friends living in Seoul donated. I planned to bring them home so I could give them to the kids whom I taught tennis as a volunteer. But with the limited baggage allowance, I thought of postponing bringing them to the Philippines.

          (The Asiana Airlines check-in counter 
            at Seoul Station's Airport Railroad 
                      Express Terminal)

But with this business class ticket from Asiana Airlines, I had a 32-kilo, check-in luggage allowance! The tennis rackets were flying home with me!

So, on the day I was to fly home, I ditched using the airport limousine bus because it was snowing and the traffic was bad. If it took me almost two hours to get to the airport on good weather, it would probably take me three that day.

And thanks to my friend Andrew, who gave me a lift to the Seoul Station, my trip to Incheon International Airport was a breeze. I simply bought a discounted express train ticket (discounted because I had an airline ticket), checked in my luggage and tennis bag at the early check-in counter of Asiana Airlines at the AREX terminal (how convenient for the passenger!), and took to my assigned seat for a 43-minute train ride to the airport! All I was carrying were my handcarry bags! I already got a boarding pass!

When I got the airport, I didn’t waste any time. I immediately headed to the Immigration Gate. As expected after the final security check and Immigration, my legs were complaining. It was a long walk from the AREX train terminal up to the pre-departure area. It was time to lounge!

After presenting my boarding pass at the entrance of the Asiana Airlines Business Lounge, I went inside and picked a quiet corner where I intended to spend the next four hours in solitude and nutrition! Ha-ha-ha!

I actually asked the lady at the lounge entrance whether they had pizza; sadly, there wasn’t any. But they had fried rice, tofu in spicy sauce with vegetables, a salad bar, different breads, porridge, nachos with cheese dips, and mini-cookies! I was especially happy that they had regular Coke!

  (Nibbling on nachos with cheese dip at the lounge)

As I experienced before, Asiana Airlines’ impeccable customer service started at the ground. From the very helpful lady at the Asiana Airlines’ ticketing counter, to the available check-in at the Seoul Station which made everything very convenient, and up to the business lounge facility which any tired traveler would appreciate, this airline obviously thought through the whole passenger experience.

              (Asiana Airline's Business Lounge)

Although our flight was delayed by almost an hour, I didn’t mind as my connecting flight from Cebu International Airport to Bacolod-Silay Airport was at 8AM the next morning. Whether the flight was early or late, I still had a lot of waiting at Cebu.

As regards customer communications, I received an email and a message in my KakaoTalk from Asiana Airlines advising me that my flight was delayed while I was resting and having merienda. Asiana made sure I knew my flight was delayed and I could stay longer at the Lounge. You’d never get this kind of effort from any Philippine airline.

Well, the in-flight movies weren’t really the ones I wanted to watch. But Glenn Close and Taraji P. Henson did just fine.

                 (Glenn Close as Cruella DeVille joining me
             for a grilled chicken breast dinner)

           (Taraji P. Henson in Hidden Figures)

During the day before Andrew drove me to the Seoul Station, we stopped by the donkatsu restaurant at Nam-san near the cable car station for lunch. Their donkatsu was horrible; people were patronizing them because they have been there since 1960, serving horrible donkatsu (I’ll never go back there again).

But, lucky me! My in-flight dinner was a thousand times better than my lunch. Salmon carpaccio and mixed greens with balsamic vinegar for appetizer, grilled chicken breast stuffed with ham and cheese, and slathered in cream sauce, and served with deep-fried potatoes.

And as I was watching snippets of movie scenes, I nibbled on blue cheese, gouda, and camembert! And to cap my midnight, Haagen Dazs ice cream! I didn’t try to finish my ice cream though. I still had another flight and I am lactose intolerant. You know what I mean. Ha-ha-ha!

Maybe I was just too tired at the end of the day that I forgot to write the crew a ‘Thank you’ note. But I hope this blog could make up for it. After all, a note could just contain about 20 words; this blog is already in excess of a thousand!

So, thank you, Asiana Airlines! You made my journey home convenient, relaxing and memorable!

Bravo and kamsahamnida!

Why I Won't Fly Turkish Airlines Again!

           (My boarding pass to Istanbul en route to Madrid, 
                  and the flight was TWO hours delayed!)


The Turkish Airlines advertisement says, "You will feel like a star".

Well, Turkish Airlines, you didn't exactly made everyone feel like a star on our flight to Istanbul; like everyone else, you made me feel like shit!

DELAYED FLIGHT
I flew Turkish Airlines during the chuseok holidays, on September 27 to be exact, to have a vacation in Spain. En route to Madrid, I had to make a stopover in Istanbul, Turkey. But before my vacation, I had to endure torture first! I didn't even have to leave South Korea to experience that!

When our 11:20AM boarding time came and went, my fellow passengers and I felt something was wrong. I even approached the Turkish Airlines staff at Gate 113 of the Incheon International Airport to ask what time we were boarding as I needed to make my connecting flight to Madrid; the staff couldn't give any specific answer. And after two hours of delay, we finally flew out of Incheon Airport!

MEALS ON BOARD
I wonder if there's a science regarding the serving of in-flight meals during a 12-hour flight? Why? Because on the 10th hour, I was starving! 

The crew served the first meal about an hour after take-off. Since the flight was delayed, everyone who didn't grab a bite while waiting for the flight must have been hungry by then. I noticed the passenger next to me voraciously gulped down his meal; he was obviously hungry. I had a feeling that he wasn't able to eat anything while we waited for two hours at Gate 113. I, on the other hand, decided to get something to eat at the airport, or I would have starved, too.

After that first meal, I waited again for eight hours for the next serving. I wondered, for a 12-hour flight, should there be eight hours in between meals?

POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AT ISTANBUL AIRPORT
An hour before landing, I informed the female flight crew that I had a connecting flight to Madrid, and I would definitely be missing it. She told me that the ground staff must already know about it and that they were probably doing something about it. Hmm. I tried to believe her.

But when I got to the Transfer Desk of Turkish Airlines, there were already a lot of passengers lining up to re-book themselves. Although I noticed three (3) staff attending to the queue, I noticed two Turkish Airlines staff (one male, one female) standing and chatting on the left-most side next to a computer monitor. A male passenger, who was flying to Munich, had to ask them whether 'they were working', to make sure he wasn't bothering their chat. Jeez. With the long line of tired, hungry and sleepy passengers in front of them, shouldn't the Turkish Airline staff be focusing on attending to their needs, and not just to chat the night away?

REIMBURSE MY VISA EXPENSE
After giving me a new boarding pass for the 7:40AM flight the next morning, the Turkish Airline staff told me to go to another Turkish Airline office next to the Starbucks, which is at the arrival area. This means I had to clear Turkish Immigration! That office would give me my hotel arrangement for that night in Istanbul, Turkey. As a rule, airlines have to book the passengers in a hotel and provide them with meals.

And as I needed to get out of the airport, I needed a visa for Turkey! And no Turkish Airline staff even raised the idea that I might need a visa in order to get out of the airport!  I had to get one from a machine and paid US$25! 

And last week, when I arrived back in Seoul, I called the Turkish Airline office in Korea and asked whether they would refund my visa expense. She told me I had to raise my complaint to their office in Turkey! WTF? Getting out of the Istanbul airport and sleeping in Turkey were never part of my vacation. Why do I have to shoulder that visa expense? 

DINNER AT 10PM and WAKE-UP CALL AT 4:30AM!
When I finally was able to go through the Turkish immigration, I had to find that Turkish Airlines office next to Starbucks. But when I approached three sales ladies at the shop right after the Immigration to ask for directions, they just looked away and didn't want to be bothered. They must have been busy gossiping and didn't want to be interrupted. At that moment, I realized this was the general attitude of the service staff at the Istanbul Airport. And as I was moving around asking questions about the visa and directions, the most common response was: "I don't know".

With the rest of the passengers who missed their flights, I arrived at the hotel almost 10PM, and we were all told that they would provide dinner at their restaurant, and that we had to hurry as they would close at 10PM! 

And not only that, I had to get up at 4:30AM to catch the 5AM airport bus they were providing, even though my flight was at 7:40AM!  They said that if we didn't catch the 5AM bus, we had to get a taxi later and pay for it ourselves. 

LOSING ONE DAY in SPAIN
I should have arrived in Madrid at 11PM that Sunday. Instead, because of the 2-hour delayed flight from Seoul, I arrived in Spain about 1PM on Monday!  I practically lost one day!

And while that all happened, I never heard any apology from Turkish Airlines for ruining my first day in Spain! I was starved, forced to run around helpless at Istanbul Airport, forced to pay US$25 on a visa I didn't actually want, and was stressed, fatigued and got an aching back and tired legs that day! What a shitty experience!

And as if that torture wasn't enough, on my journey back to South Korea on October 8, my flight from Barcelona to Istanbul was also delayed by one hour! I missed AGAIN another connecting flight, this time back to Seoul! 

My fellow passengers to Seoul and I had to jog around Istanbul Airport again running from our arrival gate to Gate 219 in order to catch our connecting flight to Korea. But unluckily, the gate was already closed when we got there and had to walk hundreds of meters again to the transfer desk, and waited again with our tired, sleepy bodies for the midnight flight to Incheon Airport.

NEVER AGAIN, TURKISH AIRLINES!
Before I booked my Turkish Airline flights to Spain weeks ago, I looked up its reviews online. They were mixed. Some bad, some good, some horrible.

But since I had this first-hand experience myself, I swear I'll never ride Turkish Airlines again! 

I am also thinking I should avoid passing through the Istanbul Ataturk Aiport. It's chaotic, very crowded, and has a very poor lay-out, and the airport staff have a very poor attitude. It seems the term 'customer service' is not in their vocabulary. If you're heading there, I advise you to avoid the Sbarro restaurant inside that airport's food court.

So, if you read Turkish Airlines' advertisement that they would make you feel like a star. 

Don't freakin' believe it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard Philippine Airlines flight...."

(Korea's Incheon Airport is the best for me!)

(The second to the last door I took before heading home. 

The plane's door was the last.😂)

After dragging my heavy luggage (and my frozen ass!😊) down the main street from my apartment in Hannam-dong in the Yongsan District of Seoul, Korea (separate blog here), and into a taxi cab (which brought me to the Itaewon airport bus stop) and into the airport bus (whew!), I was able to finally say I was half-way home, and on my way to fleeing the freezing temperatures of Seoul!

The most difficult part of traveling out of South Korea is not the hurried bus ride to the airport, nor the long wait at the check-in counter, but actually the trip from my apartment to the airport limousine bus stop!😢  

Why?  Because dragging my heavy luggage through my hilly neighborhood is back-breaking! Fortunately, a taxi cab always shows up when I need one, and most of the time, the cab drivers are very helpful when you need to load your luggage into their trunk.


And the day I left was lucky day indeed. A short wait for a cab, and even shorter wait for the bus. 


And my good luck continued...

Checking in for my 8:30PM flight at the Philippine Airlines counter, I dragged my luggage for the last time, eager to take off my winter jacket and my weary look. I then greeted the female staff "Merry Christmas!" and in return, she gave me an early Christmas gift! An upgrade to business class!😍 Perhaps, she thought of rewarding this already tired traveler (and he hasn't even flown yet!) an early Christmas present!


Santa Claus was not lost with his reindeer somewhere in the North Pole; she was right there at the 'J' counter of the Incheon International Airport giving away presents (read separate blog here)!😎

And after clearing the Korean Immigration, I went to search for Gate 112 with my Mabuhay boarding pass in hand, looking forward to dinner on board (I was hungry!) and to hear the in-flight announcement...

      (Even it's an airline meal, you should always appreciate 

that you have food in front of you.🙏)

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard flight PR 469 bound for Manila...."😍

Thank you, Philippine Airlines, for bringing me home safely for Christmas (read separate blog here)! Wishing to ride with you again .😘