The 10th circle of hell - Seoul Trip Day 2
21/5, 00:15AM
So, I'm finally laying in bed horizontally, in Seoul, while writing this post. Today has been my own personal living hell in a lot of ways. Let's start where we left off.
I boarded my flight to Shanghai, which was confusing because of the damn CDG airport. I swear I've spent most of this trip so far with a look of confusion on my face. I felt jittery within the first hour of the flight which was a premonition of how the rest of the time was gonna go. I spent my 12 hours watching the 10 first minutes of a lot of different films and then turning them off because the subtitles were in Chinese and I couldn't hear the words properly unless I blasted them and I was worried it would bother the people next to me. Then, enter four hours of fitful sleep, in handfuls of 15 minutes. Each time I woke, hoping more time had passed but no. Dante should add it to his whole circles of hell thing, pink neck pillow and all. The food wasn't bad, except for a horrifying omelette, the taste of which still lingers in my mouth like a sad sad ghost.
I had a layover in China, and by layover I mean "5 thousand immigration related processes" and half an hour in the waiting room. We were put through heat scanners, security checks (they took my avocado shaped travel charger, that was 25 quid down the drain thanks China) and even took our fingerprints. Yea. I felt criminal. The only thing that saved this experience was the guy from our flight that walked off the airplane wearing the complimentary in-flight blanket as a cape. I don't think he even realised.
The second flight was better, because it was super short. I was sat next to a nice girl and had a nice meal and the sights from the airplane when we were above Seoul were amazing.
-
22/5, 15:45
I stopped writing because I felt the typing of my keyboard was probably annoying the girls staying in the room with me at my first airbnb. Anyhow.
The second flight was super easy, I had a lovely meal (veggies with cous cous, salad, a soft bun and even some watermelon for dessert!) and it was over quicker than I imagined. I got semi-lost a few times at Incheon Airport, mostly because in order to pick up your luggage you have to take a shuttle to the next terminal. I am generally hesitant about boarding transport I do not know the destination. After all the checks and returning my visitor's card etc. I got out into the open. Got some money from my account so I'd have some cash and headed over to the airport railway to get to my airbnb.
The basic issue here is that I don't have portable wi-fi (yet) and so getting to my airbnb was basically me taking as many photos of the map and of the location as I could before leaving airport wi-fi signal. I got onto the correct train and sat down, begrudgingly, in one of the seats for the elderly. Not that there were many elderly people on the train, but I still felt the judgement. As soon as another seat was freed I moved, knowing now that all the judgement I was getting was only for my two huge suitcases that were taking up a lot of space. Another reason for moving was the fact that the old lady next to me was popping her gum and massaging her bare feet next to me. Yikes. The subway otherwise was wonderful! It was clean, calm and our progress showed through little green and red lights up on the side of the ceiling. Every station had it's own little jingle which was adorable. All the information was repeated in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese which is super helpful. Once in a while they made an announcement about the special seat in each carriage for a pregnant woman: "Please leave the seat free, even for women who are early on and not showing". The seat was a light pink colour and behind it a cute illustration of a woman with a little heart growing in her belly. After a few stops a group of men got on who were a bit rowdy. I didn't feel scared, because they were happy and were teasing each other and clearly not drunk. It was odd to me, however, because the men were in their late 20s and early 30s, and at least in Finland you don't see men that age behaving like this. One of them kicked the other's butt playfully. It was nice that they were having a good time but their age confused me a little bit. Perhaps a cultural difference.
So, as I had researched before my trip it's essential to know which exit to leave from when you exit a subway station. I got off at Hongdae station and started searching for EXIT 2. It took a damn while I'll tell you that. Not even finding the exit, because the signs were clear, but it was just a long way to go. Now, I got a single-journey ticket so I assumed this would get me on the train, off the train and out into the world. I was wrong. When I reached EXIT 2 and swiped my card it told me it was invalid. The top up machine next to the gates was only for existing subway cards and there was no way to purchase another ticket. I panicked a bit, looking around, so aware that I was a tourist with no knowledge of anything here. Luckily someone else had a similar problem and was talking to some Korean ladies about it, and I sort of nodded along next to him. He got the ladies to open the gate with their card (which probably cost them a dollar or so, so I'm very thankful) and he let me through after him. The kindness of strangers saved me! That sounds lame but I feel very isolated and alone, not only because I am physically alone but also because I look clearly different from the general population. There's no way for me to fly under the radar and it feels weird. The two huge suitcases also kind of make me hard to miss.
Finally after exiting through the 2nd exit I pulled up my reference photos, which were of no help at all. Legitimately I could not tell which direction I was meant to go in. So, I took about an hour and a half to get to a place that was 5 minutes away, lugging my two suitcases behind me or in front of me if it was busy, stopping every ten metres to check if I was going in the right direction. God bless Apple's Maps for showing me where I am even when I'm in airplane mode, that little blue dot saved me from going into the opposite direction a lot. My obligatory "you're in a different country now" text told me data was going to be 5 pounds/MB which is atrocious and I didn't want to have to spend that, so I was going without data. Finally, near midnight I found my airbnb. Up three flights of stairs with my luggage (one at a time, because the signs everywhere said you needed to be quiet I wasn't risking anything hitting the wall). I opened the door, there was a girl sitting in the kitchen eating noodles and another on the couch. Neither acknowledged me in any way. I asked if I'm in the right place, to which I got an obvious snooty response of "I don't know where you're meant to be so I can't say". Thanks. I've been travelling for 40 hours so all I really needed was noodle girl and her clear distaste for my person. I may be exaggerating but, it felt shitty for my first night to be greeted by this.
Got into the room, which was a third of my one at home with two large bunkbeds. I could only fit one suitcase in the corner without completely blocking everyone's way and lifted another into the bed with my backpack. Introduced myself to noodle girl and another girl in the room, both from Germany on a trip together. Got into bed, changed into my pyjamas, washed my face and brushed my teeth and plugged my computer in. I felt relieved that I was finally in Seoul, but the reality was less than glamorous. I was sweaty and sad and hungry in a room of people I didn't know and didn't seem to want to talk to me at all. After some chats with friends back home I finally went to sleep. I have not slept that well in a long long time, and getting up at 12 to pack and go to my official airbnb was torture.
This was day 2! I will update tomorrow about today's happenings. However I would like to talk for a minute how alienating it feels to be in a place where most of the signs are in a language I can't really speak, and can only read but not understand the meanings of the words. As someone who reads every street sign and shop name for fun, I don't know where to look here. Also, everyone speaking another language around you feels odd, but I can catch a word or two here and there which makes me feel better. More tomorrow about my first impressions!
Cheers,
Becks
So, I'm finally laying in bed horizontally, in Seoul, while writing this post. Today has been my own personal living hell in a lot of ways. Let's start where we left off.
I boarded my flight to Shanghai, which was confusing because of the damn CDG airport. I swear I've spent most of this trip so far with a look of confusion on my face. I felt jittery within the first hour of the flight which was a premonition of how the rest of the time was gonna go. I spent my 12 hours watching the 10 first minutes of a lot of different films and then turning them off because the subtitles were in Chinese and I couldn't hear the words properly unless I blasted them and I was worried it would bother the people next to me. Then, enter four hours of fitful sleep, in handfuls of 15 minutes. Each time I woke, hoping more time had passed but no. Dante should add it to his whole circles of hell thing, pink neck pillow and all. The food wasn't bad, except for a horrifying omelette, the taste of which still lingers in my mouth like a sad sad ghost.
I had a layover in China, and by layover I mean "5 thousand immigration related processes" and half an hour in the waiting room. We were put through heat scanners, security checks (they took my avocado shaped travel charger, that was 25 quid down the drain thanks China) and even took our fingerprints. Yea. I felt criminal. The only thing that saved this experience was the guy from our flight that walked off the airplane wearing the complimentary in-flight blanket as a cape. I don't think he even realised.
The second flight was better, because it was super short. I was sat next to a nice girl and had a nice meal and the sights from the airplane when we were above Seoul were amazing.
-
22/5, 15:45
I stopped writing because I felt the typing of my keyboard was probably annoying the girls staying in the room with me at my first airbnb. Anyhow.
The second flight was super easy, I had a lovely meal (veggies with cous cous, salad, a soft bun and even some watermelon for dessert!) and it was over quicker than I imagined. I got semi-lost a few times at Incheon Airport, mostly because in order to pick up your luggage you have to take a shuttle to the next terminal. I am generally hesitant about boarding transport I do not know the destination. After all the checks and returning my visitor's card etc. I got out into the open. Got some money from my account so I'd have some cash and headed over to the airport railway to get to my airbnb.
The basic issue here is that I don't have portable wi-fi (yet) and so getting to my airbnb was basically me taking as many photos of the map and of the location as I could before leaving airport wi-fi signal. I got onto the correct train and sat down, begrudgingly, in one of the seats for the elderly. Not that there were many elderly people on the train, but I still felt the judgement. As soon as another seat was freed I moved, knowing now that all the judgement I was getting was only for my two huge suitcases that were taking up a lot of space. Another reason for moving was the fact that the old lady next to me was popping her gum and massaging her bare feet next to me. Yikes. The subway otherwise was wonderful! It was clean, calm and our progress showed through little green and red lights up on the side of the ceiling. Every station had it's own little jingle which was adorable. All the information was repeated in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese which is super helpful. Once in a while they made an announcement about the special seat in each carriage for a pregnant woman: "Please leave the seat free, even for women who are early on and not showing". The seat was a light pink colour and behind it a cute illustration of a woman with a little heart growing in her belly. After a few stops a group of men got on who were a bit rowdy. I didn't feel scared, because they were happy and were teasing each other and clearly not drunk. It was odd to me, however, because the men were in their late 20s and early 30s, and at least in Finland you don't see men that age behaving like this. One of them kicked the other's butt playfully. It was nice that they were having a good time but their age confused me a little bit. Perhaps a cultural difference.
So, as I had researched before my trip it's essential to know which exit to leave from when you exit a subway station. I got off at Hongdae station and started searching for EXIT 2. It took a damn while I'll tell you that. Not even finding the exit, because the signs were clear, but it was just a long way to go. Now, I got a single-journey ticket so I assumed this would get me on the train, off the train and out into the world. I was wrong. When I reached EXIT 2 and swiped my card it told me it was invalid. The top up machine next to the gates was only for existing subway cards and there was no way to purchase another ticket. I panicked a bit, looking around, so aware that I was a tourist with no knowledge of anything here. Luckily someone else had a similar problem and was talking to some Korean ladies about it, and I sort of nodded along next to him. He got the ladies to open the gate with their card (which probably cost them a dollar or so, so I'm very thankful) and he let me through after him. The kindness of strangers saved me! That sounds lame but I feel very isolated and alone, not only because I am physically alone but also because I look clearly different from the general population. There's no way for me to fly under the radar and it feels weird. The two huge suitcases also kind of make me hard to miss.
Finally after exiting through the 2nd exit I pulled up my reference photos, which were of no help at all. Legitimately I could not tell which direction I was meant to go in. So, I took about an hour and a half to get to a place that was 5 minutes away, lugging my two suitcases behind me or in front of me if it was busy, stopping every ten metres to check if I was going in the right direction. God bless Apple's Maps for showing me where I am even when I'm in airplane mode, that little blue dot saved me from going into the opposite direction a lot. My obligatory "you're in a different country now" text told me data was going to be 5 pounds/MB which is atrocious and I didn't want to have to spend that, so I was going without data. Finally, near midnight I found my airbnb. Up three flights of stairs with my luggage (one at a time, because the signs everywhere said you needed to be quiet I wasn't risking anything hitting the wall). I opened the door, there was a girl sitting in the kitchen eating noodles and another on the couch. Neither acknowledged me in any way. I asked if I'm in the right place, to which I got an obvious snooty response of "I don't know where you're meant to be so I can't say". Thanks. I've been travelling for 40 hours so all I really needed was noodle girl and her clear distaste for my person. I may be exaggerating but, it felt shitty for my first night to be greeted by this.
Got into the room, which was a third of my one at home with two large bunkbeds. I could only fit one suitcase in the corner without completely blocking everyone's way and lifted another into the bed with my backpack. Introduced myself to noodle girl and another girl in the room, both from Germany on a trip together. Got into bed, changed into my pyjamas, washed my face and brushed my teeth and plugged my computer in. I felt relieved that I was finally in Seoul, but the reality was less than glamorous. I was sweaty and sad and hungry in a room of people I didn't know and didn't seem to want to talk to me at all. After some chats with friends back home I finally went to sleep. I have not slept that well in a long long time, and getting up at 12 to pack and go to my official airbnb was torture.
This was day 2! I will update tomorrow about today's happenings. However I would like to talk for a minute how alienating it feels to be in a place where most of the signs are in a language I can't really speak, and can only read but not understand the meanings of the words. As someone who reads every street sign and shop name for fun, I don't know where to look here. Also, everyone speaking another language around you feels odd, but I can catch a word or two here and there which makes me feel better. More tomorrow about my first impressions!
Cheers,
Becks
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