A Trip to Incheon

We decided to make an attempt to get out of Seoul. Patrick has been working the last 3 Saturdays and finally had a full weekend off. So we thought, let's get out of dodge!! We heard there was a China Town in Incheon and it had delicious food and a fun atmosphere. We also heard there is really good seafood because it is near the ocean and port. Patrick booked us a hotel and it's really hard to find where the hotels are located because the maps are not always entirely accurate. It's not like you can call up the hotel and say, "Where abouts are you located?" There is a small thing called a language barrier and the fact that Koreans don't have street names. They use buildings as references and every car has a GPS system installed. We don't know buildings and we don't have a car. Double bummer.

We heard there is a bus that goes directly to the airport and we can take a taxi to the hotel. Sweet!! Patrick came home Friday night around 10:00pm, got our things together and headed down the hill to our bus stop. As we waited for almost an hour, we finally asked someone how often the bus comes, we were surprised to find out that the last bus comes at 10:15. We missed it!! Ok, so plan B, we decided to catch the bus to the express bus terminal and get a bus to the airport. It's now after 11pm and the last bus has left that station as well. The public transportation closes at midnight so the only available ride to Incheon is via taxi. 80,000 won later and 12:30am we arrive to our hotel. We then realized we should have ridden the subway until it closed and then taken a taxi. Oh, well and honest mistake. Tomorrow is a new day.

Then next morning we woke up refreshed and ready for some coffee. Not a single coffee shop around. We realized that we are in a very rural area. Fortunately our hotel had a restaurant and we could get a bite to eat. We figured since we are going to have some seafood we should eat a light breakfast, so we split the American breakfast and ordered two cups of coffee. Apparently she misheard what we said and brought 2 American breakfasts out!! Just great, so now we paid double and have a large breakfast in our bellies. The bonus; we got a 20% discount for being guests at the hotel. Now to the beach.

We take the subway to the airport and run into a Starbucks. Wow, things are really shaping up. A small coffee (smaller than a tall) and the information desk with an English speaker. We find our bus to Ulwang-ri and get on it. We arrive to the beach and it's so cute. An authentic fishing village lined with fresh seafood restaurants and....more seafood restaurants. Have you ever been to a place where the only thing you can do it eat and you're not hungry? Well we have now experienced it. We heard there were saunas where you can enjoy a relaxing sweat and spa for really cheap. They were closed. So what now? Back on the bus.

We head back to the airport and find a place where we can go for a sauna. Turns out it's across the street from out hotel. Go figure!! Did I mention that I also ripped my shoe in the process? We purchased to tickets for the sauna and she said 1,000 won for clothes. Clothes? I told her we brought our suits. She looked at me weird and handed me a t-shirt & shorts. They wear borrowed clothes in the sauna? This was a moment where I had to bite my lip and do as the Koreans do if I was going to sauna. We were determined to get something fun out of today. In case you were wondering as I laid on hot rocks, I thought to myself; I wonder how many people have sweated in this very shirt that I am wearing? And yes, the shirt smells after you have sweated in it. In the locker room you can soak in various temperature pools and they have hard towels to exfoliate while you shower. Very relaxing and refreshing.

With renewed spirits we went out for dinner and had a great evening of bulgogi (beef), with lots of laughter about our tragic day. But wait there's more....Sunday.

We woke up and wanted to go to China town on our way home. We needed to be back by 3:30pm for our bible study. Our alarm never went off and we were slow moving out of our hotel. I suggested that we take the bus from the airport. Patrick thought the subway would be faster. So we took the subway. As I was calculating the amount of stops and transfers I realized that the subway was going to take way too long and we would not be able to make it to China town and home in time. Patrick agreed and we decided to get off at Incheon Bus Terminal and catch a bus home. There was no bus to Gangnam. To cut this short(er), it took us a bus and another long subway ride home and what should have been 1.5 hour ride turned into 3.5 hour ride home.

We made it home and we do not feel completely defeated. Our adventures outside of Seoul can only get better. We never made it to China Town and that was the whole reason we wanted to go. Next weekend agenda: a day trip directly to China Town. Keep your fingers cross that we will have greater success this Saturday.