Dad, you weren't lying about how efficient and clean Incheon International Airport is. Although my time there was brief as my flight landed at 22:35, and the last train was at 23:45, so I didn't have much time to look around, I was impressed about how quickly I moved through immigration and baggage claim.
The train ride to my hostel, Housetay, in Hongdae was also an easy and simple process, as my train (the Airport Subway line) went directly to Hongik University Station (Hongdae).
The train ride to my hostel, Housetay, in Hongdae was also an easy and simple process, as my train (the Airport Subway line) went directly to Hongik University Station (Hongdae).
Inside the Airport Subway Line
Now, many people mentioned that Seoul is a nightlife city. I believe that I have experienced the quintessence of Seoul's after-dark liveliness in Hongdae. Restaurants were busy, bars were loud, and clubs reeked of the fragrant aroma of drunk men and women. I mean, look at the next pictures, taken at about 1:30 in the morning:
 People...  ...and food... |  ...and cars... |
...and more people, food, and cars.
Many stores were still open, as groups of people hopped from restaurant to bar to restaurant to club to bar to club to cafe before calling it a night.
I first experienced Korea's chilly weather when I exited the train station. Holy cow it was cold (-7 celcius) and dry (had to keep my chap stick at hand). Not a good place for a local-kine native-aboriginal bruddah like me.
The website for Housetay had a map and directions to the hostel, which I printed out and used as a reference to guide me. However, because I am a geographically-challenged, failure-at-triangulation type of person (and the fact that the Convenience Store used as a landmark on the map did not exist), I immediately got lost. So, as a resourceful person, I asked two friendly-looking nunas (look it up) to help me find Housetay.
Unfortunately, they could barely speak English, so it took a while to communicate. After a lot of broken-up Engrish and a lot of miming, we finally began the long, harsh, 5-minute journey to Housetay. 감사합니다 to my nunas from Busan!
I first experienced Korea's chilly weather when I exited the train station. Holy cow it was cold (-7 celcius) and dry (had to keep my chap stick at hand). Not a good place for a local-kine native-aboriginal bruddah like me.
The website for Housetay had a map and directions to the hostel, which I printed out and used as a reference to guide me. However, because I am a geographically-challenged, failure-at-triangulation type of person (and the fact that the Convenience Store used as a landmark on the map did not exist), I immediately got lost. So, as a resourceful person, I asked two friendly-looking nunas (look it up) to help me find Housetay.
Unfortunately, they could barely speak English, so it took a while to communicate. After a lot of broken-up Engrish and a lot of miming, we finally began the long, harsh, 5-minute journey to Housetay. 감사합니다 to my nunas from Busan!
Thanks Eunmi and Eunhee!
Housetay Main Gate
Housetay is your authentic youth hostel, in which you pay a dirt-cheap price for a place to sleep. You usually share a room and a bathroom with about 4-5 other people (some rooms offered a 4-person room and a 2-person room for a slightly higher price). For $19 a night in a 6-person room, I think I nailed a sweet deal.
Not only were the facilities generally clean, they offered free, high-speed wifi! They also offered bread and cereal for breakfast. And most importantly, they had coffee!
I was able to meet many different people from around the world (a bro from the U.K., a girl from Indonesia, a couple from Malaysia, two Japanese girls, a dude from Spain, and a girl from Germany to name a few). In addition, I was able to meet and befriend SNU exchange students from Singapore, Canada, and Spain. Kudos to Emily (one of the exchange students from Canada) for informing us about Housetay!
Not only were the facilities generally clean, they offered free, high-speed wifi! They also offered bread and cereal for breakfast. And most importantly, they had coffee!
I was able to meet many different people from around the world (a bro from the U.K., a girl from Indonesia, a couple from Malaysia, two Japanese girls, a dude from Spain, and a girl from Germany to name a few). In addition, I was able to meet and befriend SNU exchange students from Singapore, Canada, and Spain. Kudos to Emily (one of the exchange students from Canada) for informing us about Housetay!
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