Day 1 in Seoul

October 10, Monday – Day 1 in Seoul
I woke up at around 4.40am. Ryan and Yushu’s room was already bright. I wondered if they sleep at all. We departed at around 5.15am. It was tough carrying the luggage. The guys went off to find a taxi while I guarded our luggage at ground floor. We departed to Gimhae Airport at 5.50am and reached there after 20 minutes. We checked in at 7.30am for our flight Incheon Airport.

We reached Incheon Airport 5 minutes before 8am. We were able to see view of mountains and clouds along the way. It was the best view I ever had on a flight. After reaching the airport, we took bus 306 to Incheon subway station. I was surprised as I reached there. The station is not underground and it looks very old. We took the subway to Guil station without changing line. The subway there is managed by Korail. The train is very slow as it started moving. It is moving very slowly as well after that.

When we reached Guil station, we called up Xiao Wen. She is a Malaysian, JPA scholar in Korea. Joo came along as well to help up with our luggage. We stayed with the other Malaysians when we were in Seoul. I stayed with Jun and Jane while Ryan and Yushu stayed with Joo. They are all JPA scholars in Korea. Their allowance for a month is 460,000 won. It is so much compared to our 180,000 won monthly allowance. But, some of them find the allowance not enough. As we have more, we spent more I guess.

Jun and Jane’s place is located at a different direction from Joo’s. Joo’s house is behind the college. Jun and Jane’s room is an apartment beside the college. Joo showed me the way to Jun and Jane’s place while Xiao Wen showed Ryan and Yushu to Joo’s place. Jun and Jane’s room is quite small for twin sharing but the place is quite nice. It is the school hostel. They can stay there for free but need to pay for the water, electric and internet bills. The lights along the corridor will be lighten as we walk across it. It is using sensors. It is the all in one type of room. The kitchen, sleeping place, studying place and toilet is all in a room. Of course, the toilet is separated. Fridge, wardrobe and the furniture for the kitchen is provided. But, they need to buy their own computer table, cupboard for books and mattresses. I was unable to see Jun and Jane as they were having class at that time.

Then, we met up again at Joo’s place to go for lunch at 12+pm. He recommended us a cheap place selling lunch boxes. The prices for a set meal there cost around 1,800 won – 4,000 won. We had some meat, salad, kimchi and rice at 2,800 won for lunch. It was very tasty. The kimchi there was nice as well. It was not as salty as the one in Busan. It was mild and light. For the first time, we can accept kimchi.

He headed to Lotte World after lunch. Lotte World is a world class theme park and the main filming location for the famous Korean drama series, “Stairway to Heaven”. There are 8 subway lines in Korea. We were very confused on where to change lines as sometimes a line have 2 directions. We were starting to miss the subway in Busan. There are only 2 lines, the subway stations are cleaner, not so big, not so many people and we do not need to change line for so many lines.

We reached Jamsil station after more than 1 hour. The special pass for Lotte World cost 30,000 won each while the normal admission cost 26,000 won. With special pass, we can play the games and attractions there. Admission is for sight-seeing only. They need to pay extra if they want to play any of the attractions there. There is an indoor theme park (Adventure) and outdoor theme park (Magic Island). The place is not big as I expected. We went to the indoor theme park first. It is like a wonder land and looks exactly like in the drama series.

There were many people there, even though it was Monday. There were many primary school students, high school students and teenagers. For popular rides, we need to queue up for more than an hour. It was a very long wait. Actually, I have not being to a theme park for around 9 years. My last went to a theme park during my primary school trip.

Below is the route of the day in Lotte World:
Bungee Drop (Adventure) -> World Monorail (4pm, round trip, Magic Island) -> Fantasy Dream (Magic Island) -> World Monorail (half trip, back to Adventure) -> Dynamic Theatre -> Jungle Adventure -> Mexican Restaurant (6+pm, dinner) -> World Carnival (parade at 7.30pm, Adventure) -> Merry-Go-Round (Adventure) -> Giant Loop (Adventure) -> Fantastic Odyssey (8.45pm, Adventure) -> Laser Show (9.30pm, Adventure)

We did not take a ride for the famous attractions there such as Gyro Drop, Gyro Swing, Atlantis etc as the queue was too long. World Monorail makes a around trip around Lotte World, both indoor and outdoor theme park. There is a station at both theme parks. Fantasy Dream is cater for kids below 6 years old. It is a tour on a boat. There are many cute dolls moving there. I enjoyed it. For Dynamic Theatre, they screened something and the seats moved according, like Motion Master. The high school girls were screaming their way but it was like nothing for “old people” like us. Ryan and Yushu were like teasing the girls by screaming as well, even though they did not feel the thrill. I was feeling the gap between us and the high school students when I was there. In Malaysia, I feel that I am still a high school student even though I am 21 years old now, maybe due to the different culture. The girls here are very rough; they took off their shoes and put their legs up on the chairs in front while waiting for the game to start. The Jungle Adventure is a non exciting water ride. We took the floating boat with another 2 kids and their mother. The kid cried as some of the puppets were laughing hilariously. Poor girl…Yushu made the situation worse by imitating the laugh of the puppets.

At around 6+pm, we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant. The other shops there were quite expensive as well. We might as well try out something different. I ordered a plate of Mexican beef dish. It tasted a bit like Indian food. It cost 6,500 won.

I was very excited to see the many locations for screening my favorite Korean drama series, “Stairway to Heaven” – the souvenir shop, the monorail, the merry-go-round etc. There are many shops there selling merchandise for Korean idols such as Bae Young Jun. But, they are very pricy. The view at night is very beautiful as well. There are many lights around.

The World Carnival parade is interesting but it is too short. People dress up in different costumes. Other than the Lotte World mascots (a pair of raccoons), I like the pig the most ^@^
It was my first time taking a merry-go-round. I was very excited about it. But, I was a disappointed after taking a ride. It would have been nicer if the speed is faster. Then, we tried out the Giant Loop. I planned to stay behind and let the guys enjoy the game as I am scare of heights. I tried to escape but the guys wouldn’t let me. They blocked me and assured me that it was just another ride. There were some girls wearing skirts taking the ride as well. The guys were very excited about that. Too bad, they were unable to see anything.

Then, we went for the show Fantastic Odyssey. It is show done by manipulating the water and fire. No one is acting in the show but it is very nice! They managed to control the water pressure very well and make the water splashed in a uniform way and shape. It must have cost a lot, for both the equipments and software to control the change of water, fire and props throughout the show. We were amazed by it!

The Laser Show at 9.30pm is something not to be missed. The whole indoor theme park turned into a huge stage for the show with the globe in the middle of the theme park as the focus. Even though we did not understand what it is saying in Korean, we enjoyed it.

Then, we headed back to Guil subway station. We reached there at almost 11+pm. I met Jun and Jane for the first time. They both sure look a lot alike, like sisters. They were busy preparing for the coming exam next week, now is study week.

We watched a Taiwanese drama series at around 1am. There are many good looking guys and girls in the series. The theme music is a new song from a Taiwan artist, titled “ai4 mei4”. Some of the dialogues are over exaggerating for the use of words and way of talking, making it funny in a sense.