From the big bus terminal (U-Square) we were able to take a bus to Seoul. There are two types of buses, one that's super comfy with only about 20 people on the bus and takes 3.5 hours, the other is a bit more squishier but still roomy for me and takes about 4 hours. Both buses do make a pit-stop at these rest stop places that has washrooms, food court and vendors. They are quite interesting, I wish I had taken a picture of it, next time.
We arrived at about 10am and made our way to the bus terminal. It was quite busy, I get the feeling this place is always busy. With no knowledge of Korean, I got confused buyiing tickets and ended up having to change windows and got the cheaper tickets instead. Oops! It wasn't that bad for me because I don't need a lot of leg room but poor Neil could use that extra space. We waited only 15 minutes before our bus left for Seoul After two hours, we made the pit stop. Neil tried to nap while I listened to the Beattles and looked out the window. I find it hard to sleep anywhere...bus, planes...etc.
As we neared the city, the traffic increased, and I'm convinced we would've arrived earlier but got caught in traffic jam due to an accident. The buses were in special lanes (HOV?) and was able to move a bit more than the normal car. It reminded me a bit of LA traffic. I'd hate to be driving in that. After arriving at the Seoul Express Bus Terminal, we had to navigate to our hostel. The subway system reminded me a bit like New York's except the trains are much further apart rather than one or two floors away.
It took about 15 minutes to twalk to the train station we wanted to get on. Since we didn't have any internet/data, it was hard to check where we were. At one point we had to transfer to another train and had to take escalators to it. I swear the escalators were at least three stories high. I thought it would never end.
There is an inner circle line that brings you to most of Seoul's attractions. Our hostel (ShinChon) was along this line so it was very convenient. It was minimal and basic with just the things we need. The receptionist spoke perfect English and was able to tell us what we need to know about getting in and out. This hostel is pretty small so it was stairs only. We were on the third floor. Our room was double occupancy but it was two single beds instead of a double or queen. LOL. The A/C was good which was necessary since it was hotter in Seoul than Gwangju. We relaxed a bit and browsed through the TV (we didn't have cable). After relaxing, we made our way to Hongdae.
Hongdae is really a nickname of hte place. The name comes from the fact that area is near Hongshik University. There's tons of people walking aound. Mostly young teens and 20-somethings. The whole area is mostly pedestrian but some cars do try to make its way in. It's a bit ridiculous if you ask me. Neil was able to book a hair appointment so we went to the salon first. I wanted a wash but it's not as cheap as I hoped. In China, you can get a hair wash and blow dry for less than $5 but it's like almost $30 here :(. To bad. After the salon, we walked aroud the area. Some buskers around, again mostly young people. And we finally settled for some Korean BBQ for our first meal. You order the food by the plate and it actually came out pretty small. It was still very yummy! We walked around some more and called it a night. We were pretty tired from the long bus ride and journey to the hostel. The next day we were meeting my friend Christy.
There is an inner circle line that brings you to most of Seoul's attractions. Our hostel (ShinChon) was along this line so it was very convenient. It was minimal and basic with just the things we need. The receptionist spoke perfect English and was able to tell us what we need to know about getting in and out. This hostel is pretty small so it was stairs only. We were on the third floor. Our room was double occupancy but it was two single beds instead of a double or queen. LOL. The A/C was good which was necessary since it was hotter in Seoul than Gwangju. We relaxed a bit and browsed through the TV (we didn't have cable). After relaxing, we made our way to Hongdae.
Hongdae is really a nickname of hte place. The name comes from the fact that area is near Hongshik University. There's tons of people walking aound. Mostly young teens and 20-somethings. The whole area is mostly pedestrian but some cars do try to make its way in. It's a bit ridiculous if you ask me. Neil was able to book a hair appointment so we went to the salon first. I wanted a wash but it's not as cheap as I hoped. In China, you can get a hair wash and blow dry for less than $5 but it's like almost $30 here :(. To bad. After the salon, we walked aroud the area. Some buskers around, again mostly young people. And we finally settled for some Korean BBQ for our first meal. You order the food by the plate and it actually came out pretty small. It was still very yummy! We walked around some more and called it a night. We were pretty tired from the long bus ride and journey to the hostel. The next day we were meeting my friend Christy.
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