Korea Day 1

After the long grueling 6 hour flight, we finally arrived in Korea, feeling all tired and stiff, yet full of excitement and wonder. Incheon airport, in our opinion, is not as nice as Singapore’s, and we wonder how they manage to win best airport of the year; That was Mel.T’s first thought when she stepped down. After which, we spotted two extremely Korean looking Koreans, a man and a women. They were similar in so many ways. Their accent, their slitty eyes, their height and of course, they spoke in fluent Korean. Watching them, Mel.T barely registered Sawanee asking us to take a 15 min wash-up-break until Rachel tugged her towards the washroom. After washing up, Shina was hungry so we dropped by a Korean version of 7-11. Family Mart, they call it. It was a different experience as we could not read anything on the packaging. It didn’t make us feel inferior or anything, it just made us feel awed and we were thinking then, “What an experience”. That was the first time Mel.T has stepped into a mart without being able to read a thing. I think that was when it actually hit us like a big yellow school bus: We ARE in Korea.

After briefing and waiting around, we finally made a move. As we stepped out of the airport, we were greeted with a blast of cold dry air. Mel.T took in a deep breath and nearly burned her lungs. It was awesome! Having been in a cold country before, Rachel knew what to expect and did not heave in a lungful of air as Mel.T did. Having a change of climate from the thick warm syrupy air of Singapore to the clear crisp cold air of Korea was really refreshing. And suddenly, we did not feel tired anymore; which was a good thing, because we had a whole day of exploring ahead of us.

We went to many sites in Korea seeing both historical and modern sites. To Mel.T, it felt as if we’ve seen too much in too little time. She have a hard time remembering them as they leave no impression on her. One site took about 30 minutes and we kept having to rush rush rush. It wasn’t enjoyable in that sense. However short the site visiting was, the bus ride from one site to another is usually about two times longer then the actual visitation itself. In fact, what we most remember about Korea is the bus rides. And that isn’t a very positive experience. And honestly thinking about staying 5 days in Korea, Mel.T could not wait to go home already, while Rachel didn’t mind staying even longer.

That was an odd thought because we both love to travel. To love to see new culture, experience new tastes, hear a new language and soak in different ambience every morning when we wake up in another bed, in another part of the world.

Mel.T: “I guess that is because I’m an actress. And I love to be someone I am not for a short time, that’s what helps me to perform naturally in my plays and I guess it’s the same as travelling to me. I get to be somewhere I am not comfortable in, yet find joy and experience naturally as curiosity peaks and I feel a whole range of emotions I would never feel if I was at home.”

Although Korea wasn’t all that bad, we would say the first day was the worst. After taking lots of rushed photos, rushing through meals, rushing up and down the bus, rushing to the toilet and lots of leisure time in the bus either staring at characters we don’t understand or sleeping, we finally stopped at our hotel. And Mel.T did not feel comfortable suddenly. She felt really paranoid and was on alert though we were both tired, She felt as if something bad was going to happen. After getting our keys, Mel.T reluctantly trudges into the lift. It didn’t help when Azhar mentioned something about placing your luggage on any spare beds. He didn’t finish his sentence but we all knew what he meant. Also, we found it weird that although we were sandwiched between two groups, the group before us had room 9 and the group after us had room 10. Yet we had room 1, at the corner… And what’s worst is that, no one was in the room beside ours, room 2 was empty, only room 3 onwards was occupied with Singapore Polytechnic students.

When the lift door opened, Mel.T felt a chill. The corridor was gloomy and had a forbidding feeling to it. Needless to say, she did not sleep well that night, although we had a grueling day of amusement rides and sight seeing. Rachel, on the other hand, had no problem with the room that night, until the next morning. She woke up with a swollen hand and half a swollen face. Mel.T got into a panic and started calling Azhar. Well, Rachel went to a hospital and when she came back she told Mel.T, “At least I got to experience a Korean Hospital. Oh and BTW, the doctor was so young and really handsome!”

Day two and three passed in a blur. All Mel.T could honestly remember is the experience in the Olympic stadium, where we attended the world design festival. The place was massive! We saw a lot of redundant stuff and much more useful stuff. We remember seeing an umbrella that costs 45sgd and Mel.T thought then, “Wow, designers can increase the price of everyday household things by close to 500%... I mean. I could buy an umbrella back home for 10sgd?” However, Mel.T’s experience on the first day in the WDF was cut short as Rachel spent most of her time choosing T-shirts. So the 2nd time we went back, Mel.T decided to explore herself if Rachel wanted to see the T-shirts again. And she did. So Mel.T explored the place with Lijuan, Siu Yun and Ariel instead. We saw books (highly overpriced) More products, took more pictures and went to see the portfolios of the Koreans. We did not come across much advertising portfolios. Most of them were product design, interior design or graphic design. Neither the less, we were impressed. The 2nd and 3rd day was a relief to Mel.T. The room we had did not seem as ominous and she could sleep properly. Rachel, had no problems with this room either.

On the last day, We could not wait to go home. Mel.T missed her Family and fiancé, while Rachel missed her puppy. Sitting on the plane uncomfortably in an outfit I was forced to wear, *Ahemrachelahem* We counted down the hours until we got back home. When in Singapore, we were thrilled to see my Family and Fiancé/Puppy waiting for us. Although Mel.T did not miss Korea, she would definitely go back to Korea on a free and easy trip. Rachel would love to go back there again.