How To Spend 19 Hours In Seoul-Namdaemun

This is my second stopover in Seoul. The first time Asiana Airlines paid for the transit, meals and hotel room in Myeong-dong, aka shopping central. But this time on my dirt cheap fare to Sydney, I had 19 hours in Korea on my own devices.

I was concerned about getting around in Korea since most people do not speak English. It turned out to be fairly easy although it helps to come prepared. Read up on the public transport system and print a copy of your hotel confirmation with the name, address in Korean. 

I booked a hotel in the center of Seoul and took a train from the airport. There are two choices for trains, an Airport Express and an "all stops". The Airport Express goes straight to Seoul train station and costs nearly three times as much as the all stops train. However it departs every 20 minutes whereas the all stops is every 10 minutes and it makes 10 stops. The travelling time between the two trains is roughly 13 mins. 

It might be faster to use the all stops train and even the lady at the Airport Express counter suggested it to me. I bought a ticket from the vending machine and got on the all stops train. The train was ready to leave by the time I got to the platform. There are English, Chinese and Japanese announcements so you will be told the stops in advance. 

The train was clean, uncrowded and very cheap, 4500 WON including a 500 deposit which you get back when you return the ticket into a refund machine at the train stations. Just make sure not to leave anything on the seat next to you because the seats will fill up.

It took about 50 minutes to arrive to Seoul. The station is huge and I took the first exit I saw. As soon as I walked out I was hit by the cold. It was almost zero degrees and I didn't have warm enough clothes. I tried to find my own way to the hotel but after 10 minutes of walking, I realised it wasn't worth the effort. The streets were huge, there were not many people around and it was freezing.

I walked back to the cab rank at the train station. My cab driver spoke no English so I turned on my Ipad to show him the hotel booking confirmation. He did'nt seem to understand the Korean words I showed him (I thought it was the name of the hotel). So I just said "Namdaemun" and he started drive off with my leg hanging out of the door.  

I got in the cab fully and watched the multilane streets roll by. It would have been atleast a 25 minute walk to the hotel. Although had I got out at the right exit at the station, it would have been fine to walk.

We approached Namdaemun Gate (Sungnyemun Gate) and I knew we were close. The cab driver pointed and said: "Fraser Place". He understood my booking confirmation after all. The cab fare was only 3000 WON, which is only £1.72! 

I checked into the hotel and was glad to call this room home for the next 14 hours. This was exactly what I needed after being couped up on a plane. A king sized bed with an ensuite and electronic toilet. All the mod cons and clean. Bliss!

I went downstairs for a walk. It lacked the busyness and excitement of Myeong-dong late at night but there were some shops still open past 9am. And there was an eat street around the corner from the hotel. I had supper from a street vendor, went for a walk around the Namdaemun markets which was closed and then retreated back to my warm and spacious hotel room.

Namdaemun Gate, a minute walk from the hotel, is majestic and was only restored in early 2013 after an arson attack in 2008. The Gate was first built in 1395.

Although the room is double occupancy, it only includes breakfast for one person. That was fine by me. After breakfast I went back to my king size bed and watched TV. 

The mountain view from the room. Abseilers were cleaning windows on a Sunday morning.

I checked out just before 11am. That's when I thought the shops opened in Myeong-dong but was told they opened at 10am. A hour of shopping wasted! Let that be a lesson for the next time I'm in Seoul. It took only 10 minutes to get to the heart of Myeong-dong by foot.

And I got another dose of sensory overload when I got to the skincare shops. There are so many in Korea that they make their stores super pretty and tempting to come inside.

And this is the reason why I came from Incheon to Seoul for my stopover. The shopping! It was rushed because I only had an hour but I bought a stash of products.

When my hour was up, I walked to the hotel I stayed previously-the Royal Seoul Hotel, to look for a cab. There were fancy black ones waiting outside and I was quoted 6,000 WON to get to Seoul train station. Then a standard yellow cab came by and I took that. The fare was only 4,500 WON. So cheap-I will be taking cabs more often in Korea!