We finally touched down in Incheon International Airport at about 7.30am. The airport facilities was impressive, there were AEDs everywhere. Though it was not as happening as Singapore Changi Airport and Hong Kong International Airport, it deserved the to be in the list of world 5 stars airport ranking by Skytrax with the other 2.
At the arrival hall, we were greeted by the program manager, Ms. Yu, Mr. Park, Mr. Kim and Ms. Sung. They all spoke fluently in English. We were then transported to the Lexington Hotel passing the Incheon City into the Seoul Metropolitan , experiencing the Seoul traffic.
Malaysian delegation with Ms Yu and Mr Park
When we finally reached the hotel, wao....never thought of getting such a luxurious accommodation. It was a 3 or 4 stars hotel and I was lucky to get the room to myself.
After refreshing ourselves, we gathered at the lobby and went to the hotel restaurant for buffet lunch. This was the first hiccups for the Korean. Our fellow countrymen did not eat those food saying that the food was non halal. With all due respect for my friends, especially the one seated in front of me, I didn't eat much as well despite the superb food being laid.
As I was appointed to be the interpreter for our Malaysian delegation, I have to explained our situation to the Koreans and asked for more vegetarian or seafood meals for our team. It was really hard to explain to them on our Malaysian understanding of 'Halal' food. Got to cover the type of meat, slaughtering method as well as the utensil used. :S Just discovered that the middle East Islamic followers were less strict in terms of food selection.
After the meal, we headed to the Seoul Transport Operation and Information Service, TOPIS operation center. This was the control and monitor hub of the transportation system in Seoul. They have a super impressive and well organized system. The system covered managing the subway system and public buses as well as road traffic management. They have CCTV to monitor the traffic flow as well as the monitor regulation violator. Summons could be issued remotely from here. The visit ended with another round of hiccups from our delegation. Some irrelevant questions were asked :S
monitoring illegal parking violation and issuing summons
It was in heavy rain when we went out for dinner at a nearby restaurant, 'Spaghettia'. We were served with vegetarian linguine and seafood spagetthi. It was a quick arrangement by Kim to cater to our special needs. Thank him for such a quick respond!
We also got to meet a new Korean friend, Soomin during dinner. She was so nice to guide us to Myeongdong Market after dinner. So this was my first subway encounter in Seoul. We took the subway line 9 from the National Assembly and transited at Dongjak to Myeong-dong on line 4 subway. After the ride I could only conclude that Seoul was really huge. It took us close to 45minutes to get to our destination.
Anyway it was a worth while journey as I enjoyed shopping for facial product there. They were so cheap here, close to half the price they were sold in Malaysia and all the stalls were so generous in giving away freebies and samples. Luckily we only have limited time there if not I could finish all my money in a night :D
The journey back was interesting as well. Thanks to Soomin for those clear instructions and my excellent instinct *got used to traveling alone in foreign places :P, we didn't have any difficulty getting back to our hotel.
As a whole it was a short day but I enjoyed being in a foreign place and to explore the differences. Looking forward for more on the following days and hope that the rain would stop on the following days!
Not to forget to mention about great Korean hospitality. Kim equipped us an umbrella each after learning that we were not prepared for the weather.
For more photos,please refer to FB album
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