Like I mentioned earlier on my post from Singapore to Seoul, airfare to South Korea on Singapore Airlines is not really cheap, but still possible when the timing is right. The average ticket costs about S$1000+ and it was over the budget (well, that would just mean spending less on the other things). Fortunately there was a promotion, so we managed to get the tickets at S$705! And yes, because it was on promotion the timing was a little early for my liking. The journey back to Singapore started at about 0600 in the morning.
Having explored
N(amsan) Tower the night before and seeing the sights, I was too hyped up to actually fall asleep. So while DramaQueen dozed away, I was actually packing and re-packing until it was time to leave for the airport! I guess the adrenaline was keeping me awake because once I was on the plane I was totally knocked out!
Getting a taxi in the wee morning in
Seoul from
Lina's Loft was easy. The moment we were on the curb, we spotted a cab and hopped on. One good thing to note is to remember the name of
Incheon Airport in Korean. I just told the driver "
인천 공항" (In-chi-on Gong Hang). Do note that you would have to give/prepare additional for the
Incheon Bridge tollgate fee (~7,700 won). The standard fare from may cost from 60,000 to as much as 80,000 won and may vary depending on your destination. It cost us 54,000 won to reach the airport that morning.
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| At the SIA counter to check in and get our tickets |
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| After checking in the luggage we made our way to immigration |
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| It was here that the mini-drama began to unfold, along with some panicking and running about |
One bad thing about packing (and re-packing) only being sustained by adrenaline (well, actually it was more of the lack of sleep ha) is making mistakes. I remember my friend telling me that facial products (e.g. toners, washes etc...) should be in the checked in luggage not in the carry luggage, else they would be confiscated. Needless to say, some mini-drama ensued when we arrived at the airport with the facial products in the wrong luggage. It was an experience meant to be experienced only once and a humbling experience. Thank God the airport staff were polite and nice, even leading me to the right place to check-in the luggage. They must have encountered so many similar situations, but they were professional and re-assuring throughout.
So while I was running on adrenaline remedying the silly mistake, a blurry eyed DramaQueen waited for me inside immigration. It was my first time having a special pass to go out of immigration and enter in again from the 'special' entrance by passing the already growing queue (there went my effort to try to get to the airport early to explore). Nevertheless, the problem was resolved and we made out way pass immigration towards the departure terminal. But before that, we stopped by the tax refund corner to get back the refunds in cash. It was a simple and fast process, and thankfully not much of a queue at that time. The terminal was further than I though, since we had to take a shuttle and it seemed like forever to arrive, but we arrived in good time.
As with my previous experience with
Singapore Airlines (to Paris), when it was time for boarding passengers were called in and orderly fashion: the First Class, Business Class, PPS, followed by Economy Class passengers with families, then Economy Class passengers (section by section). It wasn't long before we were on the plane and ready to fly back home. The journey back was pleasant and the stewards and stewardesses on board were attentive and helpful (and also very smiley, which was nice).
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When travel collides with a byte, a unit of information made up of bits, TravelBytez is formed: snippets of ramblings on travel, food, shopping, living and anything else that comes to mind.
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