Seoul and The City I Annyeong Haseyo
By Lydia Soh, Kozine Magazine Feb-Mar 2009
Stepping out of Incheon International Airport to wait for the airport limousine, I was greeted by chilly, frigid air (It was about 5°C).
My airport limousine bus ride from Incheon International Airport to downtown Seoul took less than an hour. My friends, who flew in a week later, were stuck in the bus for over two hours because of the notorious traffic.
The way of life there is typically one of a city– busy pavements from dawn till dusk. Day will see its inhabitants rushing from place to place with hurried strides. But when night falls, the rhythm settles down considerably. They mill around leisurely at the happening districts, often ducking into cafés for a steaming cuppa or camping in front of street stalls munching snacks. Seoul has a homegrown coffee chain, A Twosome Place.
The subway is your best friend in terms of getting around – forget driving if you’re aren’t a Seoulite. Vehicles inch forward at a snail’s pace and there seem to be no rules when it comes to U-turns. The 10 lines are comprehensive enough for you to find an appropriate station for all your destinations. Distances between line transfers are equivalent to long morning walks, and the rush hour human crush…indescribable. Canned sardines doesn’t come close by half.
A useful tip for travellers – bring along a little plastic bag to throw your personal rubbish (empty bottles, used tissue, food wrappers etc…) when you are out and about. Finding a trash can is like striking gold. The metropolis is extremely environmentally conscious - there are allocated bins for all the various kinds of litter even if you do finally unearth one. Plastic, glass, alumunium containers and food waste are all disposed of individually. Anything else is considered ‘common waste’ and there are specific dumping bins for those too.
By Lydia Soh, Kozine Magazine Feb-Mar 2009
Stepping out of Incheon International Airport to wait for the airport limousine, I was greeted by chilly, frigid air (It was about 5°C).
My airport limousine bus ride from Incheon International Airport to downtown Seoul took less than an hour. My friends, who flew in a week later, were stuck in the bus for over two hours because of the notorious traffic.
The way of life there is typically one of a city– busy pavements from dawn till dusk. Day will see its inhabitants rushing from place to place with hurried strides. But when night falls, the rhythm settles down considerably. They mill around leisurely at the happening districts, often ducking into cafés for a steaming cuppa or camping in front of street stalls munching snacks. Seoul has a homegrown coffee chain, A Twosome Place.The subway is your best friend in terms of getting around – forget driving if you’re aren’t a Seoulite. Vehicles inch forward at a snail’s pace and there seem to be no rules when it comes to U-turns. The 10 lines are comprehensive enough for you to find an appropriate station for all your destinations. Distances between line transfers are equivalent to long morning walks, and the rush hour human crush…indescribable. Canned sardines doesn’t come close by half.
A useful tip for travellers – bring along a little plastic bag to throw your personal rubbish (empty bottles, used tissue, food wrappers etc…) when you are out and about. Finding a trash can is like striking gold. The metropolis is extremely environmentally conscious - there are allocated bins for all the various kinds of litter even if you do finally unearth one. Plastic, glass, alumunium containers and food waste are all disposed of individually. Anything else is considered ‘common waste’ and there are specific dumping bins for those too.
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