1919 Dinner service, which was excellent and a little lighter than lunch. Better to have the main meal up front, so it doesn’t sit in the galley for hours.
Scallop salad
Chicken Breast with Potato and vegetables
Fruit and coffee
2033 Dinner service finished.
38000ft at 490mph OAT -67F 5031 miles down and 308 miles to Seoul.
Tracking just west of ***uoka in Southern Japan and turning slightly left towards Busan at the southern tip of South Korea, and then onto Incheon.
2056 Moderate turbulence as we descend into Incheon. There have been quite a few sections of light turbulence throughout the flight, with cabin announcements, particularly from North Queensland onwards.
2105 The stars are out and the lights of South Korea are in sight. A left turn over central South Korea to start our approach into Incheon.
2115 The lights of Suwon can be seen out to the right as we head back towards the eastern coastline.
2125 Touchdown on Runway 34 then taxi via November to the Gate. A Korean Air A380 is on a standoff bay as we taxied in. I noticed that the windsock was horizontal and pointing straight down the runway.
There were only four customs officers for the foreign passengers, so just a little slow to get through. Luggage claim was quite fast, I was even ahead of our crew retrieving my bag.
A lovely young lady from the Intercontinental Hotel was there to greet me, and she wanted to know whether she should say good afternoon or good evening. Outside the terminal, my driver was waiting, and I was hoping we would go via the Incheon Bridge, which is 21km long and was on Mega Structures a few weeks back.
Comfortable limo with a slight middle stretch
Unfortunately we took the traditional route into Seoul, and the traffic was quite slow at times on the freeway. Closer in the freeway follows the Han River, and the last time I was in Seoul, it was frozen over, the first time in 30 years
Apart from work on Tuesday and Wednesday, I have Sunday and Monday for a look around.
Sunday in Seoul was beautiful sunshine and blue skies, with the temperature ranging between 2 and 6 deg C – you needed a good jacket walking around. From my hotel window I can see the Olympic Stadium, and I spent the whole day walking around the local area, north down to the Han River and west to Gangnam. I had thought of going up to the DMZ to look at the border with North Korea, but I left it a bit too late to book. I thought I could manage it on the Monday, but unfortunately it was raining, and would not be so good. The COEX Conference and Exhibition Centre next to the hotel is very well done, and the shopping mall below is the largest in Asia at 85,000sq mtr - very easy to get lost. Overall there is some interesting architecture to be seen in Seoul.
The COEX Centre
The HDC building - the Olympic is about half a kilometer behind this building
A common style of high rise appartments in Seoul
Crossing the Han River to the north side of Seoul
On Monday I rode the subway to Yongsan, two trains on the Green and Blue line, where I visited the Electronics Market. This area has five multi-level buildings with 5000 stores, with every camera, laptop, PC, mother board, LCD lighting etc you can think of, you name it, they had it. On the way back on the subway, I got off at Gangnam, and had a look at the shopping. On street level there are many brand name and expensive stores, while down in the subway station, there are hundreds of small market like stores, selling good merchandise a better prices. I kept an eye out for Psy, but I think he was performing in Paris. The Seoul subway is excellent, and the trains clean and safe. When you buy a ticked there is a 500won deposit, which you can claim when you get off (this is because they reuse the tickets).
Amazing architecture at Gangnam
It was only three stops on the subway back to the Hotel for a rest, then off again to have a look at a tall statue I can see from my hotel room. This turned out to be the Bongeun-sa Buddist area, where they were preparing for a lantern festival. The end of Autumn colours were beautiful in the gardens.
A beautifully constructed building housing two large drums with suspended hammers
Now for a couple of days working, and then back to Sydney on Korean, it will be interesting to see how they stack up against Asiana, which I would have to say was excellent.