Seoul Biz Trip Feb 2017 - 안녕하세요

Last week I just came back from a business trip to Seoul.  It was the first time in my life I had ever been to South Korea as I had never thought of or imagined travelling here. It was definitely an eye opening trip for me.

The Singapore to Seoul flight was at 2:45 a.m. in the morning, I really hate night flights because I have trouble sleeping in aeroplanes, and true enough I could only manage 1 hour of sleep in that 6 hours flight.  I was in the same flight as my boss by the way, but we had different seating.

That's the plane to Seoul - RX100Mk3

As it was the first time we had ever been to Seoul, when we arrived we took the safe approach of taking the train to the hotel.  From Incheon Airport station we took the train to Digital Media City station.

At Incheon Airport Station, waiting for the train to come - LG G5

Arrived at Digital Media City Station, heading to Exit 2 - LG G5

After we arrived at Digital Media City station we headed straight to Exit 2 from where the shuttle bus to the hotel will be waiting.

Inside the shuttle bus to the hotel - LG G5

Stepping inside the bus offered a much needed relief from the freezing temperature, I did not check the temperature on my phone but I thought it should have been around 2 or 3 degree celcius.  It took us about an hour or so to get to the hotel from airport.

The hotel we were staying in is the Stanford Hotel Seoul (http://www.stanfordseoul.com/seoul/en), the only hotel in that area I believe.  It's a 4 star hotel that seems to be catered towards business travelers.

Inside the room - RX100Mk3

View from the window - RX100Mk3

After taking a quick shut eye I was ready to start exploring.  A colleague who had been making this trip frequently suggested that I should visit Myeongdong.  So I took his word on it and set for Myeongdong which was about 25 minutes away by train, so long my schedule to catch the shuttle bus  to DMC station from the hotel is well timed.

After about half an hour or so I finally made it to Myeongdong station.  It was time to navigate to Myeongdong shopping street.

Myeongdong Station - LG G5

Stepped out of the station, going towards Myeongdong Shopping Street - RX100Mk3

I didn't venture to the very ends of the area, just exploring around the main street.  It is a very interesting place for youngsters and ladies who love Korean cosmetics I guess.  Since I'm here, I got all the cosmetics my wife had ordered earlier - yes I'm a sweet hubby am I not?  

Myeongdong Shopping Street - RX100Mk3

Right: Cute Line store there; Left: an intersection in the area - RX100Mk3

More overviews of Myeongdong - RX100Mk3

After spending about an hour or so in Myeongdong I decided to return to the hotel as I couldn't adjust to the cold just yet.  On the way back I snapped a photo of this underground shopping area towards the train station which is very much like Singapore's own xxx Exchange (Raffles Place, Tanjong Pagar, etc, etc).

Myeongdong underground shopping street - LG G5

While the underground shopping area in Singapore's MRT stations look neater and cleaner, they lack the zest and variety that Myeongdong's underground shopping area has.  Regardless, I was on the train back to DMC very soon after.

Leaving Myeongdong for DMC - LG G5

When I arrived at DMC I had missed the shuttle bus by mere minutes.  Waiting means spending 30 minutes in the station doing nothing.  So I decided to brave the cold and walked back to the hotel.

Don't be fooled by the brightness, it was 2 degrees! - RX100Mk3

On the way back I made some quick stopovers at  nearby buildings to snap photos of interesting structures and sculptures.  Looking at Digital Media City made me drew a parallel with Fusionopolis in Singapore - the atmosphere is almost identical with the exception that DMC is definitely more spacious than Fusionopolis.

Interesting modern sculpture outside some building - LG G5

Another interestingly shaped building spotted on the way back - RX100Mk3

That building there really reminds me of the TV station in Odaiba Japan - RX100Mk3

It was so cold, ice was forming on the street just like this one - LG G5

What should have been a 20 minute walk turned to 40 minutes after I went around snapping photos.  While it had been an interesting walk, I couldn't be happier to be back in the hotel's warm refuge.

Stanford Hotel Seoul Lobby - LG G5

Before dinner I took a quick walk outside.  My phone indicated the temperature as -2 degree Celsius.  I simply had to experience this cold, so I walked out and took more photos nearby the hotel as it happened to be the blue hour as well.  Got quite a good shot that I'm very happy with too.

Blue hour in Sangam Dong - LG G5

After dinner, day 1 ended just like that.

Day 2 started at before 9 in the morning where I waited in the lobby for my boss and other colleagues from other office.  Before we assembled I went out again just to look around.

The sun is shining and yet it was freezing at -2 degrees! - LG G5  

After everyone gathered, we left for the vendor's office for our meeting.  Day 2 was uneventful to say the least.  As the day ended I just wanted a quiet dinner in my hotel room.  I was still nursing a giddy head from lack of sleep (and probably some caffeine withdrawal from the many cups of coffee I had just to stay awake during the day).  The thing I hate about travelling is that I have difficulty sleeping.  I don't adapt very well to the new environment as I've grown too comfortable with my own house.  As I walked back to the hotel, I got more photo opportunities to take along the way.

You just have to take a photo of this sculpture when you're in DMC - LG G5

As the sun sets in DMC - RX100Mk3

Day 2 ended soon after a simple Mc Donald's takeaway dinner.

Day 3 is when I check-out and make my way back to Singapore at night - yes another night flight...  I have to attend the meeting first till about 5 pm.

From the vendor office's pantry I snapped this nice view of the surrounding area.

Bird eye's view of DMC - LG G5

After all the meetings/discussions ended, I made my way back to the hotel to take a 45 minute limousine bus ride to the airport.  The bus was scheduled to arrive at 17:20, however traffic could have delayed it by a bit so I endured the cold for a while.

The bus stop for airport limousine is conveniently located outside the hotel - LG G5

As soon as I stepped into the bus we were on our way to the airport.  It was quite comfortable as there were not many passengers at that time.  It was definitely worth the 10,000 KRW I paid as compared to having to take the train.

Inside Airport Limousine Bus - LG G5

Well, by now you know I like to take photos right?  So here's another one.  :)

Inside a tunnel going towards the airport - RX100Mk3

I arrived at the airport a tad too early, but that's fine.  It was just an opportunity to explore and look around.

Waiting area near the check-in counters - LG G5

As soon as the check-in counters opened, I quickly got my boarding pass and started exploring again inside the transit area.  The stuffs here are surprisingly expensive so I ended getting up a box of Line character cookies for the kids.  At this point in time I can't wait to get home anymore, I really miss the kids (and my wife too - if she found out I don't write this down I'll be sleeping on the couch later! ;p).

The flight took off at 23:05 and I arrived in Singapore at 4:50 in the morning.  Arrived home at 5:40, back in office at 7:40.... with only less than 2 hours of sleep in the plane.. amazing.... I really hate night flights!  >_<

Here's a closing shot for this picturesque entry:

The most interesting thing I could find in DMC - RX100Mk3

~ Photos taken with Sony RX100 Mk 3 & LG G5 ~