Seoulcation Day 1

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Prologue / Rambling

My second trip to Seoul.

At this point of time, I hadn’t travelled for more than 2 years. To be honest, I was super worried, especially with the 17897987 Covid restrictions to comply to, and the passport issues and what not. I felt like I didn’t know where to even begin to plan.

But I was starting to burn out from staying in Singapore and I just had to take this trip…any trip.

This year BTS was turning nine, and I was turning five-years-old as a fan. With the lifting of the travel restrictions with the Republic of Korea (“South Korea”), it was a no-brainer on my travel destination.

I started my planning from early April. I kept searching and reading up resources, and finally the day of departure came rolling around.

The trip would only be confirmed a few days before the departure. I feel quite apologetic to the travel agency we arranged with since we couldn’t even confirm on the travel. They were patient with my travel group, and I’m quite grateful for that.

Quick stats

Airline: Singapore Airlines – When I bought the ticket, it was going for slightly under SG$1000. The SQ600 / 601 flights are on Boeing Dreamliner. Personally, I would say SQ600 flight timing is a waste of time for holiday 😦 By the time we reached Seoul, it was 6pm?
Seoul Accommodation: Nine Tree Premier Hotel Insadong
Airport Transfer: As arranged by our travel agency

Things you may need to take note of

Checking in: It was a long queue when we checked in at Changi Airport Terminal 3. There was one line for all the flights out for economy class. I suppose the same goes for Business class. After checking that all the documents were in order, we were allowed to collect our boarding pass and check in our bags. Suggest to have the documents in hardcopy (note: these are for travellers from Singapore who are fully vaccinated and boosted):
- KETA visa
- Notarise proof of vaccination
- Singapore pre-departure ART or PCR test result
- (Needed for arrival) Qcode
- (Optional, but needed at one point of time on arrival) Arrival PCR booking (I chose to take the test at the airport itself, and booked thru safe2go )
Check which terminal the flight would be departing from: While we were to check in at Changi Airport Terminal 3, upon checking the flight board, we saw that we had to transfer to Terminal 1. (Fortunately I checked because I wanted to go for the airport lounge but more on that later)
On arrival: It will be a super long queue, so if you arranged for someone to pick you up, you may want to consider asking them to come around 30min to 1 hr after the flight arrival time.

Thoughts on SATS lounge

Apparently, my lounge membership was still valid and I had complimentary passes, so for this trip, I decided to go for lounge!

The lounge I tried was Terminal 1 SATS lounge. It wasn’t too bad. It had a quiet ambience and food was served buffet style. Limited food for sure, but meat sources are from supposed to be from Halal sources. I did not see pork or beef. They have a vegetarian sandwich, but not vegan I think, since I taste something like butter inside it.

Some choices were cereal, laksa, omelette and soba noodles.

I noticed that they had packed bread rolls which looked like the ones they served us on the flight.

With that, please dine at your own discretion if you have any dietary concerns.

My one single gripe would be that the flight board within the lounge did not display SQ flights 😦 so I had to go out to made sure the gate didn’t change.

Changi Airport Terminal 1 SATS Premier lounge
Tel: +65 6541 8500
Location: Level 3, Departure Transit Hall

The lounge is open to various lounge memberships.

Thoughts on the flight

Both my flights to and from Korea were on Boeing 787-10, and in spite of myself, I was pretty impressed by the economy seats (had never liked the Singapore Airlines). My legs finally had room to wiggle, and my knees could breathe! I think the default angle was probably comfortable, so the person seated in front of me barely shifted their seat backwards. Now, if only someone can think of an innovative solution on how to go to toilet mid-flight when not seated at aisle. Hmm…

Vegetarian meal, because I disliked the meat meals on airplane

BTS offerings on the flight

The seat “dock”? I don’ know what you call it ^^;

Obligatory out-of-plane-window shot

You can check out the inflight menu and entertainment here: https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/kr/plan-travel/local-promotions/krisworld/

Thoughts on staying at Insadong

My only experience at Insadong prior to this visit was a quick walk and the BTS exhibition at Ara Art Center. Then, I also had my lunch at Osegyehyang, a vegan restaurant that also had halal-friendly menu.

My initial preference was to stay at my previous accommodation at Hamilton Hotel Itaewon, but I took a plunge and decided to try Insadong.

I absolutely did not regret it! Insadong is totally my vibe – Craft mixed with tradition and arts, with plenty of museums / exhibition places. Sadly, the Covid seem to hit the tourist places hard, and Insadong is one of them. Street was quieter, but I’m happy to say that Osehyehyang and places like Ssamziegil were still alive. My favourite Cacadew Bingsu shop didn’t. 😥

Thoughts on staying at Nine Tree Premier Hotel Insadong

I stayed at Nine Tree Premier Hotel Insadong for four nights. The hotel is connected to a shopping mall and right smack in the middle of the Insadong main street, so the location was quite convenient as a base for travelling around Seoul (nearest subway/metro station is Anguk, just a few minutes away), picking up things at convenience store(s) and shopping for souvenirs around the street. I think it may be a fairly new development – I don’t recall seeing it when I had previously visited Seoul, pre-covid times.

It’s a short walking distance from Gyeongbokgung Palace and Jogyesa Temple. Ssamziegil right across the street is a must visit, and aside from shopping crafts, I believe it runs some workshops which I unfortunately had little time to explore more on. There are also a lot of museums in the area. There are plenty of food options in the area, including vegan restaurant Osegyehyang, vegan cafe Maru and halal restaurant Nirvana Halal Indian Kitchen. You MUST check out the many traditional teahouses (“chatjib”) in the area.

The hotel has a coin laundry facility including microwave oven (Godsend), business center, as well as a stored luggage area (will need to pay additional fees). The downside is that the shopping mall is only around 50-70% occupied, so it has nothing much going on there. There is also no swimming pool.

I found the room acceptable. The size is pretty much a hotel standard, and pretty clean. I felt that the general upkeep was a bit lacking, I could see paint on handles peeling off. There are amenities such as toothbrushes etc. though I must point out that I have been to many hotels and Nine Tree Insadong is the first hotel I’ve stayed at that does not have a comb amongst its amenities. I’m not sure if it’s this specific branch, or Nine Tree branding in particular. The other hotels in Seoul have combs.

Communicating in English is no problem. I have not tried other languages.

If I were to stay at Insadong, I would stay at the hotel again.

Tips

Tip to not going to toilet on airplane: Drinking water in sips might help avoid such a situation.

Landing at Incheon Airport: Yes, it’s as what they say – It took a really long time to get clearance. So long that our luggage were already off the belt, and our airport transfer was already there. Arrival PCR test is after clearing the immigration, a crossroad away. If you did not book for the test, you can still do the PCR at the airport.

Base hotel: Suggest to try different places around Seoul, but don’t keep changing too many times since time taken to re-pack and lug luggage could be better spent elsewhere. Also, get one with / near laundry facilities! They are a life-saver for travelling light!

Dinner: If you took the later flight ie. reaching Seoul in the evening, AND staying at Insadong, you may want to quickly have your dinner. It seems that they close pretty early – around 9pm. Osegyehyang was already closing but took in one last order (ours!). Phew.

Diary of an Internet Addict