This is my last Asia post. Can you believe it's come to an end? I guess it's about time for another adventure!
Tuesday: August 5: Incheon & Seoul
If you ever get the chance to have a long layover in South Korea do it, especially if you can't actually visit the country. First, the airport is amazing, but secondly, they offer tours anywhere from 1 hour to 5 hours. I was actually lucky enough to take two because my layover was so long.
While waiting for my first tour to start I met a girl from Vietnam who was studying in Canada. I'm really kicking myself because I forgot her name. We decided to stick together on the tour. The first tour I went on was just an hour to Yonggungsa Temple. The temple was beautiful, but it was really foggy that day because of the pollution from China. Apparently fog like that doesn't happen all the time but it was like that for both layovers I had. Maybe I just have bad luck. There were so many cats running around too. I was so used to seeing street dogs that it was weird seeing cats.
After the first tour my friend and I sat on some benches before the next tour started. I got a Jamba Juice to fill me up a little bit and I charged my phone while she slept. Right before we went on the tour we walked around one of the make up stores. On the second tour we met a French girl who was living in New York City and she tagged along with us too. I don't remember her name either. But I was impressed by her accent because you could barely tell she had one. Once you reach puberty you will never have a native like accent when you learn a new language, so I thought it was pretty cool that she sounded so American. The first stop on the tour was the Dongdaemun Design Plaza.
The second stop was at Changdeokgung Palace. The palace was huge and we didn't even see all of it because we had a time limit.
After walking through the palace we went to lunch where we were served bibimbap. I had never had Korean food before and it was really good. I still crave it sometimes but I don't know anywhere around where I live that makes it. After lunch we had about 30 minutes before we had to meet to go back to the airport. The Vietnamese girl went off because she wanted to find a certain make up store so the French girl and I walked around. We were laughing at these little kids because they all had these funny shaped cones filled with ice cream.
When we got back to the airport I was in a hurry so I never really said "good-bye." I regret that so much, and I don't know why. My flight ended up being delayed AGAIN. Then when we finally boarded the flight it was delayed longer for customs issues. Sitting next to me was a woman, a woman with a baby on her lap, and me. I felt bad for the woman with the baby. She apologized to us saying she tried to get a seat with the baby crib. After we were served dinner a flight attendant came over and told her they had a seat for her. This was a blessing for me and the other woman because we had no one in between us. I was able to sleep on my side a little bit letting my feet go into the next seat. I got the best sleep, which is a miracle because I can't sleep in cars or planes.
I purposely picked the flight with a long layover in San Francisco so I could see my aunt. Unfortunately, since the flight was delayed I didn't have as long as I would have liked but I still had a long time. My friend Rosendo also came up from Sacramento so I got to see him too! After I showered my aunt took us to my favorite place in San Francisco, The Cliff House. I was very thankful for a great layover!
Please don't mind my terrible hair. I didn't have a straightener for 3 weeks and my hair tends to take on a mind of it's own.
