Leah’s Cafe

Arrived at Incheon Airport in Seoul at 8.50 a.m local time. A bit tired as I did not really sleep much during the 6.5 hours flight. Claimed the baggage and went through custom smoothly. I do not want to lug the two big baggage around, so found a service that store the baggage until I come back here to take the next flight to Chicago. It cost 13,000 wons (about RM40) per day to store this two bags !

The transport system in Seoul is very efficient and convinient. Bought the bus ticket at the arrival hall, it cost 9,000 wons (about RM29) for the 1 hour journey to the city center, where I will be staying. The airport bus (what they called “airport limousine”) came within 5 minutes and left according to schedule, though they are only about 8-10 passengers.

The bus driver announced before every stop and came down to help unload the baggage! I got down at the second stop and found the guest house with the direction given. It was not too difficult to find.

Washed up and decided to go out for lunch. Found a small restaurant on my way out, saw a lot of office workers had lunch there, so I went in and had my first bimbimbard in Seoul.

Loom around the area around Hongik University, it’s a hip place with a lot of university students. Full of activities and small shops selling clothes, cosmetics and all sort of things that the young people in Seoul are into.

Found a tourist information booth at this area. Mr Kim who works there used to study in America and works as an English tutor now. So he speaks good English. He is very friendly, he got me a bunch of brochures and maps, very helpful.

After walking arond this area for 2-3 hours, decided to go back to the guest house and took a nap. The host of the apartment came home and was cooking dinner when I woke up from nap.

The guest house is actually an apartment, a few Korean girls live here! I guess they rent out the rooms to tourists to help to pay their rentals. That’s why they only accept cash payment and have do not have credit card processing like many other small businesses in Seoul, they are not a business!!

Anyway, the place is comfortable and the girls are friendly. The host Sherri speaks good English, she works at the city hall as town planner.

Going to stopover in South Korea for six days on the way to Chicago. Have booked a place at a guest house or hostel in Seoul for the first three nights. Will decide later whether to move on to another city or may just stay in Seoul for the entire 6D5N.

This is how the hostel looks like. The ground floor is a restaurant and the hostel is on the  upper floors. It’s very close to the subway station and cost 20,000 Korean Wons per night (1 000 KW equals to about USD1 or RM3.20). It’s slightly more expensive for accommodation in the same category, but it’s cheap compare to hotel rooms that cost at least USD120-150 per night. :-)

I am a cheapo independent traveler who doesn’t want to spend much on accommodation. Just need a clean and safe place to rest after all the sightseeing and walking. This  hostel which is catered for women has a 98% user rating on the booking website and all the comments said it’s a safe and convenient space for a woman traveling alone!

Many people asked me what do I plan to do in IL. We really do not have a concrete plan yet, we would have to see what comes along and take one step at a time. May eventually go for a teacher preparation program to get an IL teaching credential, but will work online and take up a part time temporary job as a start.

Working part time at a temporary job while getting to know the place and adjust to the new environment is the plan.  Since the holiday season is lurking around the corner, guess part time retail jobs and holiday extra helps are not too difficult to find.

It would take a few weeks for me to get the social security numbers (which is required when you apply for jobs). Then would start taking tests for driver license. Public transportation in most of the cities in America are horrible, driving is essential so you can get to work!

Though the economy in America is not the greatest right now, it is fine when you have a job and are not in debt. Our plan is to continue to stay out of debt and save up cash for emergency during a recession like this.  That’s why we would not buy another car on payments though we  may have to work around our schedule.

So many people in America are living paycheck to paycheck and carry a balance on their credit cards. The financial crisis and recession  hit this group of people the hardest, some are going through bankruptcies,  foreclosures, or some have to consolidate debt and change their lifestyles. On the other hand, the sluggish real estate market is the buyer’s haven right now. It’s a great time to pick up a bargain for people who have the cash. We hope to save enough money to buy a house in 2-3 years time!

In the last four years, have only been to the theater 2-3 times., could not even remember the last movie watched!  However, in the last few weeks, have watched three movies in the theater, kind of a personal record breaking!

When I was down in PJ attending the medical check-up and visa interview three weeks ago,  went for dinner and saw”Money no enough” with my sisters. Last week, saw Babylon A.D alone. And this weekend, met up with my good friend SP for farewell, we went for lunch,  spent the whole afternoon yakking, then watched “Mamma Mia” before we moved on to her house to say goodbye to her mother and sister. SP made a resolution to visit me  in IL next year. :-)

Done with the packing and waiting to leave for South Korea tonight. Was able to pack quite a few things included a wok within the 46 kg (100 lbs) free baggage allowance! I wanted to give the wok to my sisters, but they did not want it because they already have a similar one. I have spent good money on the wok, instead of buying a new one, why not just bring this along since there is still room for it?

However, all the heavy stuffs like books, recipes, teaching aids, craft and sewing tools would have to stay behind. May bring them along when we come back for a visit next time, which will be at least one year from now!