Above: Pedestrian mall in Suwon, near my hotel.
Arriving at Seoul Incheon airport at 0630, I wasn’t as lucky as previous visits. It took an hour to get through immigration and exit without a bag.
I’m booked to stay in Suwon, which Google Maps says is 2h away by bus. The hotel’s check-in time is 1500 so I decided to kill some time.
First, I checked out the various ATMs in search of one that didn’t charge a fee. That was in vain (even though I found one in Suwon later that was free at the NH Bank).
Then I settled into Burger King for a bite and make a booking for my flight from Singapore to Kuching as part of the Maldives trip that I booked last night.
Three hours after exiting the arrival hall, I was on the bus to Suwon. To my surprise, the ride only took 1h10.
I got to the S Stay Hotel around 1200. As expected (but not as hoped), they were strict with their 1500 check-in time. I had to kill another 3 hours at lunch, walking and then in a café.
I was more than ready for some air-con by the time I got to my room at 1500. I rested and grabbed dinner back at the cheapie where I lunched earlier. I finished the day with a short walk around the neighbourhood.
Suwon is technically not Seoul but in Gyeonggi province. But it’s part of of the greater urban area of Seoul and accessible by the same suburban/metro network, so I will call it Seoul for simpicity.