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International Travel Travel

South Korea: Seoul, day 1 – Cheonggyecheon and breweries

Our first order of business after landing at Gimpo was finding the train into the city. We found an ATM and got out some cash so we could purchase the one-way ticket to Seoul Station and our TPass cards for the metro and bus. ATMs here are a bit different as you have to select how many 1,000 won notes you wanted – in my case eight – rather than the dollar amount – 8,000.

Finding the airport train was a bit convoluted from the international arrivals terminal, but once we were headed in the correct direction it took about 10 minutes by foot. Ticket machines were in English so we had no trouble getting the tickets we needed. Then we headed downstairs to wait with loads of other people for the train. Thankfully we got seats!

When we arrived at Seoul Station it became clear that something went wrong with my single-use ticket. Eric passed through with no problem, but the machine threw an error when I tried to exit saying my card had never been activated. I think it’s because someone was trying to exit from the other side of the same stall when I scanned my ticket originally, so the door opened but my ticket wasn’t used. Or something. Who knows. Anyway, an employee opened the gate for me so I could get out. Then, after even more walking, we arrived at another set of gates I needed to scan through and, of course, my card didn’t work. This time a kind lady came over and put her card on the reader to get me free. This wound up being only a mild inconvenience but I was unable to get the 500 won refund back on my card because it was technically never used. Sigh.

Our room at the Millennium Seoul Hilton was like a mini mansion after staying in tiny Japanese hotel rooms for the past week and a half. We unpacked, then took advantage of the Executive Lounge as we planned our evening.

On our way out, we asked the concierge where to buy a TPass and she suggested the local drug store across the street from hotel – 4,000 won for the card and we loaded them with 10,000 won each for travel. Not sure why the cards were 1,500 more than I had found online, maybe because of where we bought them or perhaps the Line Friends branding?

Buses turned out to be the easiest way to get around our first night, as the network was extensive and they ran during the hours we needed them (we weren’t out after midnight).

After getting off the bus we started by exploring the Cheonggyecheon stream – this allowed us to stretch our legs, plus enjoy the various art installations, a light show, sand drawing demo, and photography exhibit along the way.

Cheonggyecheon

art demo @ Cheonggyecheon  Cheonggyecheon

Cheonggyecheon

Our next stop was a nearby basement bar, The Booth Brewing, for a small pour each of two Mikkeller beers, a stout for me and a lambic for Eric.

The Booth Brewing entrance  The Booth Brewing

We weren’t super hungry, so we split a single burger (no onion) with Cajun fries at Bas Burger (Gwanghwamun) for dinner. Eric ordered an orange Fanta and I tried an (unnamed) stout. I was confused by the bill when our waiter dropped it off as it was less than I was expecting. Eric eventually figured out that he charged us separately for Eric’s drink and discounted my more expensive one due to their “set” deal that included a drink. Sweet! Oh, and it was quite tasty too!

Bas Burger

The night was still young, so we caught a bus to the Itaewon area and stopped in at Magpie Brewing Co. for one more beer. It’s a small, casual place with several interesting beers on tap. We grabbed two seats at the bar and ordered “The Ghost” (gose) for Eric and a “First Train” (baltic porter with coffee) for me.

Magpie Brewing  Magpie Brewing

We sipped our beers until last call and then headed back to the hotel, once again via bus. Thankfully the TPass cards were working fine!

Related posts:

  1. South Korea: Seoul, day 2 – Changdeokgung, Ihwa Mural Village, korean bbq, Blacklist
  2. South Korea: Seoul, day 3 – Seouljo, Gangnam, street food, two hour hotel transfer
  3. Memory Monday: Japan and South Korea manhole covers
  4. Japan: Rugby World Cup, South Africa v. Italy


« Japan: Osaka, Day 2 – Minoh Falls and small whisky bars
South Korea: Seoul, day 2 – Changdeokgung, Ihwa Mural Village, korean bbq, Blacklist »

2022 Trips

Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)

2021 Trips

Florida (Apr)
Outer Banks, NC (May)
Long Island (Jul)
NC Mountains (Aug)
Dundee, OR (Sept)
New England (Oct)
Florida (Dec)
Chicago, IL (Dec)

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tlkativ

Wordpress designer/developer + mini schnauzer mama who travels the world. Chicago born, living in Durham, NC. Photos: my Pixel

tlkativ
1 second everyday: April 2022 1 second everyday: April 2022
Our week in the NC/TN mountains, one second at a t Our week in the NC/TN mountains, one second at a time.
1 second everyday: March 2022 1 second everyday: March 2022
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Christmas Day was good. Homemade cinnamon rolls, a Christmas Day was good. Homemade cinnamon rolls, a walk at the NCMA, family FaceTimes and Christmas cookies. Merry Christmas to all! 🎄🥂
Southwest cancelled our flight on Tuesday and inst Southwest cancelled our flight on Tuesday and instead of scrapping our trip we decided to drive to New Hampshire. 800 miles and 13 hours (over two days) to get here and so far it has been absolutely worth it.
Watching the @littlegermanband (and dancers!) was Watching the @littlegermanband (and dancers!) 
was a great way to enjoy some awesome weather this afternoon. @laurabcowan
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