7 hours in Seoul... Er, 1 hour in Seoul, 3 in Incheon and 3 on a Bus

7 hours layover in Seoul is the worst amount of time to have. It's like, you can either spend 5-6 hours in a duty free shop (lame), or spend 3 hours on a bus just to spend 1 hour in town and be back in time to clear customs (also lame). Incheon also has some convenient "airport tours" that take you to see some sights directly to/from the airport, but unfortunately none of the available tours was going to get me back in time for my flight.

I figured, what the hell, and bought a bus ticket into town. It was freezing outside, the ground dusted in frost and bits of old snow. I was in clothes that I packed for Thailand and Cambodia. The bus driver then proceeded to drop me off at the wrong stop. I spent an hour at a market and didn't buy anything, but I did get to see Namdaemen, which I think litterally means Big Ol' Gate on the North Side of Town.

It's "gaurded" by these guys in traditional Korean dress that act like those Buckingham Palace guards -- as in they can't look at you or talk to you when you take cheesy pictures in front of them.

Now, I'm a big proponent of getting out of the airport whenever you can. But maybe in this case it was a mistake, given my cold and relatively expensive ($15+ for an hour in town) foray into Seoul. Plus, Incheon Airport really is one of the nicest airports I've been to. First of all, it actually has a really tasty food court -- who knew airport dumpling soup and green tea cake was so good? I also came away with an armload of stuff from the duty free store. Melon flavored cigarretes with complimentary perfume! Face whitening cream to counteract the gnarly tan I got in Cambodia! It's all so wrong, but it feels so right.

Next stop, after 48 hours of layovers, back home! I need to shower. Or cover myself in melon perfume.