Day 2 - Flight and Incheon Airport
We woke up to the sound of the pilot on the intercom advising passengers to buckle their seatbelts, and that we would land in an hour. It was around three o'clock in our local time zone, which meant that we had slept through breakfast. However, based off the aftermath of last night’s dinner, and the shut sickness bag laying at Isabella’s feet, I could tell none of us were that upset about it. Kaitlyn stirred from her slumber completely parched, just as Anisha began complaining that she “felt like a raisin.” Ananya attempted to get up from her chair to stretch, and immediately tumbled onto to the ground from the turbulence. We all burst out into wild laughter. After, she went to grab something to eat and drink, and I to use the bathroom. When I had returned, there were multiple bags of junk food on the table, each marked with neon graphics and Korean inscriptions.
They were accompanied by glasses of water. Ananya looked content with her ability to clinch complimentary snacks as she munched on some chips, and the rest of the girls seemed fascinated by the odd flavors of Pringles that were handed to them. Shortly after, the city of Incheon came into view. It was day, so we could not see how exquisite the lights of the city looked at night, but it was still nothing short of beautiful. We landed smoothly at 4:20 PM, and the vast airport elicited a gasp from a few of the passengers, who were likely concerned about their connecting flights. As for me, I could not keep the glee off my face. As we entered the airport, all of us ogled at the architecture of the airport. Ananya lectured us to all stay close together, as none of us fluently spoke Korean or knew exactly where our hotel was, but by the end of her speech, my head was already swimming in marvel of all the duty-free stores there appeared to be. As we made our way to collect our checked-in bags, it was clear that I wasn’t the only one ogling at the airport. There were installations of trees and flowers all over the airport, and various K-Beauty stores advertising women with flawless porcelain skin.
K-pop idols appeared on screens advertising everything from apps to UNICEF campaigns, and the smell of various spicy and sweet delicacies made our appetites even more voracious. While Kaitlyn and Ananya located our baggage, Isabella accessed the Wi-Fi. Meanwhile, I led Anisha over to a vending machine which had limited edition BTS-themed bottles of Coke. Before I could buy any, however, Isabella had us decide where to eat. The airport had a myriad of options, ranging from traditional Korean meals to Taco Bell. Ananya and I went to Quizno’s after she insisted on a quick, easy meal, and the others initially went to roam. However, they all returned to eat with us, after a unanimous decision was made that we were all too tired to embark on a palatable adventure. After our meal, we decided to explore what the airport had to offer. Our hotel was located conveniently in our terminal, so we didn’t necessarily have much else to do. There was a Korean Cultural Center in Concourse 4F of the Airport, so we decided to take a short walk through it. There were dolls dressed up in colorful Korean hanboks, which looked similar to dresses, and also exhibits on traditional Korean architecture and the Korean alphabet, a system known as Hangul. Later that day, there was a grand re-enactment of a royal procession. Men and women in bright red and green hanboks walked around the airport, bringing alive the past kings and queens. Their grace and calm heavily contrasted the bustle of the airport. While absorbing the newer culture, we also discovered that the airport was built in 2001, and was ranked the best worldwide airport for 7 years by an international council. None of us were shocked to hear this, as we had just arrived in Korea, and had already been dazzled by the airport. It was about 9 PM when we had decided to head to our hotel, which was a capsule hotel located conveniently in the airport. Capsule hotels are a form of hotel popularized in Japan in which the user sleeps in a small pod-shaped room. They are located all over Asia, and especially popular in urban areas where there isn’t a lot of place to stay. Our hotel, the Darakhyu, was incredibly sleek and streamlined, and its minimalist design quickly attracted the attention of Kaitlyn and I. The rooms had black wallpaper and crisp, white bedding, as well as a reading light, sink, and phone. The rooms were incredibly clean for being such quaint, cheap accommodation, and our check-in was quick and easy.
We had decided to stay in a total of three rooms, with Kaitlyn and Isabella rooming together, Anisha and Ananya sharing a room, and I by myself. We took turns using their showers before we all decided to sleep, as we were completely exhausted, but still ready to wake up to another beautiful day in Korea. We all were already awestruck by the beautiful country and we hadn’t even stepped foot out of the airport yet.
Written by Shreya
They were accompanied by glasses of water. Ananya looked content with her ability to clinch complimentary snacks as she munched on some chips, and the rest of the girls seemed fascinated by the odd flavors of Pringles that were handed to them. Shortly after, the city of Incheon came into view. It was day, so we could not see how exquisite the lights of the city looked at night, but it was still nothing short of beautiful. We landed smoothly at 4:20 PM, and the vast airport elicited a gasp from a few of the passengers, who were likely concerned about their connecting flights. As for me, I could not keep the glee off my face. As we entered the airport, all of us ogled at the architecture of the airport. Ananya lectured us to all stay close together, as none of us fluently spoke Korean or knew exactly where our hotel was, but by the end of her speech, my head was already swimming in marvel of all the duty-free stores there appeared to be. As we made our way to collect our checked-in bags, it was clear that I wasn’t the only one ogling at the airport. There were installations of trees and flowers all over the airport, and various K-Beauty stores advertising women with flawless porcelain skin.
K-pop idols appeared on screens advertising everything from apps to UNICEF campaigns, and the smell of various spicy and sweet delicacies made our appetites even more voracious. While Kaitlyn and Ananya located our baggage, Isabella accessed the Wi-Fi. Meanwhile, I led Anisha over to a vending machine which had limited edition BTS-themed bottles of Coke. Before I could buy any, however, Isabella had us decide where to eat. The airport had a myriad of options, ranging from traditional Korean meals to Taco Bell. Ananya and I went to Quizno’s after she insisted on a quick, easy meal, and the others initially went to roam. However, they all returned to eat with us, after a unanimous decision was made that we were all too tired to embark on a palatable adventure. After our meal, we decided to explore what the airport had to offer. Our hotel was located conveniently in our terminal, so we didn’t necessarily have much else to do. There was a Korean Cultural Center in Concourse 4F of the Airport, so we decided to take a short walk through it. There were dolls dressed up in colorful Korean hanboks, which looked similar to dresses, and also exhibits on traditional Korean architecture and the Korean alphabet, a system known as Hangul. Later that day, there was a grand re-enactment of a royal procession. Men and women in bright red and green hanboks walked around the airport, bringing alive the past kings and queens. Their grace and calm heavily contrasted the bustle of the airport. While absorbing the newer culture, we also discovered that the airport was built in 2001, and was ranked the best worldwide airport for 7 years by an international council. None of us were shocked to hear this, as we had just arrived in Korea, and had already been dazzled by the airport. It was about 9 PM when we had decided to head to our hotel, which was a capsule hotel located conveniently in the airport. Capsule hotels are a form of hotel popularized in Japan in which the user sleeps in a small pod-shaped room. They are located all over Asia, and especially popular in urban areas where there isn’t a lot of place to stay. Our hotel, the Darakhyu, was incredibly sleek and streamlined, and its minimalist design quickly attracted the attention of Kaitlyn and I. The rooms had black wallpaper and crisp, white bedding, as well as a reading light, sink, and phone. The rooms were incredibly clean for being such quaint, cheap accommodation, and our check-in was quick and easy.
We had decided to stay in a total of three rooms, with Kaitlyn and Isabella rooming together, Anisha and Ananya sharing a room, and I by myself. We took turns using their showers before we all decided to sleep, as we were completely exhausted, but still ready to wake up to another beautiful day in Korea. We all were already awestruck by the beautiful country and we hadn’t even stepped foot out of the airport yet.
Written by Shreya
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