Asian Adventure - Hong Kong to South Korea, 6 May 2019

I was up at 4.30 am today as I prepared for the next stage of our journey to South Korea. To be honest I wasn't sad to see the back of Hong Kong. It was indeed an experience like no other and I was pleased to have visited the 'Pearl of the Orient,' but for me, it was just too busy, in your face and difficult to navigate. Together with the pollution, heavy traffic and high western prices, I much preferred our stay in Hanoi. Of course mine is just one opinion and I am sure many other travellers have enjoyed this city, but as I have got older, I am looking for different things from a holiday and a more quiet, measured and relaxing adventure would have been preferable.

We grabbed a taxi outside the Dorsett Mongkok, which quickly took us to Kowloon Station at a cost of just five pounds. On arrival, amazingly, we were able to check our baggage in for our flight at the train station, in what was a very painless exercise. This was modern Hong Kong working at its best, how many other cities should follow suit? Not having to check in luggage at the airport was a godsend and allowed for a final stress free few hours. I have never experienced this kind of organisation at any other destination I have flown to; there really are things Hong Kong can do well!

The train journey to the airport was fast and we were there in no time. We passed tall skyscrapers, roads resting above open sea and countryside, busy shopping districts and lines and lines of traffic; drivers impatiently waiting in queues, horns beeping, the sounds of street traders and commuters just audible above the noise of the train. This was a city of contrasts, the haves and have nots, rich and poor, modern and ancient, all happily coexisting side by side in this melting pot in the South China Sea; this was our final farewell and the end of our expedition to the stunning, amazing, formidable Chinese territory of Hong Kong!

We are currently on the Hong Kong Express travelling to Seoul, which should take us about three and a half hours. HK Express is a budget airline like Ryanair, no frills and for the first time we have to pay for food - about sixty five dollars or just over six pounds for a chicken curry - reasonable, when you compare the price to European carriers and it didn't taste too bad either.

Suddenly half way into the journey we are suffering extreme turbulence, the worst I have ever experienced, it feels like we are going to die. At the moment I am grabbing hold of the seat in front, rigid with fear, closing my eyes hoping for divine intervention, in between writing of course. My Aunt has just been woken up by the mayhem on board, so I know it's bad...NOTHING EVER WAKES HER UP!

At times I made a shriek or two as the plane jolted violently from right to left. This was indeed the journey from hell I was expecting, we couldn't land soon enough, but we survived another day as we arrived in Seoul bruised and battered!

Like Hong Kong the journey from Incheon Airport to the centre of Seoul was perfect. Sitting on the train the first thing I noticed was the amount of young lads, no more than eighteen years old dressed in military uniform. I later found out that national service is compulsory for eighteen to twenty eight year olds. The carriages were immaculate and everyone respectful. A small cuddly toy with the name 'Arex' emblazoned across its chest also sat on each seat nearest the door, this was to signify a space for pregnant ladies; such an initiative in the UK would be greeted with vandalism and scorn, yet Arex sat there happily, waiting for his or her next customer to sit down. Now I believe Arex is the name of the train operator, but a cute enough name for the little emoji tied to the hand rail. Oddly I didn't notice the same courtesy paid to disabled passengers, strange in such a progressive society!

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After arriving at our first destination, it was time to navigate probably one of the biggest underground systems I have ever been on. We got off at a stop close to where our hotel was, and decided to take a taxi the rest of the way, since we had no idea where we were heading. This was easier said than done. After finding the taxi stop, we were firstly greeted by a large queue or people, then just when we thought we had finally got a cab, a rather confused irate driver refused to take us, not having any room for our cases in the boot of his car, which had been taken up by a large LPG cylinder. This did seem rather odd, since passengers have luggage and need to use public transport. For a large modern city, there appeared to be, at least on the surface, a distinct lack of understanding for the needs of tourists; not a great start!

We were by now tired, hungry and a little bit exhausted, so after conversing with a lovely Korean gentleman, who did his best to help, to no avail, we decided to go back to the station and get the train once again, this time heading to Myeongdong, a few blocks from our hotel. Confusion with tickets, getting on the wrong train and short tempers eventually got us to our destination, the Oriens Hotel and Residencies where we were staying in a seventh floor apartment!

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The apartment was modern and tastefully decorated; just where we needed to be at the half way point of our journey. We chose to stay in a self contained flat because it offered us the opportunity to experience the real Seoul. It also allowed us to do some much needed washing after ten days travelling, as well as the ability to come and go as we pleased, without inflexible hotel rules and regulations.

As I looked out of our apartment window, looking over the buildings of Seoul, I suddenly felt at ease and happy to be here. I had a feeling I was going to like this place and our large spacious retreat for the next week was the quintessential base for our trip to this Asian metropolis! South Korea is not the usual holiday destination and it showed, from the moment we arrived, but that is what makes this place so special, leaving a lasting impression, that I still dream about today!

After freshening up and a quick change of clothes, we had just enough time for dinner and we didn't have to walk too far to enjoy some impressive Korean cuisine. A small restaurant just off a busy street in Myeongdong, was open serving local dishes, that I can only describe as mouthwatering. For a reasonable thirty pounds we had a huge array of food, all freshly cooked to order and a couple of beers each. This was a great price; I had heard some horror stories about the costs in Korea, so this was a gentle introduction. Already Seoul was streets above Hong Kong; the food was far better and most importantly the people were friendly and a delight to be around. Everyone wanted to help and make sure we had everything we needed, the standards of service were impeccable!

Switching on BBC World News on our return to the hotel we were greeted by two major news stories - the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's new baby boy Archie and news in the Korean Times, that Kim Jong Un had fired missiles from North Korea.

Korean Television had wall to wall coverage of the missile firing and were showing a series of public information films, explaining what to do in the event of a strike....Not particularly comforting on our first day, but certainly brought home to me, exactly how far away from Britain we were. Korea would offer many surprises during our stay and we were lucky enough to be there at such a historic time!

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