We tried to sleep at the departure gate but it was too noisy. There weren't that many passengers probably due to the time of the flight so after takeoff we all got to stretch out on 3 seats for a sleep. I reckon we had just over 2 hours kip on the 4 hour flight. Unfortunately there was an extremely long queue at immigration which took us at least 30 minutes to get through. Working out how and where to buy the metro passes was fun then locating the right train and platform. Luckily the station names are in English as well as there would be no chance of deciphering the Korean. This signboard shows the progress of the train through the previous 2 stations and a jolly tune plays as it comes into the station. The Koreans form orderly queues to get on but don't always wait until passengers have got off which seems a contradiction of manners.
We located the hostel easily thanks to the smartphone GPS and Martin's sense of direction. We arrived at 10 and were told very sympathetically that our room wouldn't be ready until 3pm. Martin asked cheekily if we could have breakfast and despite it being past the time when breakfast had finished they let us eat for free and were very solicitous ensuring we had everything on offer. So, tired but no longer hungry we left our bags and headed out to explore.
First impressions; wealthy, no litter, pavements are smooth, even, wide and empty and one can walk without fear of being run down. Crossing the roads we have gone from one extreme to the other; in Vietnam you literally took your life in your hands when you crossed the road, here you wait obediently for the green man for ages and the traffic obey the lights.
The temperature is like our early Spring - lovely in the sun but chilly in the shade or breeze.
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