TRIP REPORT: Welcome to South Korea! Off on the A’Rex and The Shilla Stay, Gwanghwamun
Kevin gets a Little Seoul and Tokyo.
First objective complete: Made it to South Korea and back on the internet. Now, to find my way to Seoul and my lodgings for the next few nights – The Shilla Stay, Gwanghwamun.
- When Life Gives You Lemons, Get Gin, Tonic and a Knife to cut the Lemons! Make the Lemons rue the day…
- Off to Heathrow T5 and the British Airways Galleries North Lounge
- BA770 London Heathrow to Stockholm Arlanda, EuroTraveller
- A Lazy Day in Stockholm
- Delays and More Delays – Back to Arlanda, Arlanda Terminal 5 and The Aspire Lounges
- CA912 Stockholm Arlanda to Beijing Capital Airport (Business Class)
- A Rushed Beijing transit and CA125 Beijing Capital Airport to Seoul Incheon (Business Class)
- Into South Korea, The A’Rex, The Shilla Stay Gwanghwamun
- Exploring the grounds of Gyeongbokgung Palace
- From the Top of N Seoul Tower
- Back to Seoul Incheon, Air Premia YP735 Seoul to Tokyo (Wide Premium)
- Into Japan and the hustle of Tokyo, APA Hotel Ekimae Asakusa
- Asakusa Nights
- The JR East Railway Museum (Saitama)
- Being the Very Best, Like No One Ever Was – Pokemon Centres in Tokyo
- Farewell to the Unicorn Gundam (The Mobile Suit Unicorn Gundam at DiverCity)
- From the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
- Off the Camera Roll – Tokyo Edition
- Return to Narita International Airport and Air Premia YP732 Tokyo to Seoul (Wide Premium)
- Back into South Korea and Seoul, and the Hotel ZIYOLK, Seoul Station
- Myeongdong Nights – Off the Camera Roll
- One final journey to Incheon Airport, Asiana Airlines Lounge Terminal 1
- CA710 Seoul Incheon to Beijing Capital Airport (Business Class)
- A More Relaxed Beijing Transit and The Air China Phoenix Lounge
- CA911 Beijing Capital Airport to Stockholm Arlanda (Business Class)
- A Quick Stockholm Arrival and the Forenom Aparthotel, near Stockholm Airport
- Back to Arlanda one more time and KL1214 Stockholm Arlanda to Amsterdam Schiphol (Economy Class)
- A three-hour transit in Amsterdam, KL1045 Amsterdam Schiphol to Birmingham Airport (Economy Class)
- Who needs luggage in a hurry? The joy of Luggage collection at Birmingham Airport
- Reality stinks. Sometimes making your own is better
Exiting the aircraft, I had an idea where I was – the shapes and outlines were familiar, given I was last here over 14 years ago. As usual, following the crowd helps a lot, as well as the good quality wayfinding.
Thank you, A330.
That-a-way.
Love this. Clear signage.
And that’s something I love to see – as well as the free wi-fi in the airport.
Although there’s always one who has to try to skip the line at high speed. I dread to think how they got that battery through security.
There was some congestion as I headed to the border, mainly as people hadn’t filled out an arrivals card or filled in the online form. Again, I had mine, so I was good to go.
It was a 10-minute wait to get through the queue, but eventually, I saw an agent. With my E-AC confirmed, a sticker was placed in my passport, and I was allowed into South Korea.
With no baggage to claim, I continued through to arrivals and followed the signs.
Given my stay would be in Gwanghwamun, it’s near enough to Seoul Station to make the A’Rex viable, with the advantage that it is the Seoul Subway (as opposed to long-distance buses). Whilst it is good, connections between lines can be… a lot better.
That’s the nice way of putting it.
For my tickets on the A’Rex, rather than purchasing from the machine or online from Korail, I opted to get mine issued via Klook – which supports in-app generation of barcodes to use the service with,
I wasn’t arguing for £6.50 a time. Certainly better value than Heathrow Express. Although as standard, that’s setting a limbo bar a mile high and glueing it in position so the stick doesn’t move.
With the walk done and purchasing complete, there would be an A’Rex departing in a short while. Good enough for me to activate the ticket, grab a barcode and go through to the platform.
And the South Korean heat decided to start punching its weight. Delicious.
As the A’Rex arrived, it was pretty full. I noted that even with my window seat – it was pretty much a solid train to Seoul. With all reserved seats, it’s not a problem, with decent seat width and pitch.
But again, the express trains have made a little mistake, with half-hourly services for express runs. At least there is the option for an all-stopper service if you don’t feel like waiting, so this negates the A’Rex. I’d prefer to see three trains an hour at least for an airport express service.
In addition, many buses serve Incheon to different parts of the city, and after a while – especially when you do the mathematics- it might be quicker to grab a coach for a door-to-door drop-off, rather than deal with a train and a long subway transfer.
Some of those subway transfers can be very long indeed, especially if you’re heading south of the Han River.
At least there were pre-bookable T-money cards, as well as free bottles of Jeju Samdasoo water. Which, after a long-haul flight, is welcome for hydration. There’s also something else – this card:
This is an excellent idea for communicating, especially if Korean or English is not your first language. It allows a person to point and obtain as needed.
Whilst on the train and using the free Wi-Fi, I changed my mapping solution. As South Korea has had fun with foreign tech companies, switching to a local mapping solution is a much better idea. Thus, I switched from Google Maps to Naver Maps. Apart from the much better local mapping, it integrates well with the local transport systems.
If you’re living on buses and trains, and not giving in to a taxi, it’s invaluable.
Arriving at Seoul Station, there’s an easy transfer to Line 1 and Line 4 – and I missed it, of course, as I wanted to get a T-Money Card and charge it.
Of course, I didn’t need to do this (and I didn’t later), as you can now get the T-Money App as a foreigner and top up using Apple Pay. Now, that’s a time-saver.
Heading over to Line 1, I passed through the gates and headed to a train for the short ride over to Jonggak station, then out again into the real world for the short walk over to the Shilla Stay Gwanghwamun,
The Shilla Stay Gwanghwamun
Arriving at the Shilla Stay, the first point of order was to navigate around the building, with reception on floor 8 and the rooms above.
A vending machine in the lobby. Whilst it sells WOWPass and a few other things, not at all sketchy.
So yes, it’s another multi-purpose building. Gotta love them. I found my way to reception on the 8th floor.
Where are we going…
Eight it is. It is possible to go from the ground floor to your room level, provided you have an active keycard.
Out of the lifts
Coworking space
Promotions
Reception
I’ve never stayed at a Shillia hotel of any sort before (c’mon, you’re talking to someone who deals with hunts, not a luxury traveller), so whilst the Stay is their “budget brand” (for lack of a better term).
Their eighth floor contains a general waiting area, restaurant and the usual things you’d expect from a hotel. In pricing, depending on the day, it’s competitive with the Ibis in Itaewon, if you’re a chain lover.
I checked in – and I’ll be honest, I was tired, so I was nodding mainly. With the paperwork completed, two keycards were offered and taken.
Bears
Waiting area
Restaurant.
My next stop would be the 17th floor. And with a little navigation, I found my room.
This is a new thing. Void spaces in the middle, with windows to look down.
Opening it up, it was a little basic: concrete floor – that’s fine.
Keycard-powered.
That needed to come down in a hurry.
What made me sigh? Twin beds. I’ll be honest, I should have paid more attention.
Between the beds, there was a power outlet and controls for the room.
That power socket has seen things.
Telephone and TV Remote. Wrapped for your pleasure.
But it was fine. I had no issues at this point.
TV
Long workspace. Perfect for a MacBook Neo and water bottles. There’s also power nearby too.
As to the view… There was a temple in front of me. That was interesting to wake up to one morning.
There was a beverage bay, with a fridge… and two bottles of water added per day.
Proper kettles are always welcome.
The coffee was interesting. It was in coffee bags, with a little hook to hold it against the side of the mug. Different, but good.
The bathroom was spacious and well appointed. There’s a toilet with all the buttons in the world (because we are in Asia, and toilets with buttons that can scare and scar you are a thing x
Waiting bathrobe.
Uh oh.
This scares me.
Shower
Smellies in bulk form.
The door could be pulled over too for those who feel odd enough and want to watch their partner/fellow traveller in the nude or on the can.
Please. No.
No,. Just no
Wi-Fi connectivity was fast – fast enough for me to connect home to upload data from the phone.
The beds were more than passable, and I managed to get recovery sleep on them, as well as work on them as needed. After all, this blog doesn’t publish itself.
Check-out on the final day was simple, as my keycards were collected and my room was fully charged to my credit card.
Overall
For a mid-range property, it’s fine enough. Some lovely rich Shilla touches (with the recycled wood table, amenities, and so on). The beds – even as singles were fine (and no, I didn’t fall out of the bed, so that’s a win that I’ll take), whilst the shower was pretty good after long flights.
I’m not sure about the divider wall between the room and the bathroom- least of all, watching a loved one in the shower may not be a thing you’re into. What’s that term… Your kink may not be my kink. I think they could have done the divider whilst frosting the glass for privacy.
Whilst a little expensive at £120 a night, location and value make this a reasonable stop. Put it like this – if it’s less than an Ibis, you’re doing well.
Next:
Let’s do some Seoul exploring, and head off to Gyeongbokgung Palace.
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