Thanks for visiting my blog and as always please feel free to comment. I've also tweaked the layout to give my blog a new look - hope you like it. This time, I'd like to share our experience in Jeju Island, off the southern coast of South Korea. Jeju is also known as "Hawaii of the East" due to its volcanic origin (I am also aware that Hainan island is also known by the same nickname, but that would be another discussion point!) and it is about three times the size of Singapore.
Important
If you need to be reachable via your mobile phone, ensure that you have a 3G phone (an IPhone works) or one that is operable with a mobile CDMA network. Most carriers support GSM networks but not Korea. You may also rent mobile phones at the airport. Our trip to Jeju began with SQ 602 from Singapore Changi to Seoul (Incheon) followed by a connecting flight from Seoul (Gimpo) to Jeju via T'way Air. Although SQ602 was slightly delayed for departure due to heavy air traffic at Changi Airport, we managed to arrive on schedule at Incheon. The pilot must have stepped on the gas or we had a good tailwind.
Incheon to Gimpo Incheon airport was just brilliant - it's so easy to move around with its clear signage and it didn't take too long for us to get to the Airport Express (AREX) platform to board the Airport train to Gimpo. There are two services, the regular (which stops at every station) and the express non-stop service to Gimpo (which is more pricey of course). We took the regular service because we were not in a hurry.
Tickets cost 3900 Won one way (about SGD 4.45) per person, with a 500 Won refundable deposit. You may purchase the tickets from the self service kiosks but we prefer to talk to a human person at the counter.
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If I remembered correctly, trains depart every 15 minutes or so but it
didn't feel that we had to wait that long. It's not difficult finding the platform because the signs were very clear. The journey to Gimpo took about 35 minutes. The interior of the train was well lit and very comfortable. There was even Wifi on the train (unfortunately it was not free). Don't be fooled by the picture of an empty train carriage - it started to get crowded at Gyeyang. There were announcements at each stop in four languages (English, Korean, Japanese and Mandarin) so there is no excuse if you miss your stop. There's also a visual aid showing the progress of your journey, located above the train doors. |
| Airport Train (interior) | |
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Gimpo Airport is no Incheon, but a very functional airport
nonetheless. We arrived at level B3 and took the elevator to level B1 in
order to exit the turnstiles and collect our 500 Won deposit. The
refund process was self-explanatory i.e. insert card into card slot and
wait for change - like a vending machine. After getting our deposits, we
proceeded to Level 1 and walked along a 250 metre passageway to get to
the terminal building. It looked like a very long walk, especially when you have to drag your luggage. Thankfully there are horizontal escalators, so the walk didn't feel that long. It took us about 10 minutes (we're getting old!). Airline check in counters are located at level 2 and the departure lounge is located at level 3. If you do not have any baggage to check-in, you may proceed to the express counter. The regular T'way Air counter are located at the far left. |
| Passageway to Gimpo Terminal |
More pictures
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Sites we visited on our first day: Ilchul Land | Seongsan Ilchulbong | Dragon Rock
