Korea – Day 11: Seoul to DC

On Saturday morning we got up, stuffed the last few things we had into our suitcases and prepared to bid a final farewell to Korea. We were there for nine-and-a-half days and it wasn’t enough. There were things on my list that we just didn’t get to. There were neighborhoods of Seoul I wanted to explore. There were places I wanted to go back to. And there were whole swaths of the country that we didn’t even touch.

We had big debate on how to make the hour long journey to the airport. We could take the metro to the train station and then a train to the airport, but the prospect of lugging around four bags up and down the many many staircases in the metro stations left something to be desired. In the end we decided to take a cab to the train station and then the high speed train to the airport.

As we were walking to hail a cab, a guy saw us walking through the streets with our bag, stopped, backed up, and turned down our street to meet us. After some back-and-forth, he offered to give us a ride all the way to the airport for 20,000 won. It seemed too good to be true, but we figured it was easier, so why not.

Thirty-five minutes later, we pulled up to Inchon Airport and handed over our 20,000 won. You guys, that’s $16.75! For a 30 mile ride with two people and four bags! Say what?? Korea is awesome!

Anyways, we got through the airport, checked our bags, and made our way through security (woo! for not having to take our shoes off!), with hours to spare.

I walked through the dozens of duty free shops before settling down to have one final snack before boarding the plane.

Our flight left at 10:30 AM local time. We settled in for the 14 or so hour plane ride back to the US. The airplane food continued to live up to its high standards. I’m all for the spicy sauce in squeeze tubes.

We landed in DC at 11:15 AM, a mere 45 minutes after we left Seoul. Longest 45 minutes ever. Andrew’s parents picked us up and took us home. We made it back to our house at 1:30 PM, with just enough time to have a quick nap, take a shower, and get dressed, because we were off to a wedding! (Seriously, the fun never ends.)

This trip was amazing. We got to see, eat, do things that I would never have imagined. It was so good to see Dr. Henry again and get to spend time with him. It was so fun to experience another culture. I’m so grateful that I got to share the experience with Andrew (also, who else is going to eat wiggling octopus with me?) and it’s given us the itch to travel some more. I had so many feelings while in Korea and in the days following our return home…but that’s for another post.