Day 1 (2?) Part and Leg Two: We got to the lounge around 10 minutes after getting off the plane at around 4:30 AM. When showing our boarding passes to the lounge agent, I asked about getting some luggage tags as a souvenir (while it seems to be a little known fact, the KE F lounge engraves luggage tags). The tags took about ten minutes to make and can be picked up when leaving the lounge. After getting a few drinks, taking a shower and catching up on some work, we went out to find the transit tour desk. There was a kiosk that was supposed to open at 6, but no one was there so we walked around and came back around 6:30. Since this was not the main desk, the agent walked us back through security and directed us to the desk. Our plan was to take the 7:00 temple tour and then a 3.5-hour city tour, which would get us back a half hour before boarding opened. The agent didn’t think that would give us enough time, so we decided on the 5 hour Seoul City Tour. This tour would get us back around 1:00 and give us time to go to the lounge and then over to the gate.
The first tour was about a 15-minute drive to the Yonggungsa temple, which consisted of a few buildings, a giant Buddha and a really old tree. We spent a little time walking around and then headed back to the bus for the drive back to the airport and our next tour. The next tour was and hour drive into Seoul, some time at Gyeongbok palace,
another Jogyesa temple and then there was a lunch (had to pay $7 for it) and some street shopping at Insadong street. The palace was really cool, especially since it is right in middle of the city. The next stop was the temple, also in middle of the city surrounded by lotus flowers. It was interesting to walk around for a little, but this was a short stop. The final stop was the lunch (which we skipped) and walking around some of the streets. There were lots of antique shops and other touristy stores, but for some reason, it was not overly touristy which made it quite pleasant. Once back on the bus, we had an hour until we got back to the airport.
Palace Front Entrance (from the inside):
Palace View:
Another Area:
Same Area, Different View:
For anyone interested,
here is a link to the tours and information. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has some time during a layover.
Once back at the airport, we were able to get a fast-pass for security and had a private screening and immigration experience. After that, we went back over to the lounge, had some more drinks and got our stuff together for the flight. This next flight was a six-hour hop from ICN to SIN, which gave us another couple amenity kits and pajamas. The flight was uneventful, my kid slept, we ate and slept, then landed. Upon landing, I asked about an arrival lounge, but was told there was none available. Though for some reason, the head of KE for the SIN airport was there (to meet us?) and he walked us over to the lounge they use for departures and got us in there. This was not expected, but a very nice gesture. We had planned (last minute) to get a hotel room for the night, but nothing was available anywhere, unless we wanted to spend hundreds of dollars.
We decided to go get our luggage and see if we could check-in with Garuda and get rid of our bags (we were unable to do that). Now with no place to check our luggage, we settled on The Haven transit lounge (Priority Pass) and am currently here, We were able to shower, get some drinks and rest on the couches. It will be quite a few more hours until we can check-in and I know it will get rough, but we are almost at our first real destination, and the Conrad Bali!