My Trip to Korea: An Answered Prayer... (Part 1)

Day 1: October 28, 2008
Talk about photo-finish, I finally got my visa from the Korean Embassy, the afternoon of October 27, barely 10 hours before my flight to Seoul. I was in the airport by 11 that evening, and by 1 AM of the following day, aboard Philippine Airlines, I was on my way to Seoul.
We landed at the Incheon International Airport at 5 AM. I barely slept the entire flight and I still had cough and colds, but still I was as excited as a kid on Christmas Day, thinking, "I AM ACTUALLY IN KOREA!!!" (And boy, was it cold!)
I met my first friends in Korea at the immigration line, 1 Filipino lady and 2 gentlemen (one of whom is actually the mayor of La Union). We took the airport bus together to Seoul Station. I took a cab from there going to the hotel I booked online, the PJ Hotel.

I scourged around the area for breakfast and ended up at Dunkin Donuts. After that, I spent the rest of the morning exploring the nearby streets of my hotel in Jung-gu. I chanced upon a street that could have been the ultimate paradise for my biker brother, where Harley Davidsons, BMWs and Ducatis were just lined up along the street, displayed the way they would sell fishes in wet markets in the Philippines.
I went back to the hotel by lunch time, spent an hour in the hotel's business center, emailing family and friends that I'm safely in Seoul. The rest of the afternoon, I forced myself to rest and get some needed sleep.
That evening, I took off on my own, a map in tow, and headed for downtown Seoul by subway. (Korea's subway lines are really not as complicated as it looks on the map.) I had planned beforehand to take the Seoul City Tour Bus.

http://www.seoulcitybus.com/eng/subB_B02.htm

For KRW10,000, the Seoul City Night Tour Bus takes you to an hour-long guided tour (though only by recorded voice on individual headphones - your choice of language) of the city, along the Hangang River and the numerous bridges that run accross it. I have to say, Han River is so dramatic at night. Too bad we're on a moving bus and I couldn't take good pictures of the tour.

Day 2: October 29, 2008
The following morning, a new Korean friend, Kang donsaeng (younger brother), picked me up from the hotel to take me around Seoul. I met his boss, Han oppa (older brother), a few months back in the Philippines and took him and his son around Manila. (Han oppa is a business supplier of our company and has become a good friend of our Buyer, Tita Nonie. Oh, he also is our "supplier" of Rain items from Korea.)
We went accross the Han River to Yeouido Area were the National Assembly Building, as well as the three major Korean broadcasting stations: MBC, KBS, and SBS, are located. But our main destination was the 63 Building, another must-see for me because the building is central in the 4th (of only 4, actually) Korean drama series I've seen, "My Girl".
With 3 underground and 60 aboveground floors, this building houses several offices, a shopping mall, a food court, a fitness center, an IMAX theater, and the Aquarium 63 Sea World which displays 20,000 marine creatures of 400 different species.
The building also boasts a spectacular 360 degrees view of Seoul from its rooftop observatory. Oh, and not to mention an art exhibit center... That time, of cute Hello Kitty...
After that, we went for an hour-long ferry cruise of the Hangang River... It was so cold! The temperature that afternoon by the river must have dropped below 10 degrees...
Kang donsaeng returned me to my hotel around 3PM for rest. That evening, both him and Han oppa picked me up again and treated me to dinner at Bennigan's in Myeong-dong. I had a really wonderful time with these guys. I am grateful that both can speak English well because I enjoyed talking with them. They're nice, intelligent, and easy to get along with. Ah, too bad they're both married... Hahaha...

Before we parted, they gave me presents, a pair of Hello Kity stuffed dolls in Korean hanbok... How cute is that?

Korea: One More Check on My Bucket List...

My Trip to Korea: October 28 to November 3, 2008

I was reading back the other day on my January 1, 2008 post on my Prayer Journal. On the first day of 2008, I wrote down my prayer list for the year. It was a short one but number one the list: To visit Korea this year. Ten months after, I had my wish fulfilled. It's as if God didn't want the year to end without another major answered prayer for me.
In mid September, the core group of Cloud Philippines (Rain's local fans club) were a-buzz over planning a trip to Korea for the launching of Rain's 5th Album. There will be a showcase concert and we wanted to attend. But the planning was so rushed and the schedule so tight (I even had to be in Cagayan De Oro for the Inauguration of our new plant the day of the concert in Seoul), that I finally (and heartbreakingly) decided not to go with the group.
Nonetheless, I was browsing through the Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) site for travel plans... just in case. That time, I chanced upon a survey: "Vote for your Favorite Filming Location." And so I did... Of course I voted for Rain's "Full House," not thinking much about it, but just wanting to give the series an added vote.
I didn't realize that it was an online contest until after I received an email three weeks after... I've never won anything major in lucky draws, not even the major prizes in our company's annual Christmas raffle. And now I've won a 3 Days 2 Nights Tour of Korea! Of Korea? Of Korea! Of all places... I could just imagine the huge grin on the Lord's face as I was half smiling and crying as I read the email that afternoon. Korea... A tour of even the US would not have made an impact for me. I suppose God wanted to make an impact... So, it has to be Korea! My God sure knows how to spoil me...
Over the next few days, I frantically made arrangements for my visa, my air ticket (not included in the tour I won), my itinerary, accommodations and pocket money for my extended days (outside of the 3d2n KTO Tour) when I'll be on my own.
I applied for visa the following week (with an invite letter from KTO, no less) but time was so short to prepare that I was worried I won't be able to get the approval before the time when I was supposed to leave. But God took care of everything. I knew he was blessing this trip. So, with a leap of faith, even without a visa on hand, I booked and purchased my tickets and booked and paid for my hotels online. I had a very good and positive feel about the trip that I knew everything will be alright. I received all the help I could get from family and friends. Everyone seemed so happy for me that they want me to have a good trip as well...
And so, on October 28, 2008, I flew to Korea... It was only the start of a perfect week that has to be one of the best, the happiest, and most blessings-filled time of my life.
I told my friend, Roxe, this... The whole time I was in Korea, I so felt so happy and positive 99% of the time. (The 1% downtime was when, due to the very cold weather, I had a huge headache on the 2nd morning of the tour. But it was gone before lunch time so it was a short-lived downtime.) I told her, I didn't even had to pause and pray. It seemed to me that my whole time there was one continuous prayer when the Lord would keep on talking to me through everything and everyone and all I could really do was utter "Thank you, Lord" over and over again...
I've shared my Korea Experience to so many people already, to anyone who would care to listen. It was my way of giving glory and credit to Him. And I thanked Him already so much but I knew I had to write everything down so I won't forget...

So, THANK YOU, LORD...

• For Putting me on a PAL flight this time other than my usual Cebu Pacific flight when I go outside the country. I appreciate the full meal rather than just the C2 drink offered by Cebu Pacific. Hehe...
• For Dunkin Donuts and Kentucky in Korea. Much as I love the country, I don't think I can survive on spicy Korean food.
• For free internet access in all the hotels I stayed in. I got to keep in touch with my family and friends back home almost everyday. It kept my family from worrying about me and I got to share fresh accounts of my trip with them. Oh, and yes, I still got my daily Rain updates. I didn't miss my home PC once.
• For Autumn in Korea and the very good weather when I was there. It was my first time to experience Autumn and it was breathtaking. I loved the play of colors on the leaves of the trees. Who wouldn't be in awe of red trees?
• For the Korean Tourism Organization, the sponsor of this event... Especially the very nice KTO people who were so accommodating and helpful even during the time I was working on my visa.
• For the chance to go around Korea for free... with
• For my family and friends who were very supportive of me to go on ahead with this trip. For Umehara-san, Ta Nons and Dex who even endorsed me to their contacts in Korea.
• For my new friends from the tour, especially Flo who had been very kind to me. She was my personal "babysitter" during the tour. A very nice person...
• For Han oppa and Kang donsaeng who toured me around and treated me on my 2nd day.
• For my new friends from Okahata Korea, especially Ms. Park, Mr. Kim, and Mr. Lim, who brought me to Everland and even brought me all the way to Incheon after.
• For my best moment in Korea... Seeing a violet sunset - one of the most beautiful sunset I've seen in my life - on our drive to Incheon after a long, happy day at Everland. It's as if the Lord was telling me, "You had a great day, huh? Well, I'm not done yet..." It's a good thing my friends were oblivious of the fact that I was crying in joy at the back of the car.
• For actually another check on my Bucket List (on top of Korea itself) - getting to visit "Full House"...
• For total strangers you blessed me with... from a free meal to a free ride...
• For such a wonderful treat at such a low cost for me... because more than half of my expenses for this trip were free...
• For keeping me safe and secured, for keeping me comfortable, and for the peace and happiness I felt the whole time I was in Korea...