And so we arrived..

Day one: How exciting! Finally arrived in Incheon International Airport after twenty something hours of flying time, the weather was very nice; 35 degrees. Johnny, Carlos and I managed to squish ourselves into the busy metropolitan city of Incheon and settled down at the Best Western Premier Incheon Hotel just by the airport. We had pre-booked before we left Calgary to reduce stress and frustration. We’re at the hotel for two days because we figure it would be easier for us to stay in one place and get familiar with our surrounding rather than switching hotels/hostels for a better deal.

Before our journey began, I looked up on the internet (http://english.incheon.go.kr/) just to get a little familiar with Incheon. I found some very interesting facts. In Korea, every city has a type of tree, flower and bird. In Incheon the tree appears to be tulip tree representing the Treaty that was signed with US because Tulip is origin from North America. Tulip trees are often seen on the streets and parks in the city. The city’s flower is rose representing the passion and active of the people of Incheon. The city bird of Inchon is the Crane. Many towns in Incheon are named after crane such as Songhak-dong, Cheonghak-dong, Seonhak-dong and Kakik-dong. The towns are all home to cranes. Incheon is located in the mid-west Korea peninsula next to the Yellow Sea. It is 28km from Seoul. The climate in Incheon area is relatively dry. The average aunnal temperature is around 11.4 degrees. Winter is around 3 degrees and summer is around 25 degrees.

In Incheon we decided to do a lot of sightseeing just to get the culture experience started. We began our city tour at the only china town in Korea named the Bukseong-dong China Town. It is a little China in Korea, there was Chinese restaurants lining on both sides of the street, traditional Chinese gates (Paeru), Chinese temple/kung-fu hall, school for Chinese children and other traditional Chinese buildings, along with the Korea-China cultural centre. It took us nearly two hours to walk through China Town, I guess we were walking at a slower paste because our feet couldn’t handle it! We took a cab to 2850-1 Woonseo-Dong Jungo-Gu and ate our lunch at the famous "8"restaurant in Hyatt Regency. "8" In Hyatt Regency is one of the most popular restaurants in Inchon. With eight different restaruants serving a variety of oriental and international delicies. The eight distinct departments included Cafe, Cucina, Deli, Desserts, Grill, noodles, Sushi, and Yakitori! Even though it wasn't traditional enough, we still had a wonderful time and definitly filled with food!

After we took a short break, Johnny, Carlo and I took a taxi and went to the Wolmido Island. Wolmido Island is the most famous tourist spots near the metropolitan area. It consists of 1km and as you walk along the street, you will find sea, sunset, cruise, sushi restaurants, scenic café, youth and romance! There are also street performers, portrait painters and the sunset over the ocean from the benches as you sit! It was a great way to end the day! Our trip has been wonderful so far, and it is just the beginning! I am very excited for more in the country of wonder!