Seoul Layover - Just 23 Hours

We only got 23 hours in Seoul and you can subtract about 4 hours for the airport :( So as you can guess, we didn't get to do too much. But, whatever we did do, we really enjoyed it! For having around 11 million people in the city and almost 26 million in the metropolitan area, we were amazed at how everything was so clean, efficient, and nice. Especially the people. Everyone tried to help us out even if they only spoke broken English.

Here's what we did, followed by our favorite pictures.

• Dinner and drinks at a low key restaurant in Gangnam near our hotel (Renaissance Seoul)
• Breakfast at the Renaissance Club
• Walking around in Bukchon

Things to know if you visit

• The Incheon airport is in the middle of nowhere. Best way into Seoul is via bus. The KAL Limosine bus service is fantastic and costs 16,000 WON (about $15) per person and drops you off at your hotel. Takes about 90 minutes sadly.
• The subway is fantastic as well, just not great for getting to the airport because of the line changes with luggage. Each ride will cost you around $1.25 (its based on distance) and all the stops are listed in both Korean and English.
•  Traffic in Seoul sucks, don't rent a car.
• Bukchon is a cool little area in Seoul where the housing style has been kept the same for centuries to maintain Korean heritage. Definitely worth a visit for a chill morning.
• If you have premier/elite status at any hotel chain, stay there. The perks of hotel status in Asia are amazing. The free breakfast isn't coffee and bagels. It's the equivalent of a buffet at the Ritz in the US. And did I mention that its free?

Fun facts

• T-Mobile gets better 4G coverage in Seoul than in Atlanta. $50/month for unlimited data and texts across the world, pretty good deal.
• Every male working in Gangnam is drunk on a Tuesday evening around 9:00pm.
• Every male working in Gangnam wears a black suit, white shirt, and black tie. You get a couple of weirdos trying to be cool in blue, but the system weeds them out quickly.
• Men are quite fashionable. Mohit wouldn't be able to pull off the man-purses that most carry around.
• Gaming is definitely big in Seoul. Even on the subway, people are playing some RTS game on their phones without looking up for minutes at a time.
• The subway plays happy tunes whenever reaching a stop, kind of like a court gesture announcing the arrival of a knight. Hmm, not sure if that makes any sense.
• The air hostess criteria is quite strict. Must be between 5'4" and 5'6", weigh no more than 12 pounds, have hair long enough to tie into a killer bun, and wear a ton of makeup. Rahul - you'd be a very happy man in Korea.
• Soju must be served to you by a friend. You can't pour your own glass, that's just being greedy.
• Store owners will not understand you if you ask them "Do you have vitamin-c tablets?"

Seoul pictures

View of Gangnam from Renaissance lounge!

If only we could show you the drunken office people acting silly on this street

$10 for Twix and Snickers! You're worth it. 

Subway Face and Subway Backs 

Get anywhere from point A to Z-134

Bukchon style! Some tourist information people ambushed us to give a helpful map.

Yippieeee a slide. 

Treat your plants right people

No photos signs, #rebel

The main hill in the Bukchon area. It's like an exclusive neighborhood masked by the title historic area.

Seoul required lipstick

New selfie stick swag. $10 for china made and $20 for Korea made. Guess what I chose?

Top left: Bibimbap on the flight, it was good! Yummy dumplings and a "breakfast" buffet