Incheon Supporters Trip #1

So I joined this program called the Incheon MeIn (미인) Supporters, which literally translates to the Incheon Beautiful Supporters. So we had the opening ceremony on Friday, and thereafter the first trip of the program. We went to a few places that Incheon is well known for such as the Ara Tower, Songdo Central Park and Oakwood Premiere Hotel. 

Kicked off the day with the opening ceremony where I had to go all the way down to Incheon by 9:30am. Funny how last year when I was situated in Incheon I had to keep heading to Seoul for trips and now that I'm living in Seoul, it's the other way around... But I guess that's how life just wants to make things difficult right? Anyhow, the usual opening ceremony, with the speeches and receiving of certificates and meeting the important people. Funnily enough, this time around the supporters program has Koreans as well. (Great opportunity to improve Korean I guess?)

We headed to a restaurant called Masizzim in Incheon, near our first local attraction. This is a chain restaurant and it serves really delicious Rib Stew. Remind me to bring my mum to eat this since she really likes pork ribs. If ever you're in Incheon, or even Seoul, and would like to try some of this delicious Korean dish, check out this website: http://goo.gl/hPd9Hk. Not to mention the place also had free flow of eggs, so we could fry as many eggs as we wanted. There were many side dishes and the pork ribs were omg soft...

After a really filling lunch, we headed to the first area: Kyeongin Ara Waterway (경인아라뱃길), the first canal in Korea connecting Seoul and the Yellow Sea. Apart from being just a waterway, this place is looking to be an area of recreation for the people of Korea as well. Equipped with bicycle courses, leisure cruises, eco-friendly tours, historical tours and more, it's a place for the whole family to learn more about Korea, and also to observe the magnificence of the waterway. 

This is the address in case you need to search it: 

인천광역시 서구 정서진1로 41 아라뱃길 통합운영센터

You can actually take a bus from Seoul Station, bus 77-1 for 1hr12mins, for 1850won

After a quick tour of the observatory, where there were many things to learn about why they built this place, and even a 3D experience, a video and a ship-driving experience platform where it actually moves when the weather changes and the ship is rocked hard. On top of that, there were photobooths where we could take photos with a green screen (showing various places of Incheon)

We headed down to the Kayak-experience grounds after the tour. In the beginning, everyone was really excited about kayaking and it almost got cancelled due to the rain but we managed to pull through it when the weather turned a little better. It was really fun to kayak and it was 2 per boat and we had to split by our teams. Other than the water being incredibly smelly, it was pretty fun. Got out of the water and headed to the washroom straightaway to wash off the smell right after. 

Hopped back on the bus after that and left for the next destination. Due to the heavy rain, we cancelled the other destination since it would be disastrous to walk around in the rain and headed to one of the tallest buildings in Songdo, Oakwood Premier Hotel. This place boasts the tallest rooftop bar in the whole of South Korea. It was really grand and nice and had a great atmosphere. On top of that, the drinks aren't too expensive at all. It's a great spot for a date or even for relaxation. 

We visited a few rooms ranging from the 3-bedroom suites, to 4-bedroom suites and thereafter the penthouse. These rooms ranged from 500,000won per night to 900,000won per night... the latter being my allowance per month and almost twice my rent every month. Imagine spending that in one night. Though if I must say, the rooms were spectacular, having a laundromat, kitchen and amazing bathrooms with a beautiful view of Songdo. 

Hey, if you have the money, why not yeah?

http://www.oakwoodasia.com/korea/oakwood-incheon.php?src=af

Here's the tour of the penthouse:

Everyone was pretty puckered out and tired of the rain, so we gathered all our stuff and then headed back to the bus that would bring us just a little bit further to the restaurants located at Central Park. There, we were supposed to be seeing the magnificent night view of the park through the windows while having our dinner, but alas, the rain and fog made it so difficult to see anything that we just had our dinner while playing games and getting to know each other. 

The camera eats first.

After a sumptuous dinner, we got our stuff and got ready to brace the rain to make it home. I headed to the nearest bus stop where I took a bus back to Sinchon. I'm pretty blessed to have been in Incheon for a year, or else I would be scrambling to find my way home. That's that for our first trip! Hopefully the next one wouldn't be battered by the rain. Toodles.