Day One (September 29th, 2013)
Our plane landed in morning at the Incheon International Airport, which is the largest airport in South Korea and also one of the top-rated airports in the world. Despite of an exasperating twelve hour long flight via Hong Kong, we were still as energetic as ever. The first thing that I could sense upon exiting the carrier was a lovely climate and genuinely well-mannered people. Customs and immigration checks cleared without a fuss and we took an internal shuttle train to proceed towards the main exit. Here, a sweet Korean guy was waiting for us with an unmistakably distinguished bright blue “New Thinking. New Possibilities” board tucked in between his both the hands.
Since Germans had the similar time of arrival as ours, wait of a few minutes made us meet our first group of travel companions with exchange of ‘Namaste’ and ‘Guten Tag’ all around at the airport itself. The squad now boarded on Hyundai Universe Express bus to move towards the capital, Seoul. Though it’ll be much of an understatement if I simply call it a bus. Universe offered a comfort unparalleled to Volvos that I have travelled in so far. I won't mind ditching a car for it. Seriously.
The travel time from Incheon to Seoul is approximately one hour. Yet, in the midway, ride was fun. Forget roads that are beautiful already, I was more awe-struck looking at the road sense. If the speed limit is 80 Kmph, it means 80 Kmph. You cannot (and drivers do not) infringe it in South Korea. Every person is responsible enough to follow lane-driving (according to their own speed), regardless whether the next lane is vacant or not. If at all someone has to switch a lane, indicators are timely flashed.
Koreans have a strong respect for their nation and brands. So it’s not surprising to see why the country’s transportation is effectively dominated by local manufacturers, with Hyundai sitting on the throne, followed by Kia (a sub-brand of Hyundai yet its competitor. More on this later). Then there is SsangYong, a brand which was lately acquired by Indian major, Mahindra and Mahindra, after getting bankrupt. It’s also not uncommon to find Daewoo (Remember?) and Renault-Nissan cars are disguised under Samsung tag.
Japanese cars are not preferred inspite of it being a neighboring country, mainly because of expensive prices and unsettled relationship between two nations. Most vehicles, nevertheless, are Hyundais. Starting from a small segment car like Atos (Santro for us) to luxury models like Equus and even the trucks, buses, cranes! Gosh. It is no less than imagining only Tata and Mahindra cars ruling the Indian roads.
Amid all these discussions and picturesque views, I realized that we reached to the place which was going to be our abode for the next couple of days in Seoul. Hotel Conrad. Located within International Financial Center in Yeouido-dong, it has full-sized shopping mall in the basement. The hotel is not even one year old but it unarguably sets a new standard in terms of amenities and hospitality. It turned out that we, Indians and the Germans, were first two groups to check in and report for a magnificent experience called ‘Global Hyundai Club Invitation’ which now was about to begin.
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