Travel Hacks

Day 5: Farewell Jeonju! ♥

[TRIP from May 6-7, 2011Choy and I actually had an odd trip schedule. We were scheduled to leave Incheon by 08:00 (MNL time) of May 7. But we had to leave Jeonju by bus by 19:30 of May 6. Ok, so why so early? Well, the last trip from Jeonju going to Incheon airport is at 19:30. The next ride is around 02:00 or 03:00 the next day. Should we have taken the earliest trip, we would have probably missed our flight. And as I've mentioned in my first entry of Jeonju, the bus trip from Incheon to Jeonju took us about 4-5 hours, without traffic. 

When departing an international destination, it's always advisable to be at the airport for check-in 2-3 hours before the actual flight. So instead of risking to miss our flight, Choy and I sacrificed by leaving Jeonju early. We already told ourselves that we were in for a very long and tiring stay at the airport. Just imagine sleeping on those cold and metal chairs! But of course, that were better than nothing.

Anyhow, before our anticipated trip back to Incheon, we used the rest of the morning to do a little more souvenir shopping. I also dropped by Jeonju's one and only Starbucks store to buy mugs for me and my friends. We also ate at the Lotteria (can be comparable to McDonald's or Jollibee of the Philippines) before heading back to CORE Hotel. It was also Third World Happy's last screening, but we already skipped that so we could spend more time together. But before heading back to the hotel, we stopped by the SAVE ZONE Mall, which was literally situated beside the CORE hotel, to check-out suit coats that Kuya can wear to the awards later that night. Of course, we were bummed about missing the awards since we had to leave early.


The rest of our time were spent in the hotel. We also got some Lotteria for take-out so that we wouldn't have to leave the room anymore. We had to do some last minute packing and weighing before the bus call. Since these korean bus companies were really strict about on-time departures and pick-ups, they won't care if you actually get left behind. They won't certainly wait for no one, which is good. At least a sense of discipline is stated.

  

Kuya had to leave for the awards, so he bade us goodbye before our call-time. Come 18:30, we checked into our bus and sat on our designated seats.


Now the funny thing happened to us after a tiring 5 hour trip back to Incheon. Since everybody was getting off at this certain airport, I immediately thought that it was the ICN airport already. So we went off the bus as well. After each of our CR breaks, I asked the customer care rep if we were in the right airport. Unfortunately, we went off at the wrong one, as we alighted at the Gimpo airport. But we were thankful enough for the train that was still operating at the time, which was I think the last trip bound for Incheon airport. This was an extra expense for us though (due to an honest mistake), but I was grateful enough that my brother still had some Won with him. And as soon as we boarded the train, I started counting the travel time. The trip was long, and it took us almost an hour to get to ICN airport.

We were able to reach ICN at around 00:30. And it took us another 30-minute walk before reaching our final destination. There was also an open McDonald's, so Choy and I got some late dinner with what was left with his Won. After dinner, we got up with our baggage cart, and picked a spot in the airport for us to sleep at. Since there weren't much passengers in the area yet, we had our pick of spots. Now, in our 7 hours of waiting in the airport, I probably had at least an hour of snooze time. It was that uncomfortable.


By 05:30, the counter for Cebu Pacific opened. I was already preparing what was left of my brother's Won just incase our luggages were going to be overweight. Good enough, the ground crew let it pass, or should I say, ours 'went unnoticed'. We then got our plane tickets, and off we went to the immigration area. 


After a long waiting time, we finally boarded the plane a little after 07:30 (Korea time). All in all, Choy and I had a blast sharing the Jeonju experience with Kuya. We were grateful enough to have been invited to such a prestigious event, and we could never thank enough the JIFF organization for creating such a remarkable event.

Now, as I always end my entries with a usual Trip Expense Sheet, this one trip will be an exception since our accommodation and all the bus expenses were all paid for by JIFF. Choy and I only had to spend about P15,000 each for our plane tickets. Based on this specific travel, it was cheaper for us to book directly in Cebu Pacific than from a travel agency. As for our food and some of the pasalubong we shopped for, I was only able to spend more or less $200 USD. 

Anyhow, until the next trip biyahero's and biyahera's!

Explore & Be Free!
Mai

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