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City Shanghai/ Hong Kong/ Seoul/ Daegu
Language Bit of Everything
Currency Korean Won 850W = NZ$1.00
Climate 35’C. Fine and sunny

We awoke to a sunny day with only a few clouds, a great day for travelling. It was definitely worth staying at the airport hotel (Airport Motel 168) as it saved us a very early start from the city. We were actually able to have quite a relaxed start to the day, only having to check in 40 minutes before our flight. Luggage weight was good with Shaun on 24.5kgs and Jennie on 23.5kgs.
On board our Cathy Pacific 777 300 series and Shaun swore he recognised the first officers voice on the PA system. He asked if Paul was on the flight deck and the cabin crew said “Yes, but he is too busy to pop out. He can see you at the end of the flight”. Shaun was thinking that this was an awesome coincidence considering all the Cathay flights we or he could have been on! We waited by the flight deck to say gidday at the end of the flight and the purser came over. She said the first officer’s name was Paul but it was Paul from South Africa, NOT New Zealand. A miracle was not to happen this day!
We had left half an hour late from Shanghai, meaning that we only had to wait for about an hour at Hong Kong before boarding our 747 for Seoul. VERY flash aircraft with the most comfortable seats we have both tried in cattle class. Also had stacks of leg room! Nice comfortable flight and landed in Seoul at 7.45pm.
The plan of attack in Seoul was to catch the 300km/hr fast train (KTX) from the city to Daegu. But to do this you need to catch a limousine bus to the train station. All went quite smoothly once we asked at the info desk- there is a KTX desk at the airport that books the tickets for you- you just jump on the bus and that drops you at the train station. The bus to the KTX station cost 11,600W each - roughly NZ$13. We also purchased the KTX tickets at the same time - quite expensive at 41,100W each - or just under $50 kiwi.
Prior to boarding we looked around the impressive station - everything is so modern here. We also grabbed a ham and cheese roll form the French patisserie for our journey. Once on board we settled into the 2 hour ride. Just long enough to catch up on some diary notes. Yes, it was fast - hitting 303km/h at times. You couldn’t really tell it was that fast although it was certainly faster than the Capital Connection that links Wellington and Palmerston North! On arrival into Daegu we were able to pick up a cab at the front of the station. A few gestures and pointing at the entry in my blackberry calendar we finally made ourselves understood as to our hotel location. Note to self - always remember to print of the address in their language! We have done this for the hotels in China but forgot to do it for Korea. We were taken to the Novotel Daegu City Centre for a mere 6000W - about $7 for a 15 minute cab ride- not bad! Hotel is gorgeous. www.novoteldaegu.co.kr 11-1 Munhwa-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu 700-733. We entered our room, unpacked and finally called it a day (a great day) at about 1.30am.

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