Asiana Airlines was actually, dare I say it, delightful to travel on. The airplanes used for my flights were as follows:
SFO --> ICN Boeing 777
ICN --> PVG Boeing 747
PVG --> ICN Airbus A333
ICN --> SFO Boeing 777
I can happily report that all flights had ample legroom, much roomier than I've been experiencing on almost all my flights on United (seriously, I didn't know if I was just getting fatter and my legs longer each time I flew United). I'm 5'6 and even with the seat in front of me completely reclined I had plenty of room for my knees, what a relief, no need to feel closed while the person in front tries to get comfortable. The best surprise I found was that the Boeing 777 flights both had leg rests, power plugs, and usb ports at each economy seat along with a personal entertainment system. The Airbus A333 did not have any of the three and I'm not sure if the Boeing 747 does in economy because we were happily upgraded to business class during that leg of our flight.
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| Adjustable Foot Rest Travel Class Asiana Airlines, Why Don't All Airplanes Have These |
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| Asiana Airlines SFO --> ICN Western Meal |
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| Asiana Airlines SFO --> ICN Western Meal Close Up Of Steak |
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| Endless Leg Room Asiana Airlines Business Class Angle Flat Seats |
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| Asiana Airlines ICN --> PVG Meal, No Alternate Options, Just The One |
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| Close Up Of Entree, Chicken On One Side, Rice, Beef With Broccoli On The Other Side |
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| ICN --> SFO Korean Meal Option, Not Sure What It's Called |
I'd fly Asiana Airlines again for sure, but my beloved Singapore Airlines still comes out ahead in my heart.
As for our brief stay in Seoul, I can't say I was that impressed. Don't get me wrong, it's a friendly city, great transportation links and options, plenty of food, and endless shopping. If it's your first time going to an Asian city coming from a Western background, you'll love it and have an easy transition into being in Asia, but that's part of the problem. It felt like a sterile version of Asia. I'm still glad I made the effort to have a layover in Seoul, but I don't think I'll make it a priority to visit again. If I have another layover there I would enjoy it, but that's probably the only situation that would find me in Seoul again.
The culture, both historic and modern, reminded me of a mix of Japan and China with the endless cleanliness of Singapore thrown in. There were a lot of Chinese tourist when we went, mostly in tour groups, and the largest concentration of Indonesian tourist I've seen in any country. I think these past few years Korea has been doing everything it can to appeal to Asian tourist, which they've achieved to high levels of success.
Every sign we saw was a mix of Korean, English, Chinese, and Japanese. Announcements on public transportation also used those same four languages in that order. The most interesting thing I noticed was that the older generation most likely could speak Mandarin, but not English, while the younger generation could speak English, but not Mandarin. My parents told me that during their generation Korea had been more strongly aligned with China and saw learning Chinese as economic priority so all the schools taught Mandarin. Now they are focused on English instead, which is why Korea has been so popular for many English teachers.
Before I completely give the impression that I didn't enjoy Seoul (not true, I did enjoy it!), I'll post a few photos. I didn't take a lot since I was getting used to using my husband's Panasonic LX5 instead of my usual Olympus Pen.
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| Myeongdong Gyoja, If You Prefer The Filling In Chinese Dumplings, Skip The Gyoja, If you Prefer Japanese Style Gyoza, Then You Might Enjoy This. Their Zhajiangmian Is Good And So Is Their Knife Shaved Noodles |
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| Bukchon |
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| Gyeongbokgung |
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| Gyeongbokgung |
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| Not Sure What Islands These Are, This Was Taken From The Airplane |
There were a few things I tried that were on the "must try" list I had, but most were a disappointment. Two things that I wasn't disappointed in were the various types of dried seaweed, especially those made with olive oil, and the banana milk. At first the banana milk was a bit too sweet, but the flavor was good and so I overlooked the sweetness.
Something that disappointed me was the Market O Real Brownie. I realized the people who rave about them come from countries where brownies aren't part of their culture, so taken in that perspective the brownies weren't so bad, but if you are American and looking for something to blow your mind, skip it. Instead I recommend the mochi filled cookies for something that's not normally found in America and has such a lovely taste and texture. That's something I would crave and buy up in a second if I find it in the Korean markets in California.
One snack I was really looking forward to was the Spicy Rice Cake crackers since I am addicted to Korean Spicy Rice Cakes, I have a bit of a sweet tooth, but these crackers were like eating pure sugar with barely a spicy kick. I honestly felt like my teeth were rotting as I ate these.
The biggest disappointment I had was the skin care hype. Alright, it's not fair to judge a whole industry based on a few products I tried, but I remember reading about how Koreans have some of the best skin, that's not what I saw. Alright, that's not fair either, I couldn't really make a judgement on skin quality because so many women in Seoul had so much makeup caked on that their skin looked unnatural. Once seeing this for myself it made me start to second guess everything written about Korean skin care. How quickly I forgot how many things written on the internet are paid sponsored articles. Take my opinion with a grain of salt. I hardly wear makeup, usually just eye shadow and eye liner. If I feel like dressing up I'll throw on some mascara, blush, and maybe a tinted lip balm. My skincare routine is really just cleanser and moisturizer with sunblock during the day, cleanser, a stronger moisturizer, and eye cream at night. My skin was happier for sure before my two month experiment with the Korean multiple step skin care regime and after seeing what I saw on the streets of Seoul, I am definitely going back to my old routine.
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