The title explains it all...packing up your bicycle for the trip home generally sucks. It took us a few hours to break down and get everything organized for the trip back to Seoul. We will be taking the KTX back to Seoul...I settled with the 2nd best option which still has reserved seating but no complimentary snacks and drinks I think. Sally and Tori went for the 1st class but weren't overly impressed and agreed that next time they would just go with the 2nd option like I did. However, their train towards the front (I think Train 2) had a big wide open space for handicap people without seats where they could leave their bike bags. I had no such space so I had to tilt my bike bag up and strap it up to the right side of the train to be as out of the way as possible without pissing people off (almost all the stops are on the left side). The conductors that walked through didn't seem to care, and they did not check my tickets either.
During the train ride, I looked out the window hoping to catch a glimpse of familiar places we had passed by but the train goes much further west. Upon arriving to Seoul, the worst part of the trip was upon us which was lugging the bike bags to our respective places of stay until the end of our trip. We went different ways as I wanted to take the All Stop Train to Incheon Island and stay near Unseo Station near the airport. It was far from Seoul, but I figured when it came time to head to the airport it was much closer and convenient. Tori and Sally decided to stay near Seoul Station. I messed up and carried my bike bag needlessly to the wrong line and was pretty annoyed at carrying it all the way back towards where I had started. Upon arriving at Unseo Station I had had enough and decided to just take my bike out of the bike bag and lock it up at the station front to avoid carrying it anymore. The guesthouse I stayed at wasn't very far, but I just did not want to carry it anymore...I was over it.
I checked into the guesthouse which was undergoing some renovation...I got stuck in the staircase as some guy was grinding welds, he didn't hear me behind him I guess and I didn't want to step over him rudely so I waited and was deafened in the process. K's Guesthouse is definitely worth staying at for the price and it is right next to the station...very convenient. After showering up, I headed back into Seoul as I told Sally and Tori I would meet them near the old fortress walls for an evening stroll. Unfortunately, I missed them and without internet access we had no way to communicate so I just went to McDonalds nearby to try out their bulgogi burger. After stuffing myself, I walked around the area and went up to the high point of the fortress wall that had a nice view of the city.
There were many couples there as it was a typical place to walk with a date...I went down a different way to do a little exploring and ended up in a part of town with many trendy places to eat and drink. I was one stop over from where I started but on the same line so I just took it back to call it for the night. Tomorrow, I plan on going to Bukhansan National Park just outside of Seoul to do some hiking.
