World's Top Airports/Airlines 2014

Travel+Leisure Magazine has released their top airports and airlines list for 2014 - not many surprises again this year between the international and domestic winners.

For airlines, Virgin and Singapore top the list (with JetBlue and Emirates close behind):

Glad to see Alaska once again on the list!  I've also flown on Qatar Airways and found the service and experience worthwhile.

Airports also fared well, including Portland, OR for domestic and Singapore for international:

I've transited Dubai, Seoul, and Zurich, and easily agree with why those are in the top five.  They are easy to navigate and relatively stress-free in my opinion.  Charlotte and Orlando are way too busy in my book...curious about their inclusion.

What are your top airports/airlines?

Weekend in Seoul - Monday

Monday was travel day back to SFO and then San Diego - we slept in a little, got some food, and then did a quick bit of walking until it was time for me to head out.  And then the fun began.

We had initially thought about having me take a shuttle back, but in order to save some $, the subway is really close to Gate 1 and I was more than happy to do that. And according to the subway map, Incheon was just a short jaunt down on one of the main lines.  Except...we didn't realize that "Incheon" meant the city, and not the airport.  Oops. 

I didn't realize there was a difference until I had already made one train connection, and then after looking at a topo map, figured that I just better get to Seoul Station and take the Airport Train.  It cost a little more money but got me to ICN in one shot.  After arriving at the airport, I made it through security and passport control and then wandered over to the Star Alliance Lounge for Asiana.  Was a very nice experience! Then on to the gate...

I can't thank Jimmy enough for hosting me during this short weekend - everything worked out well and we made it to just about every major site in Seoul.   Was a fun adventure and I can't wait to head back!

Weekend in Seoul - Sunday

Definitely slept well after our long Saturday - the Dragon Hill Lodge is an excellent property on-base and close to Gate 1 for easy access to Seoul.  Jimmy mentioned that the Yongsan Army Base will be closing in the near future, so I'm curious what will happen to the property.  Time will tell.

War Memorial Museum

There is so much history in South Korea concerning past conflicts, and as a result I was especially interested in seeing the War Museum and the information contained therein.  It made me realize that I need to go back and read up on the conflict and the role that the UN played.  I never knew so many countries took part!  The entire complex is quite large, with artifacts from the war outside and many different historical artifacts inside (including letters between Stalin and the Chinese government).  I'm of the belief that the entire border situation will eventually need to be dealt with, but until then, tensions will run high.

 

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Once we left the Museum, we made our way toward another part of town, the section containing the Gyeongbokgung Palace and its surrounding support buildings.  The buildings themselves seem to be very similar but have vastly different functions - the guidebook we purchased was needed to determine each.  We even managed to get a quick break with a local music group that was setting up outside - had a few laughs! 

After we finished at the main palace buildings, we also went into the adjoining Folk Museum (as it was part of our admission).  I loved seeing the house and culture info - no pictures though (I got yelled at so I didn't try). 

Blue House

The Blue House is the home of the Executive in South Korea, and we quickly discovered that it's not easy to get over to see it.  In fact, the cab driver just had to drive on through while we saw it off in the distance.  Understandable. We also drove by the Gwanghwamun Gate - plenty of people taking pictures in front of it.  Overall the entire property and layout was very impressive. 

Seoul Tower

The Seoul Tower was our next major place to stop, although we did swing by another outdoor shopping area that had a very interesting circular layout.  On the way we also walked through the Electronics Mall.

Seoul Tower is an impressive fixture on the skyline - getting up to the main part can be done via hike or by tram.  We chose tram for the way up and hike on the way down.  The tram line moved pretty quickly once we got there, and soon we were up top checking out the view of greater Seoul (and the many 'locks of love' left on the railing).  The taxi ride to get there was fun as well - it seems as though Seoul just keeps going on and on in every direction.  Plus our driver was not the safest guy either - I don't think he was happy to drive us up to the tram...

Dinner and Ben's Cookies

Sortino's Cucina in Itaewon was our dining choice to wrap the day.  Who can argue about Italian food?  We ordered several things off the menu and all of it tasted great. And for dessert - the world famous Ben's Cookies!

Weekend in Seoul - Saturday

The first day!

After battling some jetlag on Friday night (which wasn't fun), we were up and out in good order on Saturday morning to begin our trek around Seoul.  I must admit that I'm always excited at the prospect of seeing and experiencing a new city and culture, and this was my first time in the region so I was stoked to soak in as much as I could. 

The areas we visited are highlighted below in each section - I thought this might be an interesting way of weaving in our route as well as pictures from each location.

Noryangjin Fish Market

I couldn't believe the sheer volume of fresh fish available at the market.  Of any make and type, mind you.  If I lived in Seoul I'd be visiting here all the time.  Couldn't really tell what prices were like, but just the opportunity to get fresh fish would be amazing.  Jimmy explained that the restaurants typically get first choice in the morning before the rest of us are allowed in.  Not surprising - what a selection!

63 Building

It ended up being a bit of a trick to get from the market back to the 63 Building, but after flagging down a taxi we were back and taking in the views.  I marveled at how spread out Seoul seems - the buildings never seem to stop.  The price to go up was very reasonable and the Beatles exhibit was also fun to see.

Namdaemun

The first thing we did was try out the street food - specifically, Ho Ddeok. The lady who does this is famous for the way she makes it, so we stood in line (amazing for a street vendor!) and finally got our food.  I'm still not sure whether I was eating noodles or something else, but it tasted great. We also checked out a few other vendors and visited the Sungnyemun Gate (which not surprsingly is surrounded by office buildings).

 

International Food Court/Itaewon/Myungdong Street

Along the route we stopped quickly at the International Food Court at the Shinsagae Mall.  I think we were both impressed by the amount of food choices and desserts that were available.  I tried out some South Korean coke as well as a seaweed chip - not bad.  After that we made our way over to the world famous Vatos Tacos in Itaewon, where I was properly introduced to Kimchi Fries.  And I must admit...they were excellent!  We also stopped by a few vendors along the way - there always seems to be another deal around every corner.

Dinner in Itaewon - the Foody Goody

We were very fortunate to be able to meet up with another USD connection, Mike Arnold, and his family for a traditional Korean meal.  I think I was only in one other class with Mike while we were working on our PhDs at USD, but I was grateful for the opportunity to reconnect and sample the cuisine!

 

Millennium Seoul Hilton - no luck for us!

We capped off the evening by visiting the Hilton with the hopes of finding some luck with blackjack or roulette.  The tables were pretty terrible so we didn't spend much - we did get a great view of some high rollers playing though...crazy amounts of money being spent!  After that we taxied back to the Dragon and called it a night - more fun to be had on Sunday.