We Made it to Hawaii

We made it!! It's been awhile since our last post, but we are alive and well living in Honolulu (until mid January). We flew out of Seoul on October 2nd Honolulu with a 5hr layover in Narita, Japan (more on that in a later post). We left on a Thursday at noon and arrived in Hawaii on a Thursday at 8am so we manged to have two Thursday's in our week.

Anyway, we finished our 1 year contract teaching English in South Korea and we're living in Hawaii for about 3 months with a friend of ours that we met while teaching. It's going to be the most exciting 3 months ever! We've been here about two weeks and there is so much to tell. Beaches, swimming with turtles, a weekend adventure in Maui and PADI Open Water Scuba Certification which we are currently completing now.

Here are a few pictures from our first day in Hawaii.

Aboard the flight from Japan to Hawaii.



Sunrise









Krista and I on the balcony of the apartment we are living in, look at the view! Did we mention the beach is only a few blocks away?



Speaking of beach, that is exactly where we went on our first afternoon after a looong day of traveling.



Here are a couple of night view pictures taken from the balcony.









We are so lucky to have a chance to live in Hawaii and not just have a short vacation here, thanks Jenny! There are a lot more posts to come, including many from Korea that we have not had a chance to post. Until then, we just want to say hi to everyone back home and in Korea!

Airport Limousine / Bus

At times, Seoul can be a very hectic place and confusing place. After you arrive at Incheon International Airport you may wonder how you're going to reach your next destination. You could take the Seoul subway system for a very low price if you're up to the challenge of maneuvering your luggage through hundreds of people and standing the entire duration of your trip - not to mention the transfers to other lines. You could take a much more comfortable taxi if you're up to spending more than $50. Or... you could take the Airport Limousine Bus!



We have used the airport bus every time we need to get to and from the airport. It's very convenient and the price is pretty good too. You won't have a problem fitting all your luggage and you'll also have a pretty decent seat to sit in for an hour or more. From the area we live in the cost was 12,000W ($12) each.

There are numerous departure points the in the Seoul area as well as outside Gyeonggi Province. Each area has a particular departure point and the buses leave every 20 minutes. If you're getting on at the airport, outside the terminal is a desk you can purchase your tickets at. If you're getting on anywhere else heading for the airport, they will usually make a round on the bus collecting the fee.

You can find a list if departure points, travel time and other detailed information at this website here.

Here is a map of the exits at Incheon International

Bike Rental - Hang Gang River

Our year contract teaching in Korea is quickly coming to an end (September 30th) so we thought we'd finally get out again to see and do some things we have been putting off. One of those things was renting bicycles in Yeouido / Yeouinaru along the Han Gang River. Yeouido / Yeouinaru is one of our favorite places to hang out. You can do things such as walk around the river, fly a kite, roller blade, rent bicycles, go on a river cruise (on our to-do list) and even have a picnic with your favorite bottle(s) of wine, beer or soju. Click here for our previous post on the Han River Park and here for the International Fireworks Festival there as well.

Directions: Get off at Yeouinaru Station - Line 5, exit 2. Go down the steps and take a left. There is at least one other rental shop along the river as well.



The cost is 3,000W per seat, per hour. If you're looking for a tandum bike it will cost 6,000W per hour.





I was trying to get a shot of the bikes available to rent and one younger Korean male decided to pose for the shot, next thing you know they all wanted in on it.. say kimchi!



Krista and I on our sweet ride.





Even you don't have each other, you'll always have Cass!
Cass Beer - Clean and Refreshing



This is a billboard of the proposed changes to the Han River area. Click the photo to zoom in.



Lycee, Steph, Becca and Ellen.



Building 63: Overlooking the Han River - 249m 817ft high.
Here is what the building looks like now - much better!



Building 63: October 2007



Building 63 April 2008



We really enjoy the area along the Han River. If you are in the Seoul area, it is definitely worth checking out day or night.