My Travel Adventures: Got on the plane and I'm in Taiwan!

I finally made it to Taiwan! It took a while.... but I'm here! My friend and I lugged our luggage down the subway stairs..... two sets of long stairs.... me with two luggages, but we made it. Phew.

We took it to Seoul Station. She went to meet her husband and took the train to Busan (not the zombie movie), and I took AREX express train to Incheon station. They have a really good service at Seoul Station where if you are flying with any of the airlines that they have affiliation with, you can check in your luggage at the station, take the express train (43 minutes) directly to Incheon. The service is mostly for people who still want to shop around the area without the burden of luggages. But you have to check in 3 hours before the flight to take advantage of the service.

My luggage was a huge mess after I arrived in Seoul because of all the stuff I've bought. I didn't really bother to reorganize it... which was a problem because I forgot that I put a spare battery in the luggage, and they don't allow electronics in the luggage. They called me in to the small room with luggage inspection and the inspector and I both tried to find the battery in my sea of disorganized stuff. Sigh. We found it and I took it in my carry on instead.

The express train is really nice. You get assigned seats and you don't have to worry about anything - you can just sleep until you get there. It is usually 8,000 won, but the airline gave me a discount so it's only 7,400 won.

When I got to the airport, I had to get my tax refund on the receipts that I had spent over 30,000 won (you need to get the store to give you a tax refund receipt at the time in order to take advantage of this service. If you didn't get the store to do it, it won't be in the system and you won't get a refund). The whole thing is not complicated, but it does take a few extra steps. For that reason, I advice future travelers to make sure you always bring your passport with you when you shop so you can get your tax refund right away. Doing this extra step is really quite annoying.

How much was the refund? I calculated the percent refunded and it's about 5%, which means tourists get about 5% off on anything they spend over 30,000 won.

And then I bought some Burger King to eat before I leave....... tasted just like American food.

And then I realized on the plane that they served lunch. This is the second time this had happened! I really ought to find out whether they are planning to serve me real meals before I get on the plane so I don't waste money!!