My Airbnb was a small apartment I would describe as off in the suburbs, but I really can’t tell whether Incheon really has a central part. The city is somewhat shaped like a starfish, and if you include the islands, then its a starfish that just lost a fight to a shark. In any case, it was a comfortable little apartment with heat coming through the floor. I kept expecting the host to show up at some point as I was sleeping in the library, but I never met her.
In the morning I set off to explore, taking a long and not very scenic walk towards the Incheon City Hall and the green strip with the Arts and Music Hall. I bumped into a couple of missionaries on the way and saw a demonstration on the steps of the city hall, both sights I’ve long grown accustomed to not seeing.
There wasn’t much to do around the central strip, so I hopped on the subway to head back towards the area around the port and main train station. More of a historic district, there is a well maintained Chinatown, a Japan town, and lots of monuments to various historic firsts, such as the opening of US-Korea relations in December 1882, or the introduction of Christianity to Korea in April 1885 (by Americans, of course). Being Incheon, a statue of General MacArthur was to be expected, but I found him overshadowed by the memorial to the student volunteer army.
My first order of business in Chinatown was lunch, and Korean style Chinese food is both insanely expensive and strange.
On the other side of Chinatown was some sort of “fairy tale village,” where several streets fully decorated the buildings, benches, and sidewalks with imagery from fairy tales (i.e. knock off Disney). I imagine it would be quite bustling in the summer, but there was a stinging wind coming in off the water and I’m not big into selfies.
I wondered over by the Sipo Culture street, which mainly seemed to be an area with an above average density of shops, restaurants, and cafes. I imagine Korea has a per capita coffee shop that would make Howard Schultz proud, and I settled on an indie place with a Chilean theme. Since the espressos were so much cheaper than yesterday’s mainstream chain, I got two to justify my long working stint.
In the evening, I headed to to grab some food in the Sipo International Market, but it was bitter cold and already on the wane. I settled for a “loaf of bread” the shape of a basketball that I felt satisfied the need for 特色 (special-ness) because I got to watch the production process through a window. Flat tortillas were inserted into a kiln to cook, and somehow puff up.
| Lunch (Chinatown) | 7,000 W |
| Espresso x2 (Cafe de Santiago) | 5,000 W |
| Bread Balloon | 3,000 W |
| Total: | 15,000 W 90 RMB (USD 13.37) |
Running Total: 1822 RMB (USD 270.75)
Daily Average: 455.5 RMB (USD 67.69)
Man, I was really hoping spending so little one day would bring down the average more than that. I am starting to worry that my coffee habit is too expensive (never mind the fact that I have 3 bags of coffee with me).
Soju may be a more affordable writing juice.