We woke up later than we did the day before. Like yesterday though, we went down to take a bath before coming back up to clean a bit before we checked out. Since she had another appointment before the checkout time, she helped me bring down most of luggage down to the front reception for them to hold onto it for us.
With some time before her appointment, we headed out for breakfast at Egg Drop. When we entered, the place was relative quiet. I had troubles with the touch screen when it came to the payment section since it was all in Korean. Luckily, a couple behind us helped us! It got relatively busy after we placed our order, but we were able to find seats. I got an egg and ham sandwich while she got an avocado egg one. They were pretty good and filling for a breakfast. Once we finished, we walked towards her clinic (which was between Egg Drop and the hotel). I continued onwards back to the hotel. With about 30 minutes left, I did one last tidy before checking out and dropping off some smaller luggage.
I had a few hours of free time. We wanted to look for more Hulken bags at Emart, so I headed towards Yongsan via the subway and train. I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but Naver maps is your friend in South Korea. It did take me a while to find the entrance to Emart though, which I did eventually relied on comments on Google map to help me. Unfortunately, the Emart was closed, but I did learn how to use Seoul's transit system better.
I made my way back to Gangnam to meet up with my girlfriend at a Starbucks. It was quite hot out, but she saved me half of her drink. Drinking it graciously, after I finished, we headed to grab lunch at Oreno Ramen. Oreno Ramen specializes in milky chicken broth (tori paitan ramen). If I'm not mistaken, they mix chicken broth with bits of pork brother to create a flavor that isn't as rich as pure tonkotsu, but with more flavor than a clear broth like shio or shoyu. I had to say that they have the broth down to a T. It was my most favorite meal in Seoul this time around!
Once we finished eating, we headed to Sulbing to grab a bingsu. Like 2023, the location in Gangnam was quite busy. We were lucky to snag a table near the back of the restaurant. My girlfriend went up to place our order while I sat there trying to cool down from the heat. They prepared our bingsu (half soybean paste and half mango) relatively quickly. Out of all the shaved ice types I've had, I can't say bingsu is my favorite, but it did a good job cooling me down. Once completed, we headed to the subway to catch a ride to COEX mall.
We first went to catch a glimpse of the Starfield Library, which is a library filled with bookshelves set aesthetically. It was quite busy, so we didn't spend too much time before we headed to our next destination within the mall: the aquarium. After we purchased our tickets, dropped off our bags into a locker, we entered the aquarium to find out there was a live mermaid show taking place in about 5 minutes. Wanting to see the show, we made a mad dash to where the show is going to take place. Unfortunately, it was already jampacked with people. She was able to stick her phone out to capture parts of the show while I was able to see parts of the show through a side glass of the tank they were hosting the show. Once it was over, we headed back to the beginning to take our time to explore. The aquarium had a good mixture of different aquatic life, and was a good use of time. Once we had our fill, we headed to a nearby bookstore to check out some books. I ended up purchasing some small gifts here before we headed out to catch a taxi back to our hotel. Our flight back to Calgary was delayed to 11:45, but we wanted to head to the airport early enough to relax.
Once we got back to the hotel, we picked up our luggage and book a taxi to Incheon Airport. We booked a larger taxi since we had a lot of luggage between the two of us (2 medium-large check in bags, 1 Hulken, 2 Olive Young bags, and 1 carry on bag). A Hyundai Ioniq 5 (compact SUV) came to pick us up. We did have difficulties packing all our bags on, though fortunately you can slide up the rear seats to make more space in the rear. Once we were able to fit everything, we headed off to Incheon. It was sunset as we started our hour journey to the airport, which made it a very scenic ride.
At the airport, we first went to a packing station to place our two Olive Young bags into one box, making it easier to check it in. We then headed to the check in desk for WestJet and checked in our bags. At first, we had economy seats, with the chance of being upgraded to premium economy (there were zero business class seats but 3 premium seats available at that time). Either way, we wanted to take a shower before boarding. For about $10-12 CAD, Spa at Home (I think formerly called Spa On Air) gave you two hours to take a shower and relax in a public bath. It was nice to wash off all the sweat from the day.
Once we were freshly showered, we headed up to their food court to grab some food. It was a standard noodle bowl, which wasn't anything to write home about. Once finished, we headed towards the gate to wait for our plane ride. Unlike boarding in Japan, as a standby passenger, you're the last to board.
Lo and behold, as we were in line with our original economy boarding pass, a buzzer rang out when they tried to scan them. We both got upgraded to business class! Turned out, I believe, that a couple cancelled their ticket last minute (I'm assuming couple because we were sitting beside each other). This was my first (and possibly last unless I'm lucky enough to standby on business again) time with a lay-flat seat. Food tasted better as well, but I was looking forward to sleeping on our way back to Calgary. Maybe it's because the flight was near midnight, but I did end up sleeping for about 5 hours after the dinner service. I woke up due to feeling tightness in my knees (probably how I slept with the footrest being higher than the rest of the seat), so I ended up finishing watching Hopper before trying to head back to sleep to no avail. Breakfast was served just before landing, and after that I tidied up myself before we could leave the plane. The nice thing about being in business is being able to leave the aircraft earlier than others.
Immigration and customs went by quickly. Our luggage came out relatively fast as well. We were stopped due to our cardboard box, but after some basic questions, we were free to go. My dad was able to pick us up and took us back to my parent's place. After picking up our dogs, we headed our way back home.
All in all, my shortest trip overseas yet. I thought November 2025 was short at just over a week! It's also probably the first time that I didn't explore, but rather spend time mostly to shop (and those two relaxation days at Manyo Club and just not doing anything in Gangnam). It's a welcoming change for the most part, but I'm looking forward to going back to exploring more places next time I travel to Asia... hopefully! I can see why people recommend you should travel in your youth. I guess I'm still technically young at 37 years old, but I'm getting to the point where I wouldn't mind more relaxation days when I travel now.
Thank you again for reading! Until my next trip!
