Getting Here - Part 2 of 3

So I basically answered the 'How' in part two...let's get into something deeper. Starting with a short story:


In order to get from Incheon airport into Seoul I was required to take a direct service bus. Getting the bus ticket itself was no issue as I had my wonderful seatmate/guardian Shin to help me along. When the bus came, my bags were quickly placed in the cargo area and I was guided onto the bus. About six passengers were already on board. The seemed a little shocked to see my pale exhausted self step onto the bus, but the stares were minimal. I slowly made my way to the back of the bus and took a seat. A strange red and black plastic block with a strap through it made the seat rather uncomfortable but I figured it would be one of many strange things that I'd have to get used to. The bus itself was nice although a bit narrow. One row had single seats and the row I was in had doubles. It was very clean and shiny on the inside and a quaint television kept both us and the driver occupied as we waited.

Suddenly, a voice came over the PA and delivered a message. Afterwards it was repeated in English. "Please fasten your seatbelt and enjoy your ride!" It finished. "Seatbelt?" I thought "On a bus???" I looked around my seat for the strap and realised that he awkward chunk I was sitting on was actually a seatbelt buckle. Sheepishly struggling with the belts bizarre design, I put it on. It seemed crazy to me that a bus would have seatbelts but in all honesty it seems like a pretty solid idea. I can remember hearing that seatbelts made buses less safe for passengers...but who knows. But in comparison...many taxis here don't have seatbelts. So I'm curious as to what safety actually may mean here.

Anyways, so I'm on the bus and we're making our way out of Incheon. The landscape was impressive despite its muddiness. Incheon airport, I believe, is built on a large portion of reclaimed land. We drove over the flats quickly and came to a large bridge. Alongside it was the similar soggy mud of the surroundings but ahead of us was something much greener. Quickly the landscape became more and more green. Trees increased in density and the landscape became much more dynamic. Rolling hills and then mountains came into view. The lower mountains sat beneath the haze while taller peaked mountains vanished into the clouds. At the roadside I saw a rusty shack, it's roof angled in an 'Asian' way. The kind of roof you see in any piece of folk art. With all the strange trees, cars, sporadic buildings and geographical features around me it finally hit me. I'm actually in East Asia.

I smiled.