SG vs KR (Round 1) - Public bus

Preface

My hotel's located right at the heart of Seoul downtown area

or maybe i should say

it's very near to many big towns

for example the central of all public transportation -- Seoul Station,

the youngsters' heaven -- Sinchon and Yidae,

the fashion and shopping paradise -- Myeongdong,

the cheap but slightly old-fashioned market -- Namdaemun etc etc...

BUT

it's so "central" that there's no subway station nearby

the nearest is Seoul station, which requires a 10~15mins walk

and more importantly, there's no cheap food nearby!!

as i did not wish to feed myself with instant noodle for 2 consecutive meals

and i couldn't afford to walk to Seoul station in this cold weather of 6 d.c.

i'd decided to take a bus to Sinchon downtown

to hunt for my dinner

SG vs KR (Round 1) - Public Bus

One good thing about the public bus in Korea

is that the names of each approaching bus stop are announced

like what we have on the MRT

but the service in korea is even better

they announce the name of the next next bus stop as well

something like:

"The approaching station is Yidae station. Next station is Sinchon station."

i find this very useful

coz you will know what's coming next, and will have more time to prepare to alight...

+++ KR scores +++

(Round 1b)

In Singapore,

if i take, say, bus 143 from Science Park II to Harbour Front Station

i can also take 143 from opposite Harbour Front Station to opposite Science Park II

the to and fro routes are along the same road, just in opposite directions

also, the bus stops for bus 143 are usually opposite each other across the road

almost all bus service in singapore are like this, with some exceptions of course

however in Korea, especially Seoul,

it's sooooo much different

which i think is mainly due to its complicated road and street layouts

i tried to take bus 163 to Sinchon from my hotel

fortunately, i did reach sinchon safely and bought my dinner

but when i wanted to go back hotel

i simply crossed the road and went to the opposite bus stop

but there's no bus 163 there!!!

urgghh...  >.<

wanted to take a little adventure, i decided not to take taxi

but to walk around Sinchon and look for 163

hmm... well...

i didn't manage to find 163...

but i found 7011, which i swear i saw it at the bus stop in front of my hotel just now

so i boarded 7011

and i sat down and listened carefully to the announcement on the bus

and looked out the windows to look for my hotel and nearby landmarks as well

but but but...

i passed Seoul Station

i passed Namdaemun

i reached Myeongdong

and i knew that i missed my hotel

or rather, the return bus route is not stopping opposite my hotel

well well well...

bravo...

i alighted at Myeongdong

and flagged a taxi back at the end

haiz~~

+++ Singapore scores +++

(Round 1b)

You are at the bus stop in front of Vivocity now

and you want to get back to PGP which is near S'pore Science Park II

but you do not know which bus to take

what would you do?

well

simply read the bus route table/diagram pasted at the bus stop right?

in singapore,

the table is very clear

comprises of all the bus stop names and bus fare to each stop

but in korea,

there's no bus fare stated

and not all bus stops are listed on the diagram

they only show the bus stops near some landmarks or subway stations at the area

if this is applied to singapore

you will only see "...Tanglin Sec Sch, Kent Ridge Sec Sch, Haw Par Villa, Harbourfront Stn, ..." for bus 143

imagine you're unfamiliar with the road names and "S'pore Science Park II" is not shown

would you dare to take the bus to get back to PGP?

well well...

i tried my luck just now and boarded 7011

and i ended up in myeongdong

sweat~

+++ Singapore scores +++

Conclusion

For now being

as a newly-arrived and inexperienced foreigner

i think that it's rather dangerous to take bus around the city alone

unless you google everything before-hand

and mind you

you need to google the bus routes for both the to and fro directions

so...

SG vs KR (Round 1)

2 : 1                          

Singapore wins