Off to Palawan: The Great Airport Rush
When my previous company let everyone go, my boss—who is also a good friend—became unemployed. Since he loves drinking and hanging out, suddenly having no work to dive into made him desperate to go on a trip. His wife works, so they couldn't travel together, which meant he reached out to his easiest target: me. At first, we planned to go to Kota Kinabalu and climb Mount Kinabalu, but I screamed, "I just want to rest!" So, we settled on Palawan in the Philippines—a place neither of us had been to, but one with great reviews. There were direct flights, and the tickets were incredibly cheap. I didn't have much money anyway, so I thought it worked out well. But after buying the tickets, I felt a surge of anxiety because the area south of Puerto Princesa, Palawan's main city, was under a travel advisory to evacuate.
Maybe this anxiety was the cause, but I ended up drenched in sweat right from the start. I gave myself a generous two hours to get from the office to the airport, but I had no idea the subway at 5 PM would be so packed you couldn't even squeeze in.
'Seriously, did these people already get off work, do they not have jobs, or what do they even do?'
I didn't even have time to think about that before I had to get off at Seoul Station to catch the Airport Railroad. B.U.T. it is so far. The transfer is way longer than other stations, and if you miss a train, you have to wait a good 15 to 30 minutes. In a rush, I hopped on an all-stop train instead of the express, and the timing was incredibly tight. As soon as I got off, I dragged my suitcase and sprinted at full speed. The moment I passed through security, I couldn't even glance at the duty-free shops. I just ran and ran, finally arriving at the absolute farthest gate just 5 minutes before departure. Wow, I bet no one has ever run as much as I did at Incheon Airport.
