Hello peeps, I just got back to Seoul from Incheon last weekend for the Asian Games Opening ceremony! : D It was my first time witnessing Asian Games (AG) opening ceremony in person so I have to say it is so very different from viewing it on the TV. (It just feels like I am actually part of the show?! o.0 HAHA) Top celebrities like Jang Dong Geon, Kim Soo Hyun, Hyun Bin grace the event by making their appearance at the ceremony, global stars like JYJ, Psy and EXO also performed on the stage as well.
As many of you might have followed the live broadcast provided by your home broadcast stations, I am going to keep the post sort and simple, and let the pictures tell the stories ; )
It happened that I had to take a very important exam on the day of the Opening Ceremony, so instead of travelling together with the Wow Korea Supporters team, I had to find my own way to Incheon Asiad Stadium as my exam ended late.
I took public transport (Airport train 공항철도 towards Incheon Airport 인천국제공항, and alight at Gom-am Station 검암역, then take a bus to the stadium.) The organiser of the AG was quite thoughtful in providing high-frequency shuttle service right from Gom-am Station to the stadium, but the queue for the shuttle was way too long. So I decided to take the Incheon city bus to the stadium and ended up alighting halfway through and walking over to the stadium as the traffic was really bad. Well, I expected this so it doesn’t affect my mood anyway.
Entrance at about 630pm, 30 minutes before the opening ceremony. It was quite confusing at the entrance as there wasn’t proper instruction on where and how the people should queue up to pass the security gantries. However, it didn’t take us long to get into the stadium. Since we were hungry, we went to grab something at the snack kiosk before meeting up with the group in the stadium.
After packing our bags up with food and titbits, we went into the stadium! Look at the crowds!!!!
On my way in I saw TV crews and foreign correspondents busy at work. Observing them reminded me of my past profession. The media industry is such a charming but taxing industry. Bittersweet emotions. Sigh..
Finally, we found our seats, somewhere high up, right opposite the place where President Park Geun Hye was seated at!
So this is what I discovered at the snack bar that I find astonishing: A self-heating instant lunchbox!
It is a kind of instant rice that comes in an amazing self-heating pack. Once you pull & hold the white grip for about 15 seconds, the heat pack in the package will start to heat up your rice. All you need to do now is to put the heating rice pack back in the box, leave it standing for 10 minutes and lay flat for 10 minutes, and your pippin’ hot bento box will be ready!
This is what you’ll get after unboxing the packaging. A self-heating pack contains of rice, another pack that consists of your main toppings, a packet consists of fried kimchi, and a packet with paper bowl and plastic spoon.
Just take out the rice pack and the dining utensils bag. Pull the white grip on the rice pack upward and hold for about 15 seconds, you’ll feel the heat from the bottom of the rice pack. Make sure you see smoke coming out from the lid, and it is time to put it back in the box. It will heat up the rice, as well as your toppings. When it is time to eat, get your paper plate ready and carefully take out the rice package and squeeze it from the top part. Your rice will slip out from the BOTTOM of the package.
I was so amazed by this brilliant invention and judging by the eyeballs I get when we walked past half of the stadium to locate our seat with this smoking package, I guess not many Korean know about this either!
FYI, this self-heating bento box comes in different flavours. I see Rice topped with Spicy Tofu, Rice topped with black bean sauce and Bibimbap flavours. Mine was the black bean sauce rice and it taste good too. (it was too dark to take any pictures of my food, but I will do one more about this bento next time!)
And again, photos of the fireworks at the AG opening ceremony 2014.
Fireworks.
The exact scene when Kim Soo Hyun appeared.
The passionate crowds at the opening ceremony.
And when the athletes marched into the stadium. Personally, I feel that the highlight for the night was when the North Korean team paraded into the stadium. The crowd cheered their approval for team North Korea, despite North and South technically remaining at war.
When Psy rock the stage with his Gangnam Style.
and more fireworks.
Ending scene of Asian Game Opening Ceremony 2014.
Photo of one of my favourite heartfelt moments of the night- fuzzy, but glittering. Thank you KTO for having me there to witness this event. ; )
Of course we went to watch Sepak Takraw Game at Pucheon Stadium the next day.
In case you don’t know about the game yet, Sepak Takraw is a sport native to Southeast Asia. Certainly, most S.E.A countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and etc. are good at Sepak Takraw. It is quite similar to volleyball, but the ball they use is usually made of rattan. It only allows players to use their feet, knee, chest and head to touch the ball. And the game between Indonesia and Laos was intense!
So this was basically what I did on the first night at Incheon. I am going to blog about Incheon and its tourist attraction, as well as a brand new designer hotel that I stayed at during my trip to Incheon, so stay tuned!
Disclaimer: This trip is sponsored by Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). However, opinions are my own.
