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Inchon Airport, Korea


 Independent Travel Shownotes: Inchon Airport, Korea

Welcome to Dr. Mary Travelbest’s Independent Travel Guide. This is for women who travel, who want to travel, and especially for those who want to travel independently.

In this episode: FAQ is on where to go solo if you haven’t done it in decades. Where to start? The destination is Inchon Airport, Korea, my mistake is sunburn, and travel advice on immunizations.

FAQ:

Donna asked: I am 58, married with 2 kids in college. I haven't traveled solo since my early 20's but would like to! What is your recommendation for a good place to start? I like a little bit of adventure but not sure if I would go for it alone. Love the ocean and hiking. Any thoughts or advice welcome!
Well Donna, Dr. Travelbest has some advice for you and welcomes input, too. If you love the ocean and hiking, I would spend some time in Mendocino County, Northern California, not too far from the Oregon border, about 3.5 hours from Sacramento, and go to the beach as well as the redwoods for some great hiking. Yosemite National Park is also a nice destination, if you want to explore some of nature’s best. Pick the time of year when it’s not crowded, for example May or October, and you can find lots of things to do there.
Another place where I love to visit is my home state of New York, where you can visit the beaches on Long Island and take long hikes along the seashore or inland.
Here’s an idea Donna: Picking places that are not too far from your kids in college, so you can tie in a lunch or dinner with them while you are traveling, too. They may even want to join you for a swim or a hike.

Highlights:

Today’s Independent Destination- Inchon Airport, Korea

The airport has a golf coursespa,[4] private sleeping rooms, an ice skating rink, a casinoindoor gardens, video game center and a Museum of Korean Culture.
The airport holds a record of being ranked the Best Airport Worldwide for 11 consecutive years by the Airports Council International (ACI)'s Airport Service Quality Award 
To be ready for the future growth of Korea, the airport opened in March 2001, serving many areas including Tokyo, Osaka, Beijing, Shanghai, and Taipei. It was created by building an artificial piece of land between two islands, originally separated by shallow sea. The airport has a record of being the top ranked Best Airport Worldwide for 11 consecutive years by the Airports Council International’s Airport Service Quality Award. It has 111 boarding gates altogether.

We had a four-hour layover each way, so we got to know the airport.
Layover heaven. Free showers, which made such a difference on a long journey. They supplied the towels, soap, shampoo, hairdryer, and it was hot! There were sleeping areas, like little pods, plenty of free touch screen computers to use.

Today’s Mistake

Sunburn: I seem to get sunburns all the time because I have Irish skin. Even when I think I’m covering up, I miss spots. So don’t be like me. Prevent your burn. Why? Preventing sunburn can literally save your life. Lather up before you go out, even if it’s cloudy. Today’s clothing can have an SPF number, so that’s a good thing to shop for. If you like to hike, be sure you cover your neck area, even if you’re wearing a hat. Sunburns, especially if you have fair skin, can be painful and prevent you from enjoying your travel, so take care of your skin. It’s your biggest organ. Don’t be like me! Sunburns cause DNA damage to the skin, accelerate skin aging, and increase your lifetime skin cancer risk. In fact, sustaining five or more sunburns in youth increases lifetime melanoma risk by 80 percent.


Today’s Travel Advice


I spent a month in China years ago and there was a serious outbreak of Hepatitis A, but no vaccine. The advice was to not eat out or shake hands. That was impossible, as I was on my own. Travel Immunizations can be useful before you go on the road. Ask your physician if they know the immunizations for the region. If they don’t know, then ask your local pharmacist. If you want to get a consultation, Costco now offers this at Costco.com/pharmacy. For a fee of about $40, you can get a web-based consultation with a Travel Medicine Physician. You will input your medical history and itinerary, then get an email confirmation of the recommendations, before you schedule your immunizations at the Costco Pharmacy. This is new, so if you use this service let me know. I recently got my flu shot there and learned about this.


I’m looking for you to travel best, so go ahead and let me know what’s on your bucket list.

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