Departure To Seoul, Korea
Today is our trip to Seoul for the Asian Grand Piano Concert.
Mr. Benjamin Loh (BB), Sutini, Dale, Pincye, my sis and I met at Changi Airport at 6am for our 8am flight, and after checking in, we went through the customs to do a bit of window shopping and also have breakfast. Then, we boarded our SQ plane to get ready for take-off.
When the plane got to the take-off runway, it stopped there for quite some time and we were wondering what was taking it so long to take-off. Then the Captain announced that there was a slight technical problem with the plane and we had to return to the airport to have it check. Once back at the airport, we were told that the technical problem was due to a defect of the anti-collision avoidance system. In the end, we were delayed for 2 and a half hours, and we only got to take-off at about 10.35am. We finally arrived at Incheon International Airport at about 5.20pm, instead of the scheduled 3.15pm.
Once there, the guy who came to pick us up, told us that we had to wait for the Hong Kong team before heading together to Seoul's Holiday Inn Hotel. So its more waiting again.
When the Hong Kong team arrived a while later, we gladly set out for our hotel as we were really very tired already. What's more, we were scheduled to rehearse with 4 Korean pianists at 7pm tonight, so we were actually rushing for time.
By the time we reached our hotel, it was already 7.30pm, thanks to the traffic jams on the roads. We put down our luggages and rushed over to Ewon Cultural Centre, which is luckily, just 5 mins walk from the hotel. The 4 Korean pianists were already there and they didn't look too happy, naturally. After explaining about what happened, they sort of, eased a little and our rehearsal started. We played Bach's Sicilienne and Kevin R. Olson's A Scott Joplin Rag Rhapsody, both arranged for 2 pianos, 8 hands, but were doubled with 2 more pianos. We also played Rondo, for 3 pianos, 12 hands, composed by my sis and I, with another 2 Korean pianists. We all had alot of fun.
Then, we headed for dinner at a little korean restaurant beside our hotel, before turning in for the night. There would be 1 more rehearsal tomorrow afternoon at Seoul Arts Centre's Concert Hall before the actual concert tomorrow night. We were very tired, but very excited. Can't wait!