Chasing the sun

My travel to Korea is complete.  Last Friday/Saturday I journeyed from Detroit, MI to Seoul, South Korea.  Total flight time was 15 hours with a two hour layover in Chicago.  It was such an experience!  Funny how international travel brought out my hermit-like qualities.  Normally I'm quite the extrovert while traveling. I'm not the person who initiates more than small talk with total strangers, but I am the person who listens and engages in conversation for as long as you want to talk!

The trip began at my sister's house early Friday morning.  We left for the airport at 4:30 am; plenty of time for the drive and an early breakfast stop at McDonald's (try the oatmeal...it's delicious!).  We planned to stop at a bathroom shortly before arriving at the airport, especially because my latte had seriously gone through me by that time.  Enter major problem: no bathrooms anywhere and the only place to park is the parking garage.  The minutes ticked by as I weighed my options and analyzed if I could really hold it all the way through check-in and security (I rarely see bathrooms before security...why is that?), and I had to go even more.  My prediction about having to hop over the laps of fellow passengers had come to fruition early.  I had to go NOW.  Luckily Twin Sister is a nurse and self-admittedly doesn't get grossed out by much.  It was HER advice that I go in her car, in a cup, in the parking garage.  Humiliation at its finest!  At that point though, I no longer cared.  While Twin Sister walked the dog, I filled that dang cup, tossed it into the corner, and never looked back.

The first leg of the trip was easy: Detroit to Chicago.  Piece of cake.  The tricky part was discovering that once in Chicago, I had to exit the terminal, re-check-in on Korean Air, and go through security for a second time.  I am clearly a newbie at international travel.  

I also had to convince the Korean Air check-in staff (who later checked my boarding pass at the gate and traveled on my flight...good thing I just acted naive instead of really embarrassing myself by becoming irate or something) that it really was okay for me to be on this flight with my dog and no return ticket.  And it was okay -technically- just not their preferred method.  I assured them that I had the funds for a return ticket and that I would be returning within the 90 day visitor allowance even though that second part is not at all true.*  Hey, at least I didn't sign anything.  I believe I also blurted out something about waiting to see when my friend was going to have her baby to decide when to get my ticket...

In case you were wondering, yes, flying Korean Air does feel rather like this (above).  It's like a flying resort up there!  I don't recall quite that much romance, but I did get free wine!

My seat was not one of these amazing numbers, which fold out completely flat, but maybe next time.

It actually looked a lot more like this.  Even in economy class though, it was awesome.  I was welcomed by -literally- the world's sweetest, kindest, and skinniest flight attendants.  Waiting for me in my seat was a blanket, pillow, slippers, toothbrush, headphones and bottle of water.  Each seat also has an individual TV monitor.  The only drawback was there was no way Charlie was going to fit under the seat.  He is only 10 pounds and his carrier is the size of a backpack.  These seats though -even though they let me pay $200 to put my dog under one of them- are definitely not made for more than a pair of shoes (because you're supposed to wear your slippers during the flight) and a small purse to fit underneath.  Another good reason to fly first class next time!  

Very lucky for me, Korean Air was kind enough to ask ahead of time the person who was supposed to sit next to me if she would be comfortable by a dog.  She wasn't, so they changed her seat.  That meant the one empty seat on the whole flight was next to me.  Charlie had a whole seat to himself!  He wasn't actually able to sit on the seat -which he would've LOVED- but he had plenty of room in his carrier on the floor.  The man two seats down from me (who I later learned was married to one of the flight attendants after I saw him get his third free alcoholic beverage) and I used the extra seat to stow our freebies and neck pillows.

The food on Korean Air is awesome.  Pictured is not my exact meal, but it comes pretty close.  Yes, that is real silverware, free wine, and tea for afterwards.  I got two meals, a few snacks, and as much juice, tea, and water as I wanted.  Also, they leave food for you even if you're sleeping.

The flight attendants on Korean Air are incredible.  There are about 50 of them -or so it seems- and they actually WORK, imagine that.  They are busy the entire flight.  They are wonderfully pleasant.  They care about their jobs.  Their uniforms are really cute and feminine.

It was a long flight.  This leg was 14 hours.  It went by more quickly than I expected due mostly to watching two movies and being really sleepy from staying up late the night before.  I actually only read a few pages in my book because I kept dozing off.  It was scary though traveling so far alone.  It was really sad walking away from Twin Sister at the airport.  I was anxious about if the dog would start barking or peeing during the flight (both of which did not happen...he was amazing and quiet, a real trooper).  I spent the first hour of the flight quietly looking around at everything and wondering about the slippers, the bowing, and if I was following the proper Korean customs to properly receive my tea and snacks.  Then I promptly fell asleep.  I ate a lot.  It was so good! I was hermit-ish, only talking here and there to the man with the flight attendant wife.  I watched our 4,000 mile flight path on the monitor: North from Chicago, over Canada, West across Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, skirted the edge of Siberia, Southwest on to Seoul.  I didn't realize at first that we'd never see darkness on this flight.  We were flying west the whole time, so we were literally chasing the sun.

Seoul Incheon International Airport is where I arrived.  It is rated best in the world!  It was a breeze to go through immigration, baggage claim, quarantine, and customs.  Matt was waiting for me with beautiful yellow orchids.  It was the best thing ever to see, hug, and kiss him again!  A two hour drive in the dark meant I didn't get to really see Seoul, but I was okay with that at this point.  There will be another opportunity for that.

We arrived in Songtan.  Matt parked the car on the base and met me outside the pizza place (we thought I couldn't yet get on base, but later we realized I could have).  While I was waiting Charlie pooped in a circle around me on the cobblestone, I had no bag to pick it up with, and Matt brought napkins from the nearby McDonald's to clean it up.  I just stood there, mortified.  Home with Husband and pizza, however, was wonderful.  It was delicious and home-y.  I know you'd think I'd have Korean food my first night here, but don't judge unless you've made the trek.  Pizza was perfect.  We have a whole year for Beef Bulgoggi.

More to come soon.  Next up: our Korean home.

*Don't worry.  I'm really not breaking the law.  In an upcoming post I'll tell you all about my fancy new SOFA stamp and how it allows me to stay here for a year.