I’m in Korea! The flight went well enough, but I definitely an developing some saddle sores from sitting on an airplane seat that long. Once again I got an exit row, so that helped a lot with the leg room.
I sat next to a young American guy in the army stationed in Korea. He was thrilled to sit next to someone that spoke English, so we talked for a long time. He seemed nice enough, and he slept for a few hours which gave me a conversation break. Sitting next to him I got to see how he acted and treated people around him that didn’t understand his language. There was a definitely an attitude there – maybe it’s because he’s military, but I found myself once again feeling guilty by association.
As we got off the plane we passed through a walkway made out of glass, and on the horizon you could see the sun starting to set over some mountains in the distance. I still get the shivers when I’m getting off the plane in a foreign country – there’s a sense of anticipation… you know it’s going to be a lot of strange things happening, and everything will be different from what you’re used to. I love that.
Korean customs was a breeze – I just walked right out, and went out to see the crowds of people standing in front of the arrivals waiting. When I had reserved the hotel room in Korea they asked me to type in my flight number and arrival time, so I was harboring some kind of transportation fantasy in which they have a sign with my name on it, and then they whisk me off to my waiting bed. Unfortunately, no such luck – I went outside in the heat and tracked down a taxi.
As soon as the taxi driver put my heavy suitcases into his trunk and sat me inside, he started arguing with some other taxi guy. They gestured at me a couple of times, and pushed each other. Nobody threw a punch, but they were just one word away from it. It’s one of those classic travel moments that you never see on the American Express commercials. I’ve got 100 pounds of luggage locked in the trunk, so all I can do is sit around until they finish. Finally, a third guy came out of the crowd, took the keys from the driver, and drove me himself. Weird – I had no way to ask him what happened.
He dropped me off at the hotel, about ten minutes from the airport. The hotel was nice! I had gotten a deluxe room because it was only $5 more than the regular room, and what a nice setup it was.
The manager came up with me to show me how everything worked. The whole room was controlled by a single remote control. They had a giant TV, VCR/DVD, a networked computer, a huge bathroom with separate shower and bathtub, heated floors, air conditioning, and even free porn!
After taking a shower and changing my clothes, I headed out into the town to scare up some grub and look around. Walking the streets of this town was different than walking around Japan – you don’t feel quite as safe. It’s not that it felt dangerous, maybe just that it felt unpredictable. Hard to explain.
I went to a restaurant that looked promising and pointed at something on the menu since I couldn’t read anything. The waiter, wearing a bicycle helmet, took my order and then collected some food to go and ran outside to get on his moped. The food showed up a few minutes later, and it was delicious. It was cold noodles with a spicy sauce, a hard boiled egg, and lots of vegetables. I mixed up the whole thing and it was great!
After dinner I went back to the hotel to try to get some sleep, but it wasn’t in the cards. I slept for about two hours, and spent the rest of the night sitting there in wishing I could sleep. I guess that’s what jet lag will do to you. What a day.
