And I am so damn happy to have actually arrived.

After 11.5 hours of fly time and 2 hours driving from Incheon airport to Gagnam in Seoul, all I wanted was to brush my teeth and have a shower. So I did. This actually broke one of my cardinal travel rules – as soon as you arrive go out and see something – anything. Instead I am sitting on my bed in my pj’s typing this. I can live with it.

It was pretty smooth sailing getting to Incheon airport at least.

YVR Airport good news: When I went to hang out at the lounge before my flight, I was redirected to the “Signature Lounge”. It is up another floor, quite petite but very well appointed. Clearly this is a special place for elite guests n- like myself ;0) It has the look and feel of a nice restaurant and although there is a buffet, most of the guests order meals from a menu. There is a lovely selection of wines and cocktails! Mindful of my finally slimming body, I opted for a bowl of tomato soup and a glass of pink champagne. Both were delightful, though I did not finish the champagne. This was all quickly followed by…

Airport drama: I stopped at one of the airport shops to pick up my usual travelling companion – a box of Altoid mints. However, when I opened my little cross-body bag to pull out my credit cards – nada, zip, zero. My wallet was MIA. I calmly returned the mints and exited the shop. I called Rick too look around the house but that proved fruitless. I had never set up my Apple Wallet with a credit card but that seemed a viable alternative, given that all of the data was stored in my password manager and I could get into that from anywhere. Of course… not everyone takes a phone credit card, but that was a problem for another day. Once aboard the plane, I ripped my bag and my backpack apart and voila! There it was tucked carefully into the little pocket in my backpack that was probably designed for that purpose. Crisis averted.

I loved my Signature Class seat. It was about as close as one can get to a private space on a plane. There went almost flat, there was loads of space and it even came with a set of noise cancelling headphones with which to enjoy the entertainment system.

I did manage to keep my N95 face mask on for the entire flight, with frequent liberal applications of alcohol rub and a full Chlorox wipe rubdown of my entire seating area. I really don’t want to be dealing with COVID this close to our vacation.

I was pleased to see two small quilts, one for a bed cover and another abu half the size in a nice shawl shape. It was a bit chilly so I wrapped myself in the small one and kept it on for most of the flight. Only when I was packing up did I notice that it was actually meant to be a cover between you and seat to make for a more comfy sleep. Duh.

I worked a few hours to catch up on some documents and write some emails. I watched Avatar: The Way of Water. It closely resembled the first one, including the 3 hour+ run time. There was a nice little bit that was an homage to the sinking scene in Titanic. Good movie, but not a great movie. Then I watched about 10 episodes of Murphy Brown, which I used to love and is still pretty funny. Notably, there is no laugh track, just the sound of actual humans laughing at the funny jokes. Refreshing.

I read a bit, did not sleep a wink, or even doze, and ate in very small quantities from the frequently offered meals and snacks. The only thing that really temped me was a hot chicken pot pie. Since they brought it around only 3 hours after eating dinner – I guess I wasn’t really that tempted. I did drink gallons of water and green tea which caused me to leave a path in the carpet between my seat and the washroom.

It was a bit bumpy flying into Incheon – but nothing my 12 hour gravol and I could not handle together. The skies were overcast but the scenery would have been lovely on a sunny day. There were so many little islands and bridges. Just beautiful even on a drab day.

Slim pickin’s on photos today my friends.

Arrival was pretty straightforward. The hall was huge but there were lots of desks open and the whole process was surprisingly quiet and efficient. Digitally finger-printed and photographed, I was out in about 10 minutes. (Frankfurt could use some lessons from the Koreans on organization – and it shocks me to say that.)

My driver was waiting for me right outside the doors with a sign carefully labelled “Jamice Foerster” in big black letters. I like Jamice – I might keep it….

The drive was soooo damn long; 31.9 km took 2 hours. I was watching his GPS which woukd show something like: 6.8km (to go), 33 minutes (estimated time to destination). I would try not to fall asleep and gaze out the window then look back a few minutes later to see 6.6 km, 25 minutes. OMG! The more distance we traveled, the longer it was going to take us to get there. I did remember the chaotic driving from my last visit about 20 years ago, I was just hoping for better this time.

Observed on the journey:

Fancy cars with cheap little blue foam bumpers applied to their doors – presumably to stop dings and scratches. I acknowledge a ding can be unattractive – but not as much as those foam bumpers.

The driving is chaotic – even with 5 lanes each way.

There are way more luxury cars and Hyundais and Kias have come a long way.

So many bridges!

Towers and towers and towers everywhere. All concrete. Mostly unattractive – gray and puce. With flourescent lighting (I would be screaming and ripping my eyes out of their sockets) and box air conditioners in every second window.

My hotel room is fine. The bed is big and comfortable (I will be climbing into it momentarily). The bathroom is really a space with a couple of little cabins holding the toilet and the shower.

I am too tired to write anything more, so am off to bed hoping to trick my body to get some sleep before it foolishly believes morning has arrived.

I leave you with this video, instead of my original intention to say good night in Korean – that seems too hard at the moment. I am staying in Gangnam so this video is appropriate. Check out the little kid :0)