Well, the flight to Korea was long. It always is. This time it was even longer, because it was from Detroit to Japan, instead of LA to Seoul. Actually, I was on Northwest Airlines the whole time, so I had a lot less layover time, and in the end, it actually took a bit less time. But making the 10 hour flight a 13 hour flight was not a good change. Maybe it would have been, if it had been Korean Airlines.
Let me explain: Northwestern was just fine. It was a lot cheaper and a bit easier than Korean Air. But for most of the journey, it wasn’t as nice. Maybe Korean Air’s economy flights are more like other lines’ deluxe. I don’t know. But on the Korean air 747s, you got more stuff (like a toothbrush and tooth paste), more meals, more choice in your meals (by the end of the NW 747 we had no choice in what we got, because they ran out, and they fed us about 30 minutes before landing, which seemed odd), and a lot less entertainment. For the flight, there were 3 pre-chosen movies that played at set times on a distant projector, and about 10 channels of music. On the KE (Korean Air) flights, we got maybe 30 movies on demand, 10 educational shows, 5 sitcoms, huge amounts of movies, and you could watch the airplane’s progress and conditions. This isn’t groundbreaking, but I think each person would have to decide for themselves how much of a value it is. For me, I’d put it at being worth at least $50, but probably not over $100. That seems a bit high, now that I write it down, but you’re stuck in a seat for sooo long. The trip back to the US, for example, I watched maybe 3 movies. I don’t even like movies that much.
The exception was the hop from Tokyo to Inchon/Seoul. It was awesome. Best flight ever. It had video on demand, despite being NW and economy class, just like the other flights. I was on a DC40, a 747-400 and a A363 (maybe, my memory of the Airbus model is fuzzy), in that order, so maybe the Airbuses are nicer for NW. Who knows. Anyway, it was mostly awesome because it was almost empty. There were 2 seats between me and the next guy, so I laid down. THAT would be worth $100. The food wasn’t very good, though.
A quick observation, which is more a cumulation of other observations: Asians, in general, follow the rules less than Americans. They smoke where they aren’t supposed to, speed because they can get away with it, run red lights, pirate software unabashedly, and they stand up on airplanes. The seatbelt sign is totally a suggestion. The call for landing is actually a call to get out of your seat and run for the bathrooms, seconds before touchdown, causing the stewardess to issue a hasty announcement that people standing up while landing will die (actually, I don’t know what she said, because she didn’t say it (or need to say it) in English). There were many many incidents of people just wandering around the plane, standing around, and randomly violating rules. It wasn’t anything huge, and I’m sure some Americans do it too, but on my flights, it was all Asians. They do it in their cars and businesses, too, so I don’t think it’s a language or process issue. But the Koreans don’t Jaywalk. Probably because the people in the cars violate their laws enough to kill people pretty regularly. Also, they don’t talk on their cellphones much when they drive, but that’s because people get money for photographing and turning in people who are doing so, and it’s become a bit of a mercenary business in Seoul, I’m told. The moral of the story is, only laws that immediately lead to death or fines are obeyed. Not that we’re perfect. I started driving well before the legal age, and I always got ~5mph over the speed limit. I’m a rebel and all that. It’s just interesting to see such a wide spectrum of people ignoring different rules than us.
So, I got to Inchon around 9:00, and once I got through customs and got my luggage, it was 9:30ish. Which apparently is when this place (I’m still here) shuts down. No currency exchange, most of the information booths were empty, most of the stores were closed, and all the buses had stopped. It was too late to get a bus to Pohang, so I went through my options with Jared over the phone. I finally found one lady (a very nice lady) at the motel booth. I told her I wanted a cheap hotel. She said I should get a “guest house”, that it would be about $50, they’d pick me up for free, they’d take credit card, and maybe some other stuff. I was barely awake. Anyway, she called some places and found me “Kim’s Guest House”. Someone came and picked me up, helped me with my luggage, and drove me about half a mile to the hotel. It was nice. I was expecting a hostel or something. It had two beds (I’m not sure if I was charged for the 2nd, or if it was just open to be filled if someone came; no one did come, so I don’t know). It had a full bathroom, a washer, a stove top, a TV, and lots of room. It was quite nicer than I needed, but that’s not really something to complain about. It ended up being $42, and I’d HIGHLY recommend it. It seemed like it was set up for longer stays, but the guy said lots of people use it for layovers. Anyway, there was a pickup for the free airport shuttle bus across the street, and I’m back at the airport, waiting for my 1:40 PM bus to Pohang. McDonald’s won’t serve me anything but breakfast until 11:00, and I hate McDonalds, so I’m using my time to write this.
It was an adventure. Most of the people around the airport speak English. Enough that you can get your point across without speaking or reading Korean. But it helps SO much to know a few phrases, the numbers, and how to read some of it. I think that if you learned your question words (where, who, what, when…how is kind of worthless if you can’t communicate very well), you’d be fine in almost every touristy area. But not everywhere in some places like Pohang or AnDong.
In the Korean airports, they have pairs of assault rifle armed guards patrolling at all times. Since guns are outlawed here (I don’t know if police have them or not, honestly), this is a pretty significant show of force. Maybe they consider it a legitimate vector for an attack.
The Japanese airport had free Internet. Inchon doesn’t. The hotel didn’t, but someone near it did. Kikiki. Stealing Internet may be an entirely American crime-that-we-think-is-ok-to-commit.
It’s good to be back. It’s exciting. It’s challenging. It’s unpredictable. It makes you tired, over time, but it’s energizing at first. It’s it’s own kind of entertainment, where your manners and your mind tend to determine how you do. I’d suggest studying abroad or traveling for an extended stay, away from tourist traps, to anyone who feels unsatisfied with day to day life, or get that rush out of being in an unpredictable environment. Going back to America was honestly a lot “easier”. Even though here, I’m much less independent, which I’m sure annoys people, the things I do on my own count for a lot more (to me).
And that’s where I’ll leave this, because I’m here and everything has been said.
