Back in our humble apartment in Gireum-dong.  33 hours door-to-door.

Began the day at 0400 in order to catch my 0700 flight out of Columbia.  Arrived in Atlanta at 0800 with 4 hours to kill before my departure to Seoul via Korean Air.  Had a sausage, cheese and egg biscuit from McDonalds, then parked myself in the smoking lounge where I enjoyed free airport WiFi, a rare treat in the USofA.

The appointed departure time came and went, and then came the announcement of some unspecified “mechanical problems” with our A-380 aircraft.  They estimated the fix time to be three hours, and gave us all a ten dollar lunch voucher.  So, I scored me some Arby’s and headed back to the smoking lounge to wait out the delay.

Three hours go by and the repair is still not complete.  Then another hour.  Then Korean Air rolled out a couple of carts filled with snacks, soft drinks, and water with the promise the problem would be resolved “soon”.  We finally boarded at 6:30 and then sat at the gate for the better part of an hour.  I set my watch for Seoul time and resolved to not worry about those things I can’t control.

About halfway into the flight, I hear a woman screaming in Korean.  I figured maybe a fight had broken out.  Shortly thereafter the flight attendant took to the P.A. to ask if there was a doctor on board.  After a few more minutes she came back on to ask if there was anyone with medical skills available to help.  I asked the flight attendant what was going on and she said, we have to get a sick passenger to the hospital.  I said “A hospital, what is it?”  She said “it’s a big building paitents, but that’s not important right now!”.  Alright, of course that last part didn’t happen, but I couldn’t resist the “Airplane!” reference.

Anyway, they moved the ill person up front and things quieted down   I watched three forgettable movies (2 American, 1 Korean) and in between actually managed to sleep a few hours.  Which might explain why I’m still up right now.

We landed at Incheon at 0100 local time.  As we deplaned, a Korean Air employee gave us each an envelope with seven W10,000 coupons good for future travel with the airline.  An unexpected and nice touch. I sailed through immigration and customs, although one of my bags got destroyed somewhere between Columbia and Korea.  It was the last bag to come down the carousel.  I had packed that sucker jam full and had a hard time getting it zippered up.  I knew if TSA or Korean customs attempted to open it they’d never get it closed again.  It arrived back in my possession with a burst zipper and haphazardly held together with packing tape.  All the contents seemed to be intact however, so I’m grateful for that.

I was happy to see a currency exchange kiosk still open, so I exchanged $200 for Won as I anticipated an expensive taxi ride from Incheon to Gireum.  Instead, another Korean Air employee met me as I exited the airport and directed me to a bus that would take me to Seoul City Hall, paid for by the airline.  That suited me just fine.  I was the only passenger on said bus, and in broken English the driver asked where I was going.  I told him Gireum station.  He had a suggestion: He would take me to Gimpo Airport where his car was parked, and then he drive me to Gireum himself.  I caught on that the guy was ready to get home, and this plan likely would have shaved a couple of hours off his night.  I readily agreed, but alas, another passenger arrived and foiled our plan.  Still, there was a cab waiting at the City Hall bus stop and he carried me to my destination for W12,000 including tip.

Jee Yeun greeted me at the door with a smile and a kiss and I knew at long last my journey was over.  It’s good to be home.