Something About the Homeland
My trip home to Canada started with a delayed flight to Toronto and ended with yet another to Seoul. I landed in Chicago and called home to tell everyone that I had made it okay. I hung up the phone and noticed everyone staring at a white wall. As I got closer I realized it wasn't a wall, it was a window. Tornadoes had struck Chicago and the rain was so heavy it looked like snow. I knew I had a 4 hour stop over in Chicago but,because of the tornadoes, it was now an 8 hour stop over. My eyes were so tired they were stinging. I finally landed in Toronto at 3:30 Saturday morning.
People are asking what I did while I was home, and I don't really have much to tell. Saturday was spent doing some shopping and Sunday we had a family get together at grannies. On Monday I did yet more shopping and took in The Jay's last home game of the season at the Roger's Center. On Tuesday I went up to Lakefield with my folks. Wednesday I renewed my driver's license and health card and, you guessed it, more shopping. On Thursday there was yet more shopping and I headed back to Richmond Hill on Friday. On Saturday there was more shopping followed on Sunday by an early Thanksgiving Dinner. On Monday I went up to Newmarket to meet Troy, Amanada and Micah for lunch. On Tuesday I did some last minute shopping and on Wednesday had dinner at Doug and Carol's followed by the season premier of "Lost."
My flight back on Thursday started off a bit rocky. I asked the woman at the AA counter where my luggage would end up. It would make sense that they would be checked to Seoul, but the airline companies don't always make sense. She told me my bags would be checked to Seoul but I would have to collect them in Tokyo and re-check them. I asked again in Chicago and the AA people told me I wouldn't have to collect them in Tokyo; they would go straight to Seoul. I asked on the plane to Tokyo and they said again they should go straight to Seoul. When I tried to go through security in Tokyo I was asked for my bags. They told me I would have to collect my bags in Tokyo and re-check them. When I went to the baggage area the women told me that my bags had been checked to Seoul. When I tried to get my boarding pass for the flight to Seoul I was asked yet again for my bags. I told the woman they were being checked to Seoul, but she didn't seem to believe me. Needless to say, yes, my bags were checked to Seoul. What I would like to know is why so many official AA workers would misread a luggage claim ticket? It was funny for a bit but very frustrating in the end.
As we approached Tokyo-Narita Airport the pilot said we would be experiencing some turbulence for a while. I have never experienced so much of it in my life. As many of you know I hate roller coasters. The descent into Tokyo-Narita was a roller coaster ride from hell. I put my head between my knees and couldn't stop "yelping." It was a kind of girlish scream. People on both sides of me were patting my back. A couple of seats over some guy started barfing. Then someone a few rows back decided to follow the trend. I wasn't queasy but my heart was racing a mile a minute. I was scared half to death. After we landed there was an announcement in Japanese that made those able to understand gasp. Apparently the pilot didn't feel safe landing in Tokyo-Narita and instead opted for a closer airport. A few minutes later it was revealed that we had in fact landed at Tokyo Narita. We were then informed we had just landed in a typhoon. I knew right away that there would be problems. My flight to Seoul was less than 2 hours away and I knew there would be delays. When I got to the boarding area I found that the flight had been delayed for an unspecified amount of time. The plane had to come from Korea and at that point there were no planes landing at the airport. The flight ended up being delayed for 5 hours. This delay had some serious implications for me in Korea. I had a train ticket that left Yongsan Station at 6:10 Saturday morning. I had originally planed on taking the airport bus to the train station and sleeping for a few hours in the station. The problem was that when the plane landed the buses had stopped running. To further complicate things, the busses wouldn't start again until 6:30 a.m. . As I stepped into Incheon Airport (Seoul) I was handed a sheet of paper. It said that Japan Airlines had charted 20 busses to take people into Seoul. Woo hoo! Had I not been able to catch the 6:10 train I may have been stranded in Seoul for a while. It was the Korean Thanksgiving weekend (Chusock) and all the trains were booked solid.
As I arrived at Yongsan station at 2:30 a.m. my heart dropped a bit: the place was closed! Not only that, there were a bunch of homeless people scattered around the main doors. Luckily the doors were open at 3:00 a.m. and I was able to go inside.
And there you have it. After this last visit home, I think this will be my last year in Korea. My "one year" stay will soon be entering it's fifth year and I think I'm finally finished. Yet again, I could change my mind. Who knows?
People are asking what I did while I was home, and I don't really have much to tell. Saturday was spent doing some shopping and Sunday we had a family get together at grannies. On Monday I did yet more shopping and took in The Jay's last home game of the season at the Roger's Center. On Tuesday I went up to Lakefield with my folks. Wednesday I renewed my driver's license and health card and, you guessed it, more shopping. On Thursday there was yet more shopping and I headed back to Richmond Hill on Friday. On Saturday there was more shopping followed on Sunday by an early Thanksgiving Dinner. On Monday I went up to Newmarket to meet Troy, Amanada and Micah for lunch. On Tuesday I did some last minute shopping and on Wednesday had dinner at Doug and Carol's followed by the season premier of "Lost."
My flight back on Thursday started off a bit rocky. I asked the woman at the AA counter where my luggage would end up. It would make sense that they would be checked to Seoul, but the airline companies don't always make sense. She told me my bags would be checked to Seoul but I would have to collect them in Tokyo and re-check them. I asked again in Chicago and the AA people told me I wouldn't have to collect them in Tokyo; they would go straight to Seoul. I asked on the plane to Tokyo and they said again they should go straight to Seoul. When I tried to go through security in Tokyo I was asked for my bags. They told me I would have to collect my bags in Tokyo and re-check them. When I went to the baggage area the women told me that my bags had been checked to Seoul. When I tried to get my boarding pass for the flight to Seoul I was asked yet again for my bags. I told the woman they were being checked to Seoul, but she didn't seem to believe me. Needless to say, yes, my bags were checked to Seoul. What I would like to know is why so many official AA workers would misread a luggage claim ticket? It was funny for a bit but very frustrating in the end.
As we approached Tokyo-Narita Airport the pilot said we would be experiencing some turbulence for a while. I have never experienced so much of it in my life. As many of you know I hate roller coasters. The descent into Tokyo-Narita was a roller coaster ride from hell. I put my head between my knees and couldn't stop "yelping." It was a kind of girlish scream. People on both sides of me were patting my back. A couple of seats over some guy started barfing. Then someone a few rows back decided to follow the trend. I wasn't queasy but my heart was racing a mile a minute. I was scared half to death. After we landed there was an announcement in Japanese that made those able to understand gasp. Apparently the pilot didn't feel safe landing in Tokyo-Narita and instead opted for a closer airport. A few minutes later it was revealed that we had in fact landed at Tokyo Narita. We were then informed we had just landed in a typhoon. I knew right away that there would be problems. My flight to Seoul was less than 2 hours away and I knew there would be delays. When I got to the boarding area I found that the flight had been delayed for an unspecified amount of time. The plane had to come from Korea and at that point there were no planes landing at the airport. The flight ended up being delayed for 5 hours. This delay had some serious implications for me in Korea. I had a train ticket that left Yongsan Station at 6:10 Saturday morning. I had originally planed on taking the airport bus to the train station and sleeping for a few hours in the station. The problem was that when the plane landed the buses had stopped running. To further complicate things, the busses wouldn't start again until 6:30 a.m. . As I stepped into Incheon Airport (Seoul) I was handed a sheet of paper. It said that Japan Airlines had charted 20 busses to take people into Seoul. Woo hoo! Had I not been able to catch the 6:10 train I may have been stranded in Seoul for a while. It was the Korean Thanksgiving weekend (Chusock) and all the trains were booked solid.
As I arrived at Yongsan station at 2:30 a.m. my heart dropped a bit: the place was closed! Not only that, there were a bunch of homeless people scattered around the main doors. Luckily the doors were open at 3:00 a.m. and I was able to go inside.
And there you have it. After this last visit home, I think this will be my last year in Korea. My "one year" stay will soon be entering it's fifth year and I think I'm finally finished. Yet again, I could change my mind. Who knows?
Labels: Travel
posted by Mike Peacock @ 9:44 AM
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home