Across the Arctic and Around the World

We did it! Can you believe it? We made it all the way around the world. It took 48 hours from start to finish to get over here, but we did it. Here’s a quick recap from our travels:

Started in Baltimore for a 7:00 a.m. wakeup call on Tuesday the 13th. It’s hard to sleep when you’re nervous and have such a big day/year ahead of you. I also knew it was the last time day I would be able to spend any time with my mom for a long time. Our train was scheduled to depart from BWI at 11:43, so we left Pasadena at 10:45, just to be safe. Aunt Kathy joined us for the ride and offered to bring us breakfast. We let her know that we were fine and planned to bring sandwiches from the amazing going away party for the road. She’s sweet to offer and to come for the send off. Glad she was there. Glad we had such a warm goodbye. Leaving my family and friends is 100% the hardest part of this entire trip. I’m lost without those that I love, but hopefully I can prove I have extra strength in myself that I didn’t know about before.

The train ended up being about 25 minutes late, which was fine with me because it was more time with my family. By right after noon we were off and on our way to NY. The train was fairly full, but Jason and I grabbed seats in the cafe car, which allowed us to play cards (thank you for the immediately useful gift, 2x’s, Lindsey!) and keep our bags close. Taking a train through that East Coast corridor really gives perspective on how depressed that route is. It’s mostly bleak, old areas of industry that used to thrive and have now collapsed. It could be so beautiful! Trains in Europe were and, thus far in Asia, they have been too.

Upon arriving in NYC we walked to Grand Central to take in the view and then met up with Jason’s old friend Trevor for dinner and drinks in Brooklyn. Trevor made sure we got our last truly American burger in, even though he’s vegetarian. Super nice of you, Trevor! It was quite the delicious burger. We spent a little bit on burgers and beers, because we knew it was our last meal, but it was worth it.

After saying our goodbyes we headed to the airport. We left Trevor around 10:30 p.m. for our 1:30 a.m. flight, thinking we had plenty of time to get to the airport, check into the flight, and even stock up on snacks and provisions for the long flight. Little did we know how crazy that line for China Southern Airlines would be upon arrival. We could not check into the flight before going to the airport, so we had to do so with everyone else that was boarding. Any long line prior to security makes my stomach drop, but eventually we made it through and even through our bags were slightly over weight they allowed us to carry them on. Unfortunately, they did not honor our request during ticketing to sit next to one another. Best they could assign was behind one another.

Security went quickly, better than I expected, but for being an international airport JFK had little in terms of stores open after midnight. We had to line up sooner than we expected anyway, for what reason I don’t know. The Chinese aren’t known for queuing well, so we were cut in front of more than once. Having already been a long day it made me crankier than I’d prefer, but we boarded and the kind (or probably just confused) old lady sitting next to Jason agreed to swap seats with me so we could spend the 16 hour flight next to each other.

That’s right, 16 hour flight, although in the end it was about 14.5 hours. What we didn’t realize getting on the plane was we were flying over the Arctic Circle! We also did realize, but didn’t want to believe, that the only daylight we’d have was during that portion of the flight, for about 3 or so hours, all very dusky and pink. Quite pretty, but I can’t say now that I’ve seen the arctic.

In the US, we don’t realize how bad we have it on planes. During our flight we had three meal services. The first one was a fried rice snack that smelled horrid and Jason and I didn’t partake in because we were trying to sleep just a little bit. I could cover my eyes and plug up my ears, but I couldn’t filter that smell from my nose and it was stank! Thank goodness the other two meals were actually tasty enough for airline food and offered a variety of options. In flight entertainment offered a few shows and movies worth watching (Mom, they had so many hobbits, LOTR’s, and Marvel movies. You’d have been set!) and we brought a few things of our own. The best part was the flight tracker. We could see exactly how fast the plane was going (about 600 mph), how high we were (about 37,000 altitude at it’s peak, no turbulence at that height for us!), how far we’d been, how far we had left to go, where the sun was at, and where exactly the plane was in the world. It was completely interactive and totally amazing.

After flight one we had a 3.5 hour layover in China. We met a fellow traveler who was in going from Nepal to JFK on his own 16 hour flight. He’d just married a Nepalese women, whom had yet to meet his family, and was on his way to a friends wedding and job interview the next day. He was kind, named Alex, and we wished him well. Then, we were off to Korea! The plane was scheduled to leave at 9:30, but we had a flight delay that said we’d be out at 10:30. People gasped at the announcement, but then were quickly relieved when the flight attendants showered us in sweets and began drink service prior to takeoff. By the way, wine is a complementary beverage. We did not partake. The drinks nearly made it to us before take off, only about 20-30 minutes later than originally planned.  Unexpectedly, there was more meal service on this flight too! The wasabi for our cold noodles was the hottest I’d ever had! And, the kimchi was fresh and tasted perfect. If there’s good kimchi in the air then there has to be even better kimchi on the ground!

China Southern Airlines fed us 5 times (technically, even if Jason and I skipped one of the meals) and flew us thousands upon thousands of miles for 17.5 hours total in the air at the cost of $400 per person for the flight. When we bought the tickets it was a no brainer, and I’m so glad we went with this option.

We made it to Korea, found our crazy airport hotel (reception was a closet sized room on the 2nd floor with a name that just didn’t make sense on the door) and after settling in promptly slept for 12+ hours. I’ve never slept so well in a hotel in my life. The bed was huge (not something we’ll find in most places in Asia) and the room was comfy. We had instant coffee and English Breakfast tea around 5:00 a.m. After a few calls home, some well deserved showers, and some CNN, we headed to Seoul from Incheon. Trip took right around an hour and was the simplest public transit I’ve ever navigated, and it was in a totally foreign country. I’m already seeing why people get so frustrated with the US. I kept waiting for the hard part of the transit, but between easy travels and easy check in there hasn’t yet been one.

Tomorrow it’s going to rain, but at least not the typhoon that Taiwan is getting right now. We’re going to try to find a museum or two to keep us dry. Sunday or Monday we’re hoping for a baseball game. The teams are Samsung Vs. LG. No joke… taking corporate sponsorship to a whole new level. We’re going to head to Itaewon, a Western friendly area, sometime before we go too. Then, by Wednesday, we’re off again to Tokyo!

Thanks for reading, sorry for the length, but it’s been a crazy few days here in Asia. Annyeong!