Days 1 and 2: Getting there

This was the big day!  The four of us, Alicia, Eli, Nate and myself, were finally flying out to Seoul after months of planning and years of saving.  It was sort of liberating to know that everything that could be put in place prior to our departure was done, and there was really little left to worry about besides waking up on time.

This is not really ABIA - just what it feels like

Our airport shuttle was scheduled to pick us up between 4:05AM and 4:20AM the morning of our flight, and he was right on time at 4:06AM.  Everyone was still a little cobwebby, but we'd staged all our luggage and carry-on baggage the night before, so shuffling it all out to the curb was something we could do half-asleep (which we clearly were).  One final gut-and-passport check (both were still there) and we were on our way for a pleasant and uncharacteristically cool - I believe it was only in the mid-80s at that hour - drive to Austin Bergstrom International Airport.

Lots of people romanticize travel, and I would like to be one of those people.  Unfortunately, I live in the real world of rapacious airlines, the TSA, unpleasant check-in clerks, overcrowded planes, luggage and young(ish) kids.  All romance has been squashed out of air travel for me and replaced with a numb dread.  That said, I have to admit that our experience with the flights and airports - Austin, Phoenix, San Francisco and Incheon - were, for the most part, positive, and things went very smoothly.
The only hint of panic came at San Francisco.
San Francisco Airport is, understandably, a large place.  It is situated in a major metropolitan area on the Pacific Coast, providing a kicking-off point for travel throughout Asia, Indonesia, Australia and beyond.  That's all wonderful, but if you arrive at a domestic gate with about 45 minutes to make it to an international departure gate, don't assume you have it made!  What we neglected to realize until we were smacked in the timeline with it was that we would have to exit the secured domestic area of the airport and re-enter the secured international area of the airport approximately 4000 miles away.  Leaving a secured area is quick.  Entering a secured area is NOT quick in the middle of the day, in San Francisco Airport.  It is made even slower when an obstinate grandmother stops her entire family (and the rest of the agitated, semi-disrobed herd of passengers behind them in the security queue, trying to make connections) in mid-patdown to argue with the TSA representative about whether she has more than 3oz of hand cream in her bag.  I disagree with almost everything the TSA has come to stand for, but in that instant, I was praying for them to just black-bag the old lady so we could get on our way.  Ultimately, no black bags or rubber hoses were required.  The hand cream was confiscated and used sort of like bait to lure Granny Bottleneck and her family away.  We made it to our gate as they were calling the last seating section, and got aboard without further incident.
Our plane (both to and from Korea) was a Boeing 747-400, which is a pretty old plane - is, in fact, the oldest plane of its class still in the air.  Not surprisingly, amenities were a little on the light side, which is kind of funny.  When Alicia and I flew to Korea in 2003 to meet our son, Nate, the plane we flew in (a 757) was like a spaceship: individual seat-back video, instant flight information on request, power outlets and pretty good food.  This time, the plane just felt kind of decrepit, like it might spend evenings telling the younger planes how much harder flying used to be in the old days, or complaining about various aches, pains and declining control over its hydraulics.  It wasn't a terrible hardship, though, because we fly so infrequently that just getting there with both boys and all our luggage is enough to send us into paroxysms of joy.

This is what Incheon Airport seems like
compared to Austin

The flight itself was uneventful.  Flying West toward Korea takes longer than the return trip traveling East, and the San Francisco/Seoul leg took about twelve hours.  The boys were able to watch the communal movie screen or read virtually the whole way there, but none of us got much sleep despite trying.  Excitement, cramped quarters, and noise conspired against us so, although we arrived in Seoul at 3:20PM or so (local time), we were all pretty well done in.  Luckily for us, we'd been in Incheon airport before, and it is extremely easy to navigate.  Armed with that knowledge, and the adrenaline boost of having arrived in Korea at last, we made our way through immigration, then customs (where they were certain I was lying to them about not being in the military), then out to the public waiting area to rent a phone and find our shuttle driver.  Fortunately for us, we found both phone and driver within about 20 feet of each other, after realizing we'd come out the "wrong" door from customs and standing around - slack jawed and glassy eyed - for a few minutes before realizing our error.
We collected our phone and tried to keep up with our driver, Mr. Lee, who immediately took charge of our luggage cart and tore out of the terminal like he was late for an appointment or wanted for questioning (note: the driver was not wanted for questioning; he was a very nice guy).  He'd parked very close to the terminal, so the walk to the van wasn't long.  We loaded our bags and left the airport no more than 15 minutes after clearing customs.  To say that our driver drove "fast" is doing an injustice to his skills.  He drove that van like a bat out of hell from the airport all the way into downtown Seoul.  I know from experience that trip should take just over an hour barring traffic; he made it in 47 minutes, door to door.  There were many times I saw the speedometer in the van tremble just above 140km/h (around 90mph).  In the end, though, fatigue won, and I couldn't maintain the same level of terror for three quarters of an hour, plus I think my screaming was interfering with his driving.  Mr. Lee didn't seem to think there was anything to worry about, so I stared out the window, dozed and made small talk with Alicia while the boys semi-slept all the way into Seoul.

Side note: isn't it strange that we're perfectly okay putting our lives in a complete stranger's hands just because we're paying them for a ride and assume they know what they're doing, where they're going and they're not on drugs?  There was a lot of that on this trip - the spontaneous trusting of a completely unknown and potentially deadly individual (you thought I meant drugs, didn't you?) - and it worked out very well (that time I meant drugs! (no I didn't)).  

We were soon deposited at the Hotel Astoria, in central Seoul, on the north side of the Han River (Han-gang), and there will be more about what happened there in my next post!