Breakfast at the Qantas first class loung in Sydney
Before doing anything, I need to figure out how to use this awesome program I wrote that automatically encrypts everything I type here into a jumble of symbols so I can never fix it or update it again.
Now at least 10 years of refinements and programmatic shortcuts have got the whole thing to the point where I can no longer understand what I am doing.
After studying the idiots guide to web programming briefly, lets get going.
Today I am going to South Korea. I have been there before, so I am going again.
This destination was chosen based on available flights in the hour I allotted myself to choose a holiday destination for the time period I decided would be the most inconvenient for everyone.
Unlike last time, this time I am venturing all around the country. To small backwater towns of 2 or 3 million people no ones ever heard of.
Before all that, I need to get there, and that means a 6am flight to Sydney from Adelaide on Qantas, before transferring in a great rush to an Asiana 777, the very same airline and type of plane they bounced the tail off the ground in San Francisco last year before the fire engine ran over people escaping the burning wreck.
Wish me luck. Follow OZ602 on flightradar24.com, let me know if it turns into a fireball.
Its me, out front of my house, at 4:30am, making sure my camera is charged. Also practicing my patented pose.
Brace for many similar pictures, most will be darker than this one.
Its me again. I look about 12. Since vanity is high on my list of commendable qualities in an individual, it pleases me to take on the appearance of someone much younger than my ageing self.
The now very familiar Qantas first class lounge in Sydney, for breakfast. Although I dont have much time as I have to type this whilst I am here.
For breakfast I had fruit and yoghurt. It was very good. For the next 2 and a half weeks I will only eat fried spiders and similar items, so this was the last chance for good healthy eating. Important due to my involvemnt with the live strong movement, and my hero, world champion liar Lance Armstrong.
I can learn so much from him.
I went off on a tangent already, get used to it.
Also, got to board now, just a 10.5 hour flight. They only have squatter bathrooms on board, so I better go use the last western toilet I will see for weeks.
Sydney to Incheon on an Asiana 777
Well, everything went to schedule.
The flight left on time. It followed the correct course. The tail did not snap off on landing.
It was however totally full, which was surprising, but despite that and being in economy, it was a very pleasant flight, and didnt seem like it went for a full 10.5 hours.
Highlights included - Korean babies, who are awesome, and never cry. Boys and girls have multiple pony tails sticking out in random directions on their heads.
Korean men, who spent more time doing their hair and make up just before landing than the women / girls. Its hard to keep your perm looking good in the dry air.
The food was excellent, hence I took a photo. Also, the 3/3/3 config of the Asiana 777 in economy is excellent, most other carriers go 3/4/3 these days.
Enough plane nerd speak.
I discovered whilst onboard that my mobile phone has an fm radio, so I briefly listened to Papua New Guinean radio as we went over, and then some kind of island service near Palau. Cause thats the sort of idiotic stuff you do when encased in a metal tube for half a day.
I went for a walk up and down the aisles and saw no other gaijin/laowei/whatever is Korean for idiot round eye (big nose?). I did see some others boarding but I suspect they were in business / first.
When lunch was served the trolley dolly tried to take away the bibimbap pepper sauce, telling me 'hot hot!'. I squeezed the entire contents directly into my mouth, then demanded another.
When they came around later in the flight for meal number 3, she gave me a tube to go with my bulgogi too.
Also they give out in economy, slippers, face masks, ear plugs, moisturizer made from crushed snails and kept up the service throughout the flight.
Once I arrived at Incheon international airport, constantly voted best in the world, I was stuck in an immigration queue. This rarely happens in such airports.
Many other people decided to try on the chat and cut, where you pretend to know someone and push in, I was having none of this, and just pushed back in front of them, using my death glare to great effect.
As I got to the front, I noticed a lot of people were failing their entrance exam and being sent to an interview room, pretty much 1 in every 2 people.
The benefits of being a white Australian are apparent here, immigration guy looked at my passport cover, saw the emu and kangaroo, and waved me through.
Next up was the airport train followed by the subway followed by a short walk to my hotel which seems to be in amongst a lot of Neon in downtown Incheon, more on that tomorrow. It was however so cold during my brief walk that about a litre of snot ran straight from my nose with a consistency of water, and then froze to my face.
Im really tired and suspect none of the above makes sense, so I reserve the right to rewrite it tomorrow.
The excellent bibimbap with above mentioned pepper sauce toothpaste tube. It was spicier than the packet ones they seem to carry in the Korean grocer in Australia, but then again I never thought to buy it in toothpaste form factor.
Its me, waiting for the airport train, looking pleased.
Apparently they are building a maglev that goes around in a bullshit circle for tourists to go on for no good reason, but its not finished....otherwise I would be on it advising that its useless cause the Shanghai one actually goes most of the way to Shanghai.
This is the inside of the normal subway train. I like trains. I stood up because I was excited to be on a train.
Why arent trains in Australia like this? I think the Perth ones are. You can fit a lot more people on when its busy.
View from my hotel room - in the other direction is an Imax, Homeplus which is like a Walmart, and about 10,000 restaurants selling dog meat and other such things.
Last pic today, my hotel room, because my mother likes to see photos of hotel rooms. I live in a hotel when in Australia, so yay, a hotel!
The internet is ridiculously fast. Check in like Japan doesnt need a credit card or deposit of any kind. I just showed my passport and they handed me the electronic key. Didnt even sign.