The West Commences: Incheon again

Bert got me to the plane on time. All went as planned from there, so I can't complain, but I will. Air travel in 2014 is fast and amazing in many ways, but you can't honestly call it pleasant, certainly not when you're in Economy class. I felt blessed when the Air Canada Dehavilland Dash 8 Turboprop that rattled and roared me to Vancouver finally landed with a thud. We had to pick up our carry-on luggage that had been stored somewhere in the rear of the plane and walk through a light rain to the airport. The walk was the most pleasant part of the trip. Then I had to wait just over 4 hours for the Korean Air 777 Jet to whisk me in relative silence, with only a short period of turbulence somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, to Incheon. I didn't really sleep much on the approximately 11 hour flight, but we had 2 decent meals, the first with a bit of red wine, and I watched 3 movies, 'Belle', 'Sense and Sensibility' and 'The Two Faces of January' in a row. That's more rapid-fire visual stimulation than I've had in ages. Since I've been at Jay's I've watched the first of 'The Hunger Games' movies and will probably watch a few more things, so I might catch up on what's happening in the film world; I haven't watched much lately.

Incheon felt familiar from the moment I entered the airport, even though it’s huge and has more conveyor belts for baggage than the Kelowna airport has flights in a day. Jay was waiting in the arrival area. We moved right on out to the subway. It took about an hour to get to his stop, then a short walk to the apartment and we were home. It was not quite 4:00 am Saturday Vernon time, but a late Saturday dinnertime ‘chez May’, lentil soup, grilled fish and salad, a light, nourishing meal. As soon as I had finished eating I was ready to sleep, but first unpacked all my stuff and put it away in the nest that will be mine for a month. Tired though I was, I took a gravol to ‘make assurance doubly sure.’ I slept in spite of the fact that Jay, May and the girls were far from silent and close to my room watching a horror movie. The last thing I heard was Min Hee screaming, but I was so nearly gone that it seemed distant and muffled.

Sunday was spent waking slowly, eating, visiting with May’s brother, his wife and their baby and walking in the nearby park. Today was school and teaching for the others. I went for a long bike ride to reconnect with some of my favorite parts of Song Do. It was sunny and warm. The vegetation was dry; the grasses seemed to scrape in the wind and the cosmos were fading. The brightest flowers were the masses of zinnias that lined one section of road. I went up and down almost every path in the maze of trails that is Central Park in Song Do. The whole place was brilliant with banners announcing the 2014 Asian Games which are in Incheon this week and next. I rested near the stadium and watched the Japanese triathlon team get ready for a practice ride on the bike route. Their event will be held on Thurs. and Fri., Sept. 25 and 26^th. I’m going to bike over to watch parts of it. There was a swimmer also practicing as I watched; I’ve rarely seen such a fast and exuberant front crawl. The swimming portion is a short up and back, so I hope to see all of it.

The games and a visit to the jimjillbang should fill this week. We are thinking of a train ride to the DMZ either this weekend or next and a short holiday somewhere in Korea the following weekend when Jay has 4 days off.