Going to Korea

McRad dropped us off at the train station, then we got the 14.12 to St.Pancras. The train journey took less than an hour, so it was quite quick. When we got there we had to try and find the correct tube line that went to Heathrow.

Eventually we did find the right tube line - Piccadilly, and we got to the airport about 4pm. At the airport, we had to find the correct terminal first (terminal 1), then the correct zone for check in. Both were easy to find thanks to the clear directions/signs. There were already a few people waiting to check in for our flight, so we just joined the queue behind them. It was quite a while until the check-in process actually started, as the flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 9pm.

When we came to check in, they asked us if we would like to be next to the window or the aisle. I said the window, as I was hoping I'd be able to take some photos out the window.

They didn't actually weigh our bags, but you just had to make sure your carry-on would fit inside a metal basket thing they had there. Mine did, despite being very heavy, but Moccle's lighter bag was too fat, so he had to give it to the person to go in the baggage hold. They put a tag on my tripod, then I had to take it to a place for oversize (or something like that) luggage, where they scanned the barcode on the tag the check in lady had added to it, then put it on a conveyor belt to take it away.

After that we went upstairs to the cafe area, and there was a screen on the wall there that had a list of flights, and whether the flight was okay for you to go to the departure lounge, or if it was boarding. Moccle bought us both a bottle of coke from WHSmiths, then we went back upstairs to the cafe area, and sat there for a couple of hours drinking our coke and reading. Moccle read the first story in his Kafka short stories book, and read the first bit of the Korea guide book we'd got, which was mainly about the history of Korea. I also kept checking the flights status screen regularly to see if we could go through the security bit into the departure lounge yet.

Eventually, at about 7pm, I think, the screen changed to say we could go through security into the departure lounge. I hadn't finished my coke, but you can't take any liquids into the departure lounge with you, so I had to throw the rest of it away (I had drunk most of it though).

The first bit of security, you have to put any liquids in a bag (this included inhalers, which I didn't think would count as a liquid), and you also had to take your laptop out of your bag. As far as I could tell, there didn't seem to be any reason why you needed to do either of these things, except to annoy you and discourage people from leaving the country.

After that, you had to get your passport checked, which was quick and painless. Then you came to the second security bit, where you have to take off your coat, shoes, belt, etc. and place them in a plastic box thing, along with your laptop and bagged liquids. You also put your bag on the conveyor belt, and it all goes through what I assume is an x-ray machine. I still set off the scanner though, as my jeans have a metal button and other little metal bits on the pockets. So a bloke did a search of me, and eventually let me go through. A bit annoying, but not too much of a problem.

You then have to re-pack your bag, put your belt, shoes, and coat back on, re-fill your pockets, and you can then get through to the departure lounge.

In the departure lounge, there are some tax free shops, like hmv and dixons, but there was also a chocolate shop that was stupidly rip-off, e.g. £5.50 for a bar of galaxy, or 4 tubes of smarties with crayon tops for £12. And remember, these prices are without VAT!!! They also did a great deal that if you spend over £15, you could get a small teddy bear for £5! We were waiting in the departure lounge for about an hour, and quite a few people looked at one thing in the shop, then went away after a few seconds when they saw the price.

I did try to see if I could get on to the internet in the departure loung. They had a few wireless networks, but they were all pay ones, so when you connect to them, when you try and go on the internet, it will bring up a page for that wireless hotspot provider asking you to sign in.

Eventually, we could go to the boarding area for our flight about 8.00pm, then about 20 minutes later they said some announcement that we couldn't make out. The announcement in Japanese was nice a and clear, but the English announcement was all muffled and quiet. Everyone started lining up though, so we joined the queue too. Most of the people going on the flight seemed to be Koreans, but there were also a few Westerners and Japanese too.

Just before you get on the flight, there was a selection of Korean newspapers you can pick up.

When we got onboard the plane, the stewardess told us which aisle to go down, then we just walked down the aisle until we found the correct seats according to our boarding pass. I put my bag in the overhead compartment, then we sat down in our seats. On our seats was a bag with some toothpaste,a toothbrush, some paper/card slippers, and an eye mask. There was also some headphones in a bag, a pillow, and a blanket. I did take a couple of photos out of the window, but it was too dark really. When the plane got going, there was some good views out the window for a few minutes of all the lights down below, however, often the plane was banking to the left, so the wing was in the way (we were sitting on the right hand side), and also with the speed of the plane and relative dimness of the lights on the ground, I couldn't get any decent photos.

We sat next to a Korean bloke who had lived in the US for a bit, so he spoke good English, and talked to him for a bit. When it came to dinner time, it was Korean food, and he explained how to eat it properly. The Bibimbap (rice, minced beef, vegetables, and spicy sauce) was very nice, but I didn't like the fish soup, and I didn't like the Kimchi (spicy cabbage) that much either. They also served soba noodles (with packets of soy sauce and wasabi), which the Korean bloke said doesn't go with the meal, I didn't eat them as I was too full.

After that I talked to Moccle for a bit and tried to learn a bit of Hangul (the Korean writing system). Then I annoyed the bloke on the end of the row (well he didn't actually get annoyed) by waking him up so I could get out of the row and go to the toilet. I had to wait for ages until I could use the loo, so by the time I came back to my seat, the bloke had gone to sleep, and I had to wake him up again. Then I tried to get to sleep, but didn't get much, as it's quite hard trying to sleep while sitting up (there wasn't much legroom, and the chairs didn't recline at all - I think that sort of thing is probably reserved for business class.

Food
Dinner: Bibimbap; Kimchi; Fish soup. Pudding was mixed pieces of fruit. Water.