Ladies and gentlemen, flying halfway around the world is no joke. And yes, I can literally see all of you rolling your eyes and muttering "obviously" from here. I have been in Daegu for almost 48 hours now, and I have so much that I have been waiting to tell you all!
Let's start with the flight shall we?
For those of you that have never flown internationally, the process is pretty simple, and not unlike traveling within the States themselves. The only main difference, usually, is that you use your passport instead of your driver's license to check in. But with Covid-19 still being what it is, I also had to present my negative PCR test while checking in.
I was out of the house at 4:30AM in order to make the drive to Charlotte, NC, where I would take a short flight to Atlanta, GA, before catching my direct flight to Incheon, South Korea.
I had a few hours to kill in the Atlanta airport, which I mostly spent people watching and trying my absolute hardest to eat something. My anxiety over moving to South Korea definitely peaked in the 24-36 hours before my flight, and eating became next to impossible. I did manage to finish a bottle of water and some nuts before the flight, but looking back I really wish I would have tried harder to eat something more substantial, because....
....the flight to Incheon is 15 HOURS long. (Also look at how close we flew to the Arctic circle!) It is definitely the longest flight I have ever been on. And I was SO HUNGRY for most of it lol. Because of the time difference, my flight took off from Atlanta at 12:30PM and landed in South Korea at 4:30PM the next day! There were two in-flight meals and two "snack times" that were provided by the airline. Standard airline food was served during the meals, as well as complimentary wine, coffee, and tea. The first snack break was a bag of pretzels, and the second snack break you had the choice between a banana and a little steamed bun with some meat inside (I obviously choose the steamed bun - and it was delicious!). I definitely recommend packing additional snacks for the plane. I would also buy an extra large bottle of water in the terminal, because I ended up feeling VERY dehydrated by the end of the flight.
But before I go any further, I just HAVE to mention the in-flight safety video. Many of you may be unfamiliar with a K-Pop group by the name of BTS, but they are VERY popular in Korea and are steadily gaining recognition all around the world. Some of their songs have even been on the radio in the US!
Well, (in my humble opinion) Korean Air made the genius decision to use BTS to create their in-flight safety video. There was singing, choreographed dancing, and even an adorable cartoon bear that rapped for the kids. It was AMAZING. I can say with 100% honesty, it is the only safety video I have ever watched all the way through.
In addition to an entertaining safety video, Korean Air also provided complimentary slippers and a toothbrush with a tiny tube of toothpaste (and after 15 hours that toothbrush was a lifesaver!). At first, I wasn't entirely sure what the slippers were about, but after watching the other passengers I gathered that the slippers were mainly given for passenger comfort. Again, it was sorta genius. I didn't wear my shoes the entire time I was on the flight, but I never felt like I was being rude to the other passengers by only being in my socks, you know?
Now. How to survive a 15 hour flight, you ask? The only advice I can offer is to try your absolute best to get some sleep. As much as you possibly can. I did find out during one of my nap sessions that if you miss any of the meals or snacks they leave a little note on your seat that they will come back when you wake up. This was really great since they tended to come by every 2 hours, and those time intervals can make it hard to get any sort of decent sleep.
On a whim, I ended up buying a sleep mask from Target the day before my flight, and it ended up being one of the BEST purchases for the flight. Even though they turn out the cabin lights to try and help people sleep, not everyone will. The mask did a great job blocking out any nearby lights.
I think I really lucked out on this flight thanks to Covid, actually. (the only good thing it's done). Because of Covid, the flight was roughly only 1/3 of the way full. This meant I had a stretch of three seats all to myself. I can tell you that sleeping across three airplane seats is not at all comfortable, but it is DEFINITELY more comfortable than sleeping sitting up. I think the flight would have been quite terrible if I had just been confined to one seat. Laying down, I was able to manage between 4-6 hours of sleep on the plane. I did get pretty stiff and a little sore from sleeping sort of curled up on those seats, but it gave me just the little bit of extra energy I would need later.
If you think sleep will be a struggle for you, I would HIGHLY recommend buying some melatonin or other type of sleep aid. Even if you only end up getting 3-5 hours of sleep, it will be well worth it, because your journey doesn't end once you arrive at the airport.
But more on that in my next post!
Comments