It's been a busy month, trying to finish units before the break. But onto the second last post (last one being a reflective overall post) for Asia 2023!
With our flights being relatively late, we had the luxury to wake up late. We did one final pack and clean up before checking out of our hotel. We took a local bus to the airport, which surprisingly, we didn't have to book. The ride was about an hour long, so we got more shut eye in.
As we approached the airport, it started to rain. I believe this is my third Asia trip in a row that had rain on the last day (I believe Japan 2019 did... but for sure Japan 2017 and 2015 did). Perhaps it's a reflection of my heart, in that I miss home, but it's always nice to be able to travel abroad. My girlfriend's flight to HK was earlier than mine, but she took the shuttle bus from our bus stop to my terminal. After spending about half an hour together, it was time for her to head back to the other terminal to catch her flight. I had about five hours to spare before my flight.
I sat by the check in, waiting for about 90 minutes for my turn. As it was time, I approached to check in, but was informed that they had to change my flight since my transit time in the US was too short (originally was supposed to fly to SFO before heading back to YYC). 90 minutes, was apparently not enough time to clear through immigrations. Unfortunately, it was hard for me to get the full message, since the check in counter didn't have a strong grasp of English. However, they were so kind to find someone fluent enough to guide me on what to do in order to change my flight. I left for the ticket counter, in which I had my flight change to Seattle. To compensate for my trouble, they upgraded my seat to an exit row seat. I was fine with that, since my initial thought was more leg room.
After checking in with my new boarding pass, I dropped off my luggage and headed through security. It was a breeze, which meant I had a good amount of time. I looked around the various kiosks and stores they had, and finally settled for some lunch. As per tradition, I tried looking for a McDonald's, but none were in sight (that I could see anyways). I did find a Lotteria, which is a South Korean burger chain restaurant. I ordered one of their recommended burgers and upgraded my fries with sour cream onion powder. The burger was huge and delicious, and the sour cream powder was a nice touch to the fries. After completing lunch, I headed to my gate to wait to board.
Excited to get more leg room, I rushed eagerly to my seat. Lo and behold, I got a lot of legroom. I was located near the front of economy class, by the exit doors. That meant there was no seats in front of me, which was great. The problem was, there was no storage pocket for me to put my usual stuff inside. Yes, I'm aware that these pockets are filthy, but I do like the convenience. With the pillow, blankets and other amenities Korean Air offered, I had no where to put them since I don't use any of them at all during a flight. Fortunately, a flight attendant was able to take them away for me.
The flight was relatively straightforward, the meals being quite good as well. I wasn't able to sleep, but I did manage to get a few movies in, despite not remembering what I watched. As we landed in Seattle, we got off to pick up our luggage before transferring to another check-in counter to connect to Calgary. I had about three hours to spare, so I wandered around the terminal for a while. I had reverse culture shock while I was walking -- it was weird to hear English everywhere. Also, how people looked and dressed in the sense of having diverse types of bodies and ethnicities was "shocking" to see in comparison to the homogeneous nature of Asia. After walking for a while, I went back to my gate and waited for the flight back to YYC via Alaska Airlines. I was trying not to crash at this point, since it was nearly 24 hours since I had proper sleep. As we boarded the plane, I quickly sat down in my window seat. The gentleman sitting beside me noticed that the seats beside us were empty (since they closed the door) and moved to them. With a gentle smile, he mentioned it was for extra space, which I greatly appreciated as well, since I was able to sprawl along my two seats.
I think I did end up sleeping for 30 minutes during the flight, since I couldn't quite remember take-off. I was grateful when we landed in Calgary. Due to the small amount of passengers, I was able to get my luggage quite quickly. My dad was waiting for me as I exited the airport, and took me back home for some much needed food and sleep.
It's hard to believe that I spent over six weeks travelling in Asia, and not just Japan. It was a trip filled with new experiences and memories, despite revisiting many places I've been to in Japan already. I'll post a reflective post sometime during Winter Break about this trip!
It's good to be back home! Though I do miss Asia...
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