Back in Asia

Note: I'm so glad to be able to write a decent account on the blog. In Canada there are few cyber cafes because everyone has his/her own computer. I had to rely on the hotel having a computer, and usually they had a 15-minute limit on usage. I was always in a rush. Then Wednesday, I had a big problem. I first got on a computer at the library in Whistler to update the blog. When I tried to post, however, the settings considered it to be an illigal move, and I lost everything I had typed in my 15 minutes. Then at the hotel, I paid for using a computer and it froze up on me when I tried to post. Fortunately, it came to life again before my time was up. But how frustrating!! Now I am in Malaysia suffering the common problem of cyber cafes--a poor keyboard with keys that stick and result in missing letters! I'm sure you can figure it out if a word misses a letter or two. Right?!!

Thursday and Friday, May 21-22--Flying from Vancouver to Seoul

Wes left the hotel room at 5:30 and returned the rental car. I stayed in bed and slept until 8:30. I hadn't slept well all night, though. Partially it was due to a pillow that was too big. But mostly it was due to just the stress of worrying about the long trip today.

Check in at the airport went smoothly. But the women at Air Canada was not happy that I am a U.S. citizen and using a ticket purchased in Thailand without my having residence or a passport for there. She is a real stickler for rules and would have loved to have voided my ticket if she had had the right. No one else has ever complained over the years.

I could only check my bag to Inchon. I'm actually going to Kota Kinabalu. When I purchased my ticket, it included a connecting flight about 3 hours after my arrival here. But Asiana Airlines has changed their flight schedules so that they only fly to KK 4 times per week now. So I have to spend 27 hours in Korea. That means I must pick up my bag and go through immigration. I don't have enough empty space in my passport for those 2 stamps they will insist in putting in there!
____
Although night never came, it is now the next day (due to the International Date Line) and I am in Korea. The flight went well. I had plenty of room, and the plane had an advanced entertainment system which allowed us to watch any movie starting at any time from their menu. I saw four films to pass the time (along with eating 3 meals). I saw Easy Virtue (2 1/2 stars out of 4), Revolutionary Road (4 stars), Wendy and Lucy (2 1/2 stars), and Honey, I'm in Love (2 stars).

We had to fill out a health form and go through a temperature screening at the airport due to H1N1 flu. It reminded me of the SARS days.

I looked for alternatives to spending 27 hours in the terminal. Town is just too far away (50 minutes) to consider going in and out just to sleep. The nearby hotels are too expensive just for a night of sleep. I checked with the airline to see if they have an agreement with a nearby hotel to offer a "distressed passenger" discount, since their schedule change is what caused this mess. They don't. So I decided to stay in the sauna in the airport. They have private rooms and a large common sleeping room. A 24-hour pass is just $16.00 U.S.


Spending Update: I spent $824.47 over 11 days for an average of $74.95 per day in Canada. It would have been much more expensive if Wes hd not been sharing costs. Hotels and ferries were the biggest expenses.

Saturday, May 23, 2009--Inchon to Kota Kinabalu

I was up about 5:30 in the sauna, but I went to sleep at 21:00 last night. It's a time adjustment problem. One man snored during part of the night, but generally I slept okay.

After bathing and reading in the sauna and lounge, I went back to the common room at 9:30 and slept another 2 hours. Now I feel much better. Read the TIME 100 edition of TIME magazine, and re-read my guidebook infomation for Sabah, the province I will visit first on Borneo.

The check-in for the flight here went well, too. Airports seem to have solved the problems with lines everywhere. (Maybe not in India yet!!)

The flight to KK was 4 hours and 15 minutes long. I'm TIRED. Got my luggage first, however, and was at my hotel about 35 minutes after landing. Had H1N1 screening again here.