Arrival

It's 12:36am on Wednesday, 6 Oct, in Songtan, South Korea. I'm sitting up in my guest bed, tapping away to report in here. I've arrived safe and sound with a minimum of confusion and adventure thus far.

Customs at Incheon airport went very quickly. I found a counter for bus tickets and picked up a one-way ticket to Songtan Bust Terminal for 13,000 won, which is around $12USD. I then changed a 1,000 won note for coins and after a few failed attempts, managed to call Carolyn, who is the mom of a girl I served with in the Air Force in Montana, and who lives in Songtan with her husband. I let her know I got an earlier than expected bus (we'd though I would be catching the 10:20pm bus) and she confirmed that she would meet me at the bus station in Songtan.

Perhaps it was due to the long day(s) of flying, but I found the bus stop signs to be confusing, and asked three separate individuals if I was in the right line (the answer was no all three times). Finally I found an American guy that looked military and asked him. It ended up he was going to the same place as me, so I tagged along with him. The bus was really nice, with large seats that reclined. I fell asleep, of course, during the almost two hour bus ride.

There was a moment, by the way, on the last flight from Tokyo to Seoul, where I gut really pumped up and felt like I was starting my trip. Oddly enough, it was instigated by looking out my window and seeing the stars. For some reason, that totally fired me up and made me hyper-aware that I was flying over un-explored (by me) lands.

Anyway, military guy and I got off at Songtan Bus Terminal, which looked a bit sketchy to me because it was a dark parking lot. However, military guy walked with me around to the street side of the terminal and that was bright and lit up. He reassured me that it was a safe area - a safe country, really - and went on his way. I set down my pack on a ledge by a storefront, ready to take out my fleece and settle down to wait. Thirty seconds later Carolyn, her husband Stuart, and her daughter Mara (who I served with) and Mara's husband Justin pulled up in a little car. I piled my stuff into the trunk, squeezed into the back seat, and off we went to their apartment!

So, after some chatting and planning and tasting of Korean sweets and a glass of white wine, I'm here in the very comfy guest bed.

Good night!

--Z