Crazy Weekend in Korea: Saturday

So, we get up early Saturday, and set off once more for the train station. Anna has been (with good justification) giving me a hard time about getting on the wrong train yesterday. She has checked and double-checked the station info, and written everything down. We're prepared this time!

We stop by the Starbucks in the station and have some breakfast, feeling like champions for planning ahead with enough time left over to stop and eat. We ended up sitting next to a group of three young women, who were entirely too pleased with our daughters.

The middle one doesn't seem pleased that I'm photographing them.
Sorry Japanese Girls!

We arrive at the platform and are immediately confused again. But this time, instead of jumping on whatever train is closest at the time, we wait for a few minutes. Anna figures out which train to catch, and I ask a platform attendant who gets us in the right place to catch said train. We get on, and everything seems to be going well.


Which is because things are actually going well! We arrive at the airport without any trouble, get checked in, go through security, and stop at a little cafe for lunch. Charlette and I go on a little walk where she discovers that there is a playground inside the terminal, only a short distance away. I somehow convince her to finish eating lunch first, and then everyone goes to play for half an hour or so.

Running around while carrying things is the best!

We pack up about fifteen minutes before boarding begins, and walk to our gate. When we arrive, the agents express some concern over Anna's pregnancy.

Turns out that, while US airlines require pregnant women to have a doctor's note to fly during the last month of pregnancy, Asiana Airlines requires a doctor's note for the last two months. Anna is 34 weeks pregnant, which puts her solidly inside the no-fly zone.

A half hour of polite dread passes while the gate agent sorts this out. We give them the hospital phone number, but of course hospitals in Japan only operate during normal business hours, so Anna's records are unreachable. We explain that we will only be gone for a few days, but it's important to renew our visa before the baby is born. Everyone else boards the plane. We quietly consider splitting up, with Anna going home and the kids and I making the trip alone.

Eventually a manager with enough authority is called in. He has us sign some papers and we are ushered on-board. The doors are closed behind us.

The flight to Seoul is really nice. There's good food, and we all get some rest.

Some of us get more rest than others.

The arrival goes well too. No trouble with immigration or customs. The inside of the airport is beautiful, with planters of exotic looking flowers and twisted wood.

Despite the lovely greenery, everyone is a bit exhausted.

When we get out to the curb, one of the bus drivers calls our hotel for us. Thanks to the instructions that Anna wrote down, we get on the correct shuttle, walk to the correct building, take the elevator to the right floor, and get to our room without any trouble. It's a nice room, though ineffably Korean in some ways.

The room didn't smell, so I can't argue with their methods.

At this point we're considering dropping our stuff and taking the train into Seoul. I decide to check my e-mail before we go, just to make sure everything is going alright with the disaster at work.

It is at this point that we discover our third and final hurdle, which I will save for next time. In the meantime, here's a video of the travel portion of our trip.