HOW TO SURVIVE A 35H FLIGHT (FROM SD -LAX -PEK- ICN)
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| PEK airport |
So i recently had the incredible opportunity to become an exchange student from Mexico (my hometown) to far far away, South Korea in Dankook University (yes where T.O.P went) and so the opportunity became a fact after months and months of paperwork and stress.
This travel journal does not start when I landed into Incheon Airport, it started months back when I had to buy a (very very) pricey flight, where my main thoughts were revolving about a 1,000 USD flight, which in my case, it was quite expensive.
I decided to fly with AirChina , because first off, my good friend Gaby, who was in South Korea at the moment used AirChina, and second, it was the cheapest option. So me and my best friend Valeria (who did all this process next to me) ended up getting a 680.00 USD flight. Obviously we were so excited about it and we couldn’t wait for the day to come.
AUGUST 26th.
The day has come, it was the very very very early morning of the 26th, 4am to be exact and there I was, at the airport of SAN (San Diego International Airport) waiting for Valeria and our flight at 8AM, I just couldn’t wait for any of them to happen, after a little tiny minuscule problem with our boarding passes everything cleared out and the moment came, it was boarding time, saying goodbye to your parents it’s bittersweet, you know you’ll see them again soon, but for 5 months, you won’t see them as you usually do, but at the moment you’re so excited and so happy, that you don’t think about it, until you board in your plane.
SD-LAX
This of course was a piece of cake, 40 minute flight, one “savory snack” and a bottle of water did the trick, nothing really went wrong with it.
LAX-PEK
Once in LA we had a 3 hour connection, so we decided to get some snacks, buy some travel basics we forgot to purchase before and roam around the airport, little did we knew, we were in the wrong terminal, having to run from terminal 4 to the International Terminal (which was exhausting) ended up us loosing the flight for 2 minutes. After that we had to go to AirChina counter so we could rebook our flight, but on counter all we got was “we’ll check”. So there we are, a pair of students stuck in LAX waiting for a flight to China. After 2 hours of cold-sweating waiting and minus 200 USD we were able to rebook our flight. Once we were in and the plane took off, we knew we were in it to win it.
<> while on the plane i have to admit I had a really good time. Was the seat super confortable? No, did I had a great sleep? absolutely not, but I’m 22 and an exchange student, what does that mean? I had a great flight. plus I had like 3 meals and the flight attendants were pretty sweet, complementing my smile, they weren’t Katya’s Valerie Valentine, but they were great.
How did I survived this flight? Water every 10 minutes, my glossier coconut balm dot com, my laptop with the entire scream queens first season and a terrible horror movie to put me to sleep. (for 2 hours).
PEK-ICN
After a long long long 12 hour flight we were ready to sleep on the floor, but then we had to deal with another adversity, we were told that my Valeria’s luggage was only making it to China, not all the way to South Corea, so we had to leave the airport, go to the AirChina lost/claim baggage station and what’s the surprise, we find only one out of two bags she checked, but after a long process she was told both of the bags were going to be send to our school in South Korea, what happens then? We forgot the found bag in that place so we had to leave the airport again, pick up the bag, go back in and wait for our flight, after 5 hours of baggage process and an expensive starbucks coffee in china, we were ready to take a nap in our terminal, right in front of our gate, we were not repeating LAX.
<> After a few hours of sleep we and lots and lots of chit chats in between, we were ready to board to our destination ICN AIRPORT IN SOUTH KOREA. It felt good having an hour flight and departing quickly after boarding.
How did I survived this flight? A pillow (provided from AirChina) a bottle of water, a face previously washed, and my headphones for a 15 minutes sleep, felt like heaven.
AUGUST 28th.
Since we basically skipped the 27th because of the hour changes and all, we finally get to our destination on the 28th at 1pm tired, hungry and anxious to finally see where we will be for the next 4/5 months.
AUGUST 28th.
Since we basically skipped the 27th because of the hour changes and all, we finally get to our destination on the 28th at 1pm tired, hungry and anxious to finally see where we will be for the next 4/5 months.
ICN: After the strange process of the questionnaires and those things, we were quickly in South Korea, but since we were a day early for our check-in at the school dorms, we had to spend a full day in Seoul, so we went from ICN to Seoul Station, where we spend the night at a place called “KPOP GUESTHOUSE”… did it looked like an actual KPOP GUESTHOUSE? absolutely not, it was tiny, the bed was stiff, the place was very hidden, but the staff was actually very nice and the prices very reasonable.
Next morning we had to take the same train from SS to ICN, so our school (Dankook University) would pick us up. Once we were on that bus for our ride to DKU Jukjeon Campus, we knew there was no going back, no more tacos, and no more our people. Only two of us in that soju filled beautiful country.
TIPS:
*Buy travel light adapters, they are way more expensive here than on your local electronics store.
*Bring a very very good lip balm.
*Water for 12 hour flights are MANDATORY. water served in planes isn’t necessarily great.
*Charge your camera, airports can be very pretty (PEK)
*Dowload several shows and movies on to your laptop, you’ll need variety.
*Bring all of your cosmetic/skincare/makeup products on your carry on bag. (must).
*Carry a sweater and a jacket, airports are usually cold, specially at 2am.
—Could give you a thousand but those save my life, lips and made me look human.
Thank you for reading.
-Ives.
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| things you'll need: laptop, iPhone, camera, water, charger, headphones, and of course, cosmetics bag. |
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| 12 hour flight face |
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| PEK airport |
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| look: pants are from Zara, shirt from forever 21, t-shirt is EFME and shoes are adidas. |