August 25/26 (Saturday/Sunday)
Departure
As you might suspect, things kicked off from O'Hare airport. We were leaving around 1pm on a Saturday and, to my surprise, the international terminal was pretty dead. That's not a complaint, mind you, because it meant getting ticketed and clearing security was a breeze. Lunch options were limited and God-awful expensive, but my Vietnamese spring-roll inspired wrap was pretty tasty.
The Flight I (ORD → ICN)
Korean Air's ads always make it look like a really nice way to fly and I'm happy to report that there's still some truth in advertising. Regarding food, we were served two proper meals (including one fancy enough to require instructions), two rounds of snacks, and plenty of drinks (including one small glass of wine). It's a far cry from any flight I've had with a domestic carrier.
When it came to entertainment, there were seat-back systems for everyone that let you access a bunch of music, movies, TV, and games. Thirteen hours go by a lot faster when you're all full of food, watching K-pop music videos, and playing Tetris.
One noteworthy thing about our route was the circuitous path we had to fly near the end. Thanks a lot, communism.
Seoul's Incheon Airport
An interesting thing about flying west is that you're nearly able to keep pace with the sun. Although the flight took 13 hours, the local time in South Korea was barely later than it had been when we departed Chicago.
Incheon's terminal looks more like a mall than an airport. It's a huge, two-story structure full of glass windows, restaurants, and enough designer brands to live the hip-hop lifestyle forever.
One other thing I can tell you about Incheon is that it has very nice restrooms. Let's just say that I'm pretty sure there was something wrong with the wrap that lady sold me back at O'Hare
The Flight II (ICN → BKK)
The next flight had all the same amenities as the first one except this time the plane was only about half full. Getting three seats between the two of us made the next 5 hours in the air a good deal more comfortable.
Arrival
Nearly 24 hours after starting our trip we arrived in Bangkok. Clearing customs was a piece of cake and, freshly-stamped passports in hand, we entered Thailand.
I consider myself a pretty good traveler--a winning smile and a can-do attitude will get you pretty far--, but when it comes to international travel it's hard to beat knowing someone who lives there. Enter Nikki, a friend-of-a-friend who just so happens to live in Bangkok. She was kind enough to meet us at the airport and hook us up with a ride to our hotel. Along the way Nikki and her mother (the aforementioned ride) gave us the tour, pointing out interesting landmarks, good restaurants, and places for shopping of one kind or another (while driving through Silom: Nikki: "This is a good place to buy a gift for your girlfriend." Nikki's Mom: "Or buy a girlfriend!").
We got to our guest house, New Siam II, a little after midnight. As soon as we hit the lobby we saw that they were total buzzkills, but since they were well-reviewed and reasonably priced I was willing to let that slide.
We'd had a long day and it was pretty late, so we made plans to meet up with Nikki tomorrow and then got some much needed rest.