my trip home: a stressed out, long-winded melodrama
left Heidi to clear away my pickles packets and jumped in a taxi to Incheon Airport. once i arrived, 3 hours before my flight, i was told my flight to Narita Airport in Tokyo was delayed 3 hours (so i would miss my flight to NZ) and had to go to Gimpo Airport instead.
the bus to Gimpo, supposedly 45 minutes, arrived as the plane left the terminal, so i and a few others in the same situation were booked on the next flight. racing through the check-in, we went upstairs 30 minutes before the flight and i was stopped at the border. i was an overstayer. by one day. i told them my school bought the ticket, but they didn't care. 15 minutes later, i was nearly crying, and a piece of paper was produced for me to sign. all in Korean. i asked in several different ways if i could teach english in the future, which they said was okay, and i signed it, ran to my flight, and was told it was delayed. ARGH. then i realised it may have been delayed because of me.
the flight to Haneda Airport in Tokyo was uneventful, but i spent the final hour worrying about the bus trip to Narita Airport and checkin times there. we had help once we arrived at Haneda, our bags were all marked priority, so i was one of the first to get to customs. of course, that was where my bags were searched. the official didn't speak much english, but asked why i looked stressed. i showed him my eticket, and that i wasn't supposed to be entering Tokyo anyway, and that i might be late for my flight. he stopped searching and told me i should hurry. once outside, we were screwed around a little bit, caught a bus to a place to get a connecting bus to Narita, and stood around chatting for maybe 20 minutes. all we could do was wait. it was good to know i wasn't the only one, and i tried to de-stress, but i couldn't help looking at the time. i didn't have long at all.
once on the bus, i opened a present from Heidi, a book full of in-jokes and allusions to our work and life in Shihwa, and i couldn't stop laughing. it was perfect. and perfectly timed. almost as though she knew it was meant to be opened as my bus hurtled along an expressway from Haneda to Narita in what amounted to a hopeful last plunge for a flight that wasn't waiting. so my spirits perked up, as those around me sat in fear.
the traffic seemed to part ways for us after that. the whole experience was a breeze. i got to the check-in desk, the only one around, and then to border control and customs 5 minutes later. next thing i know, i'm waiting at the departure gate with everyone else, then on board, ready to go, and we got delayed again but who gave a shit, i was goin' home to my perfect little island nation . . . then the pilot told us it was 2 degrees in Angrytown.
i got to Christchurch after maybe the best flight ever (Air NZ impressed me a lot, second time i've flown with them after the first was kinda shit) and it was snowing, but i didn't really care. hugged mum hello and we went looking for the car. she couldn't remember where she parked it.
the bus to Gimpo, supposedly 45 minutes, arrived as the plane left the terminal, so i and a few others in the same situation were booked on the next flight. racing through the check-in, we went upstairs 30 minutes before the flight and i was stopped at the border. i was an overstayer. by one day. i told them my school bought the ticket, but they didn't care. 15 minutes later, i was nearly crying, and a piece of paper was produced for me to sign. all in Korean. i asked in several different ways if i could teach english in the future, which they said was okay, and i signed it, ran to my flight, and was told it was delayed. ARGH. then i realised it may have been delayed because of me.
the flight to Haneda Airport in Tokyo was uneventful, but i spent the final hour worrying about the bus trip to Narita Airport and checkin times there. we had help once we arrived at Haneda, our bags were all marked priority, so i was one of the first to get to customs. of course, that was where my bags were searched. the official didn't speak much english, but asked why i looked stressed. i showed him my eticket, and that i wasn't supposed to be entering Tokyo anyway, and that i might be late for my flight. he stopped searching and told me i should hurry. once outside, we were screwed around a little bit, caught a bus to a place to get a connecting bus to Narita, and stood around chatting for maybe 20 minutes. all we could do was wait. it was good to know i wasn't the only one, and i tried to de-stress, but i couldn't help looking at the time. i didn't have long at all.
once on the bus, i opened a present from Heidi, a book full of in-jokes and allusions to our work and life in Shihwa, and i couldn't stop laughing. it was perfect. and perfectly timed. almost as though she knew it was meant to be opened as my bus hurtled along an expressway from Haneda to Narita in what amounted to a hopeful last plunge for a flight that wasn't waiting. so my spirits perked up, as those around me sat in fear.
the traffic seemed to part ways for us after that. the whole experience was a breeze. i got to the check-in desk, the only one around, and then to border control and customs 5 minutes later. next thing i know, i'm waiting at the departure gate with everyone else, then on board, ready to go, and we got delayed again but who gave a shit, i was goin' home to my perfect little island nation . . . then the pilot told us it was 2 degrees in Angrytown.
i got to Christchurch after maybe the best flight ever (Air NZ impressed me a lot, second time i've flown with them after the first was kinda shit) and it was snowing, but i didn't really care. hugged mum hello and we went looking for the car. she couldn't remember where she parked it.
posted by the Emperor Fabulous at 9:01 PM
2 Comments:
Nice tale of travelling woe though finally somehow arriving at home... All the best in NZ.
cheers mate. to be fair, JAL told me they'd get me there and they did. it wasn't fun, but i think i lucked out. hopefully it never happens to me again though.
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