My first day consisted of,
- fighting with the vpn to no avail
- napping
- growling at my mom when she tried to wake me up
- napping
- being awoken by a persistent mom and by my grandmother tickling my feet
- shopping (new phone, yay!)
- eating hot pot ^_^
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
In China
Finally, after a short flight to Dalian, where the time didn't change at all (i.e. left at ~10am, arrived at ~10am. The flight was about an hour, and the time change is an hour back), I'm back in China!
My first day consisted of,
My first day consisted of,
Korean Airport Sección Dos
So soon after I finished that past post, I got distracted by the TV
playing at my gate. It was on the 'game' channel--aka the Starcraft
channel--and was playing what I think were top 100 past games (tvt?).
My computer was pretty much dead at that point, so it was good that I found something that could amuse me for the last hour or so of my wait before the shops (and more importantly, FOOD) opened.
Luckily, by the time my eyes started to glaze over at the way the current game was dragging on (both sides just kept on pumping out group after group of tanks and throwing them at each other) it was 7am and time to move! We went to the food court, located on the second floor (why doesn't O'Hare have two stories, hmm?). Photos of food for your perusal below. Once again I was too hungry to think properly and ate half my meal before I remembered that I had a camera.
And lastly, if you ever over indulge in free cocktails on the flight over, be sure to order this:
p.s. I didn't get sick :)
My computer was pretty much dead at that point, so it was good that I found something that could amuse me for the last hour or so of my wait before the shops (and more importantly, FOOD) opened.
Luckily, by the time my eyes started to glaze over at the way the current game was dragging on (both sides just kept on pumping out group after group of tanks and throwing them at each other) it was 7am and time to move! We went to the food court, located on the second floor (why doesn't O'Hare have two stories, hmm?). Photos of food for your perusal below. Once again I was too hungry to think properly and ate half my meal before I remembered that I had a camera.
 |
| a sort of porridge with vegetables that my mom pretty much finished before I remembered my camera |
 |
| a spicy soup with tofu and seafood. I didn't realize it had seafood until after we got it... hopefully the apparent clams and shrimp are all that were in it. I guess we'll see if I get sick later.... : / |
 |
| potstickers that were really more like pot sticker shaped spring rolls. They had glass noodles in them. yum! |
p.s. I didn't get sick :)
Monday, August 30, 2010
Loitering in the Korean Airport
Right now it's about 5:46am Korea time and the airport is full of people sleeping across the chairs at the gates. We arrived about a quarter of an hour ago, and we estimate that the restaurants don't open until about 7am, so here I am trying to kill time on my computer, which is telling me it only has 27min of life left. :( I don't know where to find a power outlet.
The airport is pretty nice. It's filled with fashionable shops--all closed of course.
It's got a play area for kids...with a slightly creepy mural.
It's even got a little hotel in it!
And my parting shot, I'm rich!
The airport is pretty nice. It's filled with fashionable shops--all closed of course.
It's got a play area for kids...with a slightly creepy mural.
It's even got a little hotel in it!
And my parting shot, I'm rich!
 |
| The exchange rate is roughly 1:1,000 for USD |
Flight Part Deux.
Despite forgetting to photograph dinner, I did manage to catch breakfast. The choices were cheese omelet or chicken and noodles. My mom got the former, I got the latter, and both are now posted below for your amusement.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
My Return to China (via Seoul)
11:06pm (Korea time)
When I visited China last fall, I traveled by United, learning only upon my return flight that they served complementary cocktails (and me being me, I got so excited about it that I ordered so many in such quick succession that the stewardess told me to "wait longer before asking for more." haha). This time I'm taking Asiana Airlines. They are a Korean airline, hence why we've got a stopover in Seoul.
I have to say, Asian airlines as a rule seem to have much friendlier service than American ones. A friend once mentioned that airlines in America let steward(esse)s choose their flights based on seniority, and as international flights are apparently the most desired flights, all the older flight attendants end up on them, which often makes for grouchy service. Asiana, like most other Asian airlines I've been on, has only young attractive and very polite women attendants. They come around regularly with trays of water and juice, even in the "middle of the night." What really endeared them to me was when dinner was served, the stewardess politely asked the person in the seat in front of me to raise his seat!!! Perhaps this is not so unusual, I don't know, I don't recall any other time the person in front of me has lowered their seat during meal time, but to me this indicated how conscious and caring they were of their customers' comfort.
Speaking of meal time, I'm still berating myself for failing to take a picture of dinner. In my defense, it was late and I was really hungry and it was really good. I was advised before taking this flight to order the Korean option on the menu, and it was definitely great advice (thanks Zena ^_^)! We were served bi-bim-bap (i think that's how it is spelled). It consisted of a variety of steamed(?) vegetables and some ground beef to be eaten with rice. The meal even came with a set of instructions (appropriately only in English, Japanese, and Chinese--not Korean), which were appropriate given that my mom, the person next to me, and I stared blankly at the meal for a few seconds, unsure how to proceed.
The instructions were simple:
Put the rice on top of the vegetables
Add the provided sesame seed oil and Korean spicy paste to taste (Goju or something?)
Mix
(Eat)
Yummmmmmmmy. :9
The meal also included a side of kimchee, soba noodles, and fruit.
An additional note: when the flight attendant offered drinks, I asked for orange juice (o-ranji-juice. :D) and discovered that Korean orange juice is reaaaaaally sour. >.<
We'll be landing in the Seoul airport (Incheon?) at about 4:20am. Blah. Not sure what we're gonna do for almost 6 hours (the connecting flight is at about 10am). I hear the noodles are great, but the shops won't even be open yet. :(
In parting, I leave you with the remains of the giant cookie that was our midnight snack. :9
When I visited China last fall, I traveled by United, learning only upon my return flight that they served complementary cocktails (and me being me, I got so excited about it that I ordered so many in such quick succession that the stewardess told me to "wait longer before asking for more." haha). This time I'm taking Asiana Airlines. They are a Korean airline, hence why we've got a stopover in Seoul.
I have to say, Asian airlines as a rule seem to have much friendlier service than American ones. A friend once mentioned that airlines in America let steward(esse)s choose their flights based on seniority, and as international flights are apparently the most desired flights, all the older flight attendants end up on them, which often makes for grouchy service. Asiana, like most other Asian airlines I've been on, has only young attractive and very polite women attendants. They come around regularly with trays of water and juice, even in the "middle of the night." What really endeared them to me was when dinner was served, the stewardess politely asked the person in the seat in front of me to raise his seat!!! Perhaps this is not so unusual, I don't know, I don't recall any other time the person in front of me has lowered their seat during meal time, but to me this indicated how conscious and caring they were of their customers' comfort.
Speaking of meal time, I'm still berating myself for failing to take a picture of dinner. In my defense, it was late and I was really hungry and it was really good. I was advised before taking this flight to order the Korean option on the menu, and it was definitely great advice (thanks Zena ^_^)! We were served bi-bim-bap (i think that's how it is spelled). It consisted of a variety of steamed(?) vegetables and some ground beef to be eaten with rice. The meal even came with a set of instructions (appropriately only in English, Japanese, and Chinese--not Korean), which were appropriate given that my mom, the person next to me, and I stared blankly at the meal for a few seconds, unsure how to proceed.
The instructions were simple:
Put the rice on top of the vegetables
Add the provided sesame seed oil and Korean spicy paste to taste (Goju or something?)
Mix
(Eat)
Yummmmmmmmy. :9
The meal also included a side of kimchee, soba noodles, and fruit.
An additional note: when the flight attendant offered drinks, I asked for orange juice (o-ranji-juice. :D) and discovered that Korean orange juice is reaaaaaally sour. >.<
We'll be landing in the Seoul airport (Incheon?) at about 4:20am. Blah. Not sure what we're gonna do for almost 6 hours (the connecting flight is at about 10am). I hear the noodles are great, but the shops won't even be open yet. :(
In parting, I leave you with the remains of the giant cookie that was our midnight snack. :9
 |
| I ate the rest shortly after taking this photo. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)