Thailand 2017: Flying Korean Air

So, a total of 19 hours is way too long to be in an airplane, but at least it was with Korean Air! I was definitely impressed with them.

PC: Miranda Moore

If you read my previous post, you will know that I was in a plane for 19 hours because I was going to Thailand on a short term mission trip through ZOE International. Miranda and I were the only PA representatives - everyone else was from elsewhere in the US such as California, Washington, Ohio, Indiana, Georgia...

But first, the plane rides. Then the next several posts will get into what exactly I did in between these two loooooong plane rides!

JFK to Chiang Mai

We ended up driving ourselves to JFK and parking long-term and before long we were off to ICN, the airport near Seoul, South Korea. What a LONG flight!! Toward the end I seriously thought I would go crazy...so I just went to the bathroom again to walk around a little. During that flight I watched two movies, Gifted and Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Both were quite enjoyable. So, Korean Air supplies you with things already on your seat when you board: a water bottle, headphones, a pillow and a blanket, a little bag with slippers and a toothbrush and toothpaste.

Before the first flight started - off to Thailand!
PC: Miranda Moore

Food! This was the first time I had ever had meals on an airplane, and between both flights we were fed three times. I was pretty impressed with the food. My first meal was beef and pasta with mixed veggies, all of which was good. It also came with a roll, a little bit of salad, four pieces of pineapple, and of course a choice of drink (I was sad they didn't have apple juice, so I went with orange juice). The only disappointment on Korean Air is that they give you "shots" of drink...like seriously, the cups are so small. Thank goodness for that water bottle!

My second meal was chicken, mixed veggies and mashed potatoes. There was also a pretzel roll, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls, and a piece of really yummy and really sweet carrot cake. That was definitely one of my favorite meals. Between both meals they also came along with snack options, and I tried the warm roll that I discovered had a thin layer of meat stuff inside, and it was strange but kinda yummy.

Best meal this flight!
PC: Miranda Moore

Finally the first flight was over and we landed in South Korea. It was so beautiful, despite the fact that it was raining. When we got to our gate we met the first other people on our team, Tim and Sherri, and slowly everyone else arrived and we left yet again. For our third meal I got chicken, rice and veggies that had Asian flavoring to it. There was also a roll and some sort of weird tofu-ish stuff that I did not eat. And somehow my tray had two things of water instead of one so yay, more hydration! Then they handed out little ice cream cups that were strawberry cheesecake flavored.

PC: Miranda Moore

Very interesting ice cream...
PC: Miranda Moore

When we all landed and got through the airport in Chiang Mai, we were very enthusiastically greeted by the ZOE crew. Quite the welcome!

Chiang Mai to JFK

A lot of the ZOE missionaries went with us to the airport and helped us with luggage: Lori Ann and Simpson, Brad and Lori, Mike and Carol, Jessica, Abigail and Cole. After we all got through security (which was way faster and easier than in the US!), we looked back to see them all waving to us through the glass - nonstop waving! So many arms just going and going and going...they didn't stop until we were all around the corner. They are all so amazing and excited and energetic.

We all bought snacks and drinks (I totally broke down and bought some Kinder Joys and a Kinder Bueno!) and got onto our first plane ride. I made myself stay awake so that I could sleep most of the long flight, and that was a major struggle! I kept nodding off and having to wake myself up. I wrote in my journal and watched The Zookeeper's Wife to help me stay awake. They also fed us breakfast, so I had a (gross) omelet that I gave to Miranda and potatoes and tomato, blueberry yogurt, a croissant with jam, and one piece of orange and one of watermelon. Probably my least favorite meal we got. The sunrise outside was gorgeous, and so was the full rainbow.

PC: Miranda Moore

Sunrise!

Full rainbow outside my window

View of South Korea

At the airport in South Korea

Some beautiful wavy clouds

Security in South Korea was easy too. Miranda and I didn't wait for the rest of the group but made sure we got through and found our gate since we had much less of a layover than the majority of them. But later we saw most of the others and said goodbye and got hugs and all that before we sat at our gate until we could board. While sitting there we heard a lady announce the same thing about five times (first in Korean, then in Chinese and finally in English): it was about a flight being delayed "due to typhoon." Both the bad English and what was creating the delay was...interesting.

This time I got the window seat for the long haul flight, which was thankfully two hours shorter than when we came. The first meal I got chicken in gravy with mashed potatoes and broccoli and carrots. It also had a roll, a salad with a thick slice of cold salmon, and a piece of cake with little chocolate chips and yummy icing. That was my all-time favorite meal of all of them. Our last meal on Korean Air was more disappointing - chicken in slightly spicy sauce, broccoli, and rice. There was a strange veggie salad and some sort of weird fruit that Miranda and I passed on because we had no idea what it was.

Best meal of all!! So yummy!
PC: Miranda Moore

Yeah, I have no idea what those weird fruit things are....
PC: Miranda Moore

I did not get nearly the amount of sleep I wanted, although I must've slept some because it went faster than when we came the other direction. There was also a young girl (1.5/2 years old) who made a lot of noise, so that didn't help.

And I then realized how many Thai phrases were still running through my head and when I wanted to say thank you to someone it first came to mind in Thai.

It took forever to get our luggage, but then we were off, homeward bound and exhausted.