And before you know it, the time for the big trip was upon me. I had made the decision shortly after Tommy died to not be in Birmingham for the holidays. There was just too much ‘us’ about that sequence of events for me to cope with. I went to the travel agent, asked about someplace interesting and exotic over Christmas and he suggested a couple of weeks in Thailand and put together the package for me. I think it was a good decision.
Dateline: Incheon, South Korea-
I figured I had to make a brief entry in the travelogue during the all of three hours I’m spending in Korea changing planes. I’m typing this on my phone which is always a challenge. The boarding line for my last flight of three seems to be at a standstill so I might as well make some constructive use of the time.
The weekend was low key until this morning, being mainly devoted to a Messiah performance with the symphony and then running around packing and getting things ready to leave the continent for two weeks. More on that later. Anyway, up at 5:30 this morning and Ubering off to the Birmingham airport. Uneventful hop to Atlanta, uneventful transfer to the huge widebody and then fourteen hours to Seoul.
International air these days is much more comfortable than domestic. My knees were only just short of my chin rather than in my nostrils. I catnapped my way through six films that I didn’t pay much attention to, was served two meals that were fairly tasteless, and tried to distinguish between the dozen identical Korea Air flight attendants who seem to have been grown in some secret cloning lab.
On arrival in Seoul, I found myself stiff in the knees and with swollen feet making it difficult to get my shoes back on. My body once again letting me know that I have attained middle age. Walking down endless concourses past miles of luxury boutiques and duty free shops helped. I did break down and purchase a caramel macchiato. I need the caffeine.
I’m now settled on flight three waiting for it to take off. Next stop Chiang Mai. More later…
Life, The Universe, and Everything 