Current location: Sydney Australia...
The beginning of taking on the 2nd country on my trip has been absolutely non-stop. I have barely had any time to sit down and reflect on Korea, let alone soak all of the wonderful south of the equator air in.
I wish I had the patience/time right now to re-word my personal journal and write my Korea reflections (the land of tv on cell phones, girls perfectly dressed super skinny and wearing high heels, restaurants everywhere, fake designer everything, mountains/hills everywhere, hyundais, coffee shops, street markets, man purses, noodles, funky accessories, crowded streets...lalala the list goes on) but that will just have to wait for another day...instead I really want to write down all of the things I have done so far while being in Sydney.
First thing: getting to Australia was quite an experience. With budgeting and all, I just booked the flight through an Asian airline that had the cheapest flights with not TOO long of a layover...China Southern Airlines-so I departed from Korea feeling slightly nostalgic and just more unsure of what was to come. Upon arriving at the airport, I got my ticket and everything was going smoothly blah blah and then I'm about to walk up to the security line when a man asks me to step aside because he has to weigh my pack (mind you that I was the only person asked to have my bag weighed when other people's bags-clearly Koreans-were definitely just as large as mine if not larger)...I naturally rolled my eyes, gave him my bag, and watched him place it on the scale. 14 kg. All of a sudden there was a problem-"10 kilo only, you go back get sticker"
I quickly, defensively respond "I flew here from the US with no problem, I don't plan on checking my bag that is a huge inconvenience..."
I received a blank look and after an awkward stare down figure I should go back to the ticketing desk to resolve this.
"Excuse me, the man over there (I point over at the man who is sheepishly looking at us) told me I have to come back and check my bag or get some stamp or something, he won't let me through to security" I attack the man at the counter with.
"I'm so sorry maam but our policy is each traveler only is allowed to carry on 10 kilos, you will have to check your bag"
"FINE (no attitude what-so-ever haha)" I dropped my pack and start to figure out exactly what I need to get through the flight
"Oh and your yoga mat cannot be guaranteed to be delivered...it may be lost" the counter man says to me in an apologetic tone.
"I realize that and am really not trying to lose anything in my bag, thats kind of the point of carrying on and everything, but yea I'm going to take my mat with me" I snapped and ripped the mat out of the buckles.
So I reluctantly checked my bag pretty pissed/annoyed, I walked back to the security entrance and started to walk through right past the "bag police" but was stopped by him AGAIN! "you need stamp-you cannot go-you need stamp here" he says to me while pointing to my boarding pass.
This time I march back towards the check-in desks and the counter man sees and starts walking towards me this time..."what is wrong maam?"
Trying not to yell/make a scene, I reply with "he told me I need some stamp here or something and he is still not letting me through and this is ridiculous I already had to check my bag what is the problem"
He proceeds to walk with me up to the bag man and they start arguing quickly and then the counter man says "He is sorry" while pointing to the bag man. Whatever was said, I have no idea, but I continued on through the security in a bit of a huff and clearly pissed.
I'm sure my parents/friends are reading this and laughing because they can totally picture it happening...while writing this I'm laughing to myself, but at the time it really did piss me off. I really need to learn to take a step back and look at the big picture...it was so unnecessary for me to flip and be rude to those people, and yet I felt compelled to take out my frustration on them.
GO with the FLOW...
It is essential that I take this into consideration more often-so I suppose I am weirdly apologizing through the virtual world to those poor men at the Inchon airport who had to deal with the wrath of Krissy Glauser. Oooooopsies sooowwwy.
Ok, onward, moving away from a not so proud moment. The flights were horrendous. I swear I will never fly China Southern again...the people were rude, the food sucked, and the plane was dirty and the whole experience was just very unprofessional.
The first plane was about 3.5 hours long and I landed in Guangzhou (Hong Kong). My experience in China was less than pleasant...
while going through customs, my passport and boarding pass were quickly swiped and taken away to a separate room and I was told to sit in the corner and wait. EXCUSE ME!!! I felt a little helpless for a bit, then I saw them doing this to a few other travelers, so I congregated with them and got the scoop: the customs officials were collecting passports/boarding passes for international connecting flights. Thank goodness, I had a mini-heart attack thinking I was to be stuck in China.
While waiting in the small mass of people who were connecting, I met Riyas-an Indian engineer who works in Dubai. He was a very friendly man and was itching to just chat with anyone and I'm always up for a good random conversation with a stranger...as soon as we got to our terminal for the connecting flight, we sat down and within an hour I knew everything about him. He is to be married on Oct 21, he works for a company selling engineering equipment, he has been to numerous countries including the US (Minneapolis to be exact about the city), he is traveling to China next week, he cannot wait to have children, etc. And all the while, he is walking me through many photographs on his computer showing me his fiance, their engagement party, his neices and nephews, his Minneapolis trip, his co-workers...so needless to say, I really got to know Riyas. We took a quick photo and just like that he was on his way.
Random conversations and meeting new people always puts a smile on my face. Riyas is a perfect example of why I love to travel. Even though we did exchange emails and everything, who knows if I will ever speak to him again, but we shared memories, life thoughts, and opened up to each other like old friends in those few hours. In the big scheme of things, our time together was extremely short, but the memory I now have of that part of my trip will always stick with me.
BLAH-the flight from Guangzhou to Sydney was hands down the 2nd worst flight I have ever been on (with the first being the one I almost died on flying over the Andes mountains last year...but thats another story for another day). First we sat on the runway for over 2 hours without any sort of explanation what-so-ever, then the plane started making sketchy noises as we were taking off, and the entire trip was full of wild turbulence that was never addressed, the plane was filthy and full, and then to top it off-the landing was the sketchiest bounce down a runway I have ever experienced. So all together, it was quite a trip and the moral of the story: you get what you pay for...cheapest flight made in china.
Finally to Sydney!!! After walking out of customs, I immediately saw my Emo (mom's cousin) waiting for me. Although we had never met, our eyes met and I knew she was the woman I was looking for. I had received a description similar to this: a small Korean woman who will be smiling and waiting to the right of you. It's funny everything like that works out. We hugged, and were off to the car. Convenient for me, she owns a hostel in Darling Harbour. We arrived to the hostel and she showed me around and gave me my own room fully equipped with a bathroom, tv, fridge, and a bed all to myself. It is truly amazing how things work out.
A quick shower and then we were off-she had planned a bbq with all of the family from my grandmother's side. As soon as we arrived to the park and I saw the family, I knew Sydney was going to be quite different than Seoul...kids close to my age drinking beers, grilling out, and hanging out. Mina, her bf Josh, David, his wife Jenny, Noah, his gf Yangers (not her real name, but what everyone calls her), Anabelle-her brother (can't remember his name!! will update when I find out) 2 uncles, 4 aunts, 2 great aunts, 1 great uncle, 1 Korean Air Pilot (a friend of an uncle) and I think that was it. The BBQ was great...good food, good people, catching up on a life time, and a new location-the only drag was the rain that was blowing in.
I would insert a photo here, but unfortunately I did not whip my camera out...I am waiting to receive one via email and then I will post it.
After the bbq I went to my uncle's house for a bit then returned to the hostel for a nap and unpacking and relaxing. Emo and I ended up hanging out all evening...I showed her pictures of my family, my time in Korea, Blake Falls, Lake Placid, friends, etc. I learned all about Mina and David and their lives and then checked in for the evening.
Sunday. Woke up-had breakfast with Emo, set up my AU cell phone, and headed to meet up with David and Mina for my private city tour.
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| David and I |
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| Mina and I |
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| Aborigines |
Hmm....after the tour, we returned to the hostel quick to pop in and say hi, watch a little bit of the football game (I guess it was the equivalent of the Superbowl for football-or rugby), then we headed out to "Strath" (their hometown). We met Noah, Yangers, and Jenny for dinner at a Korean BBQ. Then the Soju began flowing. It's funny how this was the first time hanging out with these cousins but we all were SO comfortable.
1 bottle turned into 2 to 3 and ended with 9 and a trip to the Karaoke room...
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| Noah, Yangers, Josh, Mina |
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| Everyone minus Noah |
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| Noah |
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| David and I singing wonderwall |
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| Mina and I... |
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| Mina and Josh |
I have another day in Sydney to write about, but I am exhausted at this point and would love to write more but sleep is necessary (it is 1:40 am and 15 hours ahead of the US)...hopefully I will write another post soon and include a little more depth rather than just events!
AHHH yoga class to raise for AYP on Wednesday!!! And Don't forget I still need some help fundraising, so if you can nI'd really appreciate it!! I hit over $1000 the other day!!!!!!!!!
Click the donation link on the right side of the page!!
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