Wow, we're actually here!

It's about 7:10pm Seoul time and I'm here in our hotel room in Itaewon.  Christian and Jeff are both fast asleep.

Our trip here was pretty uneventful.  Our flight from Columbus to Detroit was slightly delayed, but nothing too serious.  We arrived safely at the airport and waited patiently for our luggage to arrive.  It was a little disconcerting because the baggage claim area was completely deserted.

Wow, we were the only ones who checked luggage on our small plane (seriously)!  But we got our bags and then checked in at our hotel right at the airport.  It was getting late and we were pretty hungry, so we decided to go out to the airport concourse and see what we could get to eat.

As it turns out, it is a rather big deal to access the rest of the airport from the hotel.  First, you have to request access from the hotel concierge and they call a police officer down (allow up to 30 minutes).   Once summoned, the police officer checks out your ID and then hands you a special slip to take through airport security.  What I didn't know at the time was that this slip automatically gets you a full invasive body search.  Yes, even Christian.  As I stood there watching the officer patting down Christian for weapons and such, I thought, "Is this all worth it just to eat at some marginal airport restaurant?" 

So, when it came time for breakfast we just ordered hotel room service.  Christian heartily approved:

We then headed out to the gate to wait for our plane to Korea.

Now I'm sure all of you want to know how horrible the flight from Detroit to Seoul was.  And you know what?  It wasn't really that bad.  Of course, Jeff and I didn't get any real sleep and Christian only took two short naps (the first one was about 1.5 hours and the second was between 3-4 hours).  However, I am so incredibly proud of how well Christian did on the plane in general.  Aside from not sleeping more and some garden-variety whining/3 year old antics, he more or less behaved himself on the long, long flight.  In particular, he did a good job watching movies on his own screen.

Periodically during the flight he would ask us if we were in Korea yet.  When we finally told him the plane landed he let out a big cheer and clapped his hands!  The lady sitting behind us on the plane even complimented him on doing such a great job on the flight.  As soon the plane landed Christian was asking about "baby Mari".  We had to explain that she doesn't live at the airport and that we'll see her on Wednesday.

Next, we got on a bus and took a 90 minute drive to Itaewon, where our hotel is.  Christian also did a great job on the bus, and it wasn't until we reached our hotel room that he started to get a bit hyperactive and silly.  And really, who can blame him?  I'm feeling a bit loopy myself!  As for our hotel room...

Christian totally loves it because it has three beds!  I myself feel a bit like the three bears from the Goldilocks story. :-)

So, basically this is a long post with nothing terribly interesting in it - sorry!  We all made it over safely with our luggage intact and are very thankful that the trip was pretty uneventful.  Hopefully I will be able to show some actual pictures of Korea (apart from our hotel room) tomorrow!