ON mY WAY to Seoul

On My Way to Seoul via Doha
June 26-28, 2016

I was confused with dates, which I attributed solely to my lackadaisical approach to this trip. Perhaps my adventure traveling days are over and I should now confine myself to familiar vacation holidays in Europe or river cruises. The first was my Atlanta departure which caused me to miss a very fun unbirthday party. I thought I was leaving on the 27th but it was the 26th, the date of the unbirthday event with my YaYa girlfriends. The confusion was my mistaking the arrival date in Doha which was the 27th, since the 14-hour flight crossed the international date line. Then I didn’t pay attention to my lay-over in Doha, which was ten hours! Which meant I’d be arriving on the 28th instead of the 27th in Seoul which caused me to forfeit my prepaid hotel room, since it was booked because my niece who I was staying with would not be arriving from Beijing until evening of 27th, which if I paid attention to my itinerary I needed not book in the first place. I am definitely losing my game here.

And Qatar airlines was a disappointment, after a hyped up expectation as the best airline in the Middle East. First, it was not a value deal after all, now that I’ve paid attention to my booking. I noticed that my ticket price was not $800 but $1400 after taxes and fees, which was closer to the Delta price I declined to book, which would have given me elite platinum service and better itinerary, which would have avoided all the arrival date miscalculation. Second the flight leg to Doha on the month of Ramadan carried Muslim families with young children who screamed most of the 14-hr flight and the mothers couldn’t soothe them. Though the flight was half- empty check -in was delayed because of all the strollers and single traveling mothers who needed help with their babies and paraphernalia. The passengers were covered women who were inhibited in socializing and thankfully I sat across the aisle with a friendly Iranian woman who was returning from a visit with her son who was in college at Clemson. The mid-eastern men were in traditional abaya and who put up their sandaled feet on chairs and who did not use underarm deodorants. The food was mediocre and since I ordered low lactose diet, was very bland. The check in desk personnel however, were very professional and efficient, and sounded Africans in their elegant English accent, the airline attendants were Korean and young and smiling and sociable.

So to while away the ten hours, I’m lounging at Doha Hamad International airport in the family lounge stretched on reclining chairs, and enjoying fast free wifi. The airport is huge with enormous designer mall space, high end restaurants and lounges and fast food court . Few were eating because it was Ramadan and fasting was observed until sundown. I felt guilty eating in public. Too bad, unlike Amsterdam’s Schiphol there was no casino and no alcohol which made waiting seem longer. But it was interesting to watch and identify the destinations of various passengers from their hijabs or abayas. There were black burqa covered women flying to Riyadh and their white hassocked men topped with red-checked head gear, the brown Egyptian abaya, the sari-clad women from India, and their tunic-costumed men over loose pants, the colorful flowered long missionary dresses and covered head of petite Indonesian or Malaysian women, the figure-hugging knitted tunic over leggings on jeweled platform heels of a fashionista with sultry makeup and wisps of golden hair peeking out of her scarfed head, defying and observing the hijab simultaneously, the chador or coat tunic over pants, the more or less generic look with scarf covered head and neck. There were few European looking women connecting their flights in this airport. Thankfully, the 10-hour vigil finally ended and boarding was announced, but I was next in line to a tall Korean man who reeked of stale garlic and kimchee, that I had to move away in order to breathe.

So I think I’ve aired my dirty laundry list of complaints and shaken off the bad karma and Lara, my Seoul host had texted me and we’re ready for fun adventure. No worries, Seoul is waiting for me tomorrow!