One Night at Incheon

My stay in Hong Kong was short lived - literally just enough time to eat dinner and head to the airport. I was heading to Japan on a personal visit, so I had decided to take the redeye in order to maximize my sightseeing time. 12:30am departure time, arriving in Incheon, South Korea at 5:00am. After a 5 hour stopover, I would depart for Osaka at 10am, arriving an hour and a half later at 11:30am.

I was taking Asiana Airlines, the second of South Korea's major airlines. For some reason I had been bumped up to first class, which was so money for an overnight flight like this. But a snack was on the agenda before putting those fold-flat seats through their paces. I had the choice of filet mignon dinner or Korean fare - Bi Bim Bap. Considering that I had just dined on great steak just four hours before, I opted to go local. I haven't really had much Korean food, so it was also an opportunity to try something new (even if it was just the airplane version).

Bi Bim Bap - sticky rice and sauteed vegetables, beef, chilli paste, and sesame oil. Mix it all together, and enjoy. There was also a bowl of kimchi, marinated dried silver anchovies (tiny translucent fish, each with a pair of dark black dots - yup, the eyes), and a soup. I was pretty impressed with the flavors represented. Some of the best airplane food I have eaten in a while, simple as this dish might be.

The Incheon airport is huge, which allows it to support a high volume of international traffic. There is a large transfer area, where continuing passengers like myself are allowed to hang out without having to pass through immigration & customs. The facilities are pretty extensive, including restaurants, an internet café, shopping, and even a transfer hotel where you can rent a small space to sleep during long layovers. There is also a transfer tour desk, where passengers with time to burn can get out of the airport and experience a taste of the local culture (options even include a trip to the DMZ, if that's your thing).

Korean Airlines planes await passengers at South Korea's Incheon International Airport.

Having spent half of my overnight flight eating, I was only able to sleep for about an hour and a half (facilitated, as it was, by those fold flat seats). So when we landed at Incheon at 5am, I was looking for a place to crash. I went to the transfer area and tried finding an empty couch, but legions of passengers like myself were already fast asleep in them. Okay... How about using the internet cafe? Nope, wasn't open yet. Hmmm.... Oh yeah, that's right! I'm in first class! So I headed to the Asiana lounge where they happily let me in.



No couches, but plenty of open seats. And snacks. Like I needed any more food at this point. I sat down and tried to get comfortable so I could nap a little. There was no place to rest my head, so no matter how I tried to contort myself, my neck would get sore within a couple of minutes. Also, as much as I wanted to fall asleep, I didn't want to miss my next flight. So there I was trying to nap with one eye closed, and the other staring at the clock on the wall. I ended up dozing off, but waking up paranoid every 5 minutes or so. Good times.

The boarding gate area was full of sleepy travelers like me.

A couple of long hours later, I had had enough, so I headed down to the gate area to peruse the shops and find my gate. After boarding (finally), I settled in to my spacious seat, turned on some Korean TV, and relaxed. Now, on a 10am flight, you would expect to be served breakfast, right? Once again, I was offered the choice of Korean food or filet mignion. This time, I caved and took the steak. I mean, it had been 14 hours or so since my last steak. I was practically going through withdrawals and needed a fix.

Yup, that steak looks rather grey on the outside. Surprisingly, however, it was cooked perfectly inside. A little smoked salmon, some veggies, potatoes, bread, and a lemon cake were thrown in for good measure. Not bad for breakfast.

The protein had given my energy a lift, but I still sat zombified throughout the remainder of the flight. I still had an hour plus train ride ahead of me, then to the hotel, and straight out to do some sightseeing. Hopefully, my arrival in Japan would just the thing to jumpstart my tired bones.