Operation Flying Tom: Approved for Flying

For my flight home I'll be flying Korean Air, which is funny because when I first flew to Korea this was the airline I took. Since then I haven't flown Korean Air again and certainly miss their good meals and excellent service. I picked this airline because I figured for the price and prestige, Tom will have a good flight. Thankfully the wind will be blowing towards America, so our flight will be about 9 hours.

Since I found out that Tom weighs over the 5kg limit to bring him in the cabin, I knew I needed to get a sturdy and reliable carrier for check-in. A few weeks ago I went to the Chung Hwa animal clinic in Itaewon and checked out their carriers. Knowing I could get the same thing cheaper online, I ordered one as soon as the airline confirmed Tom's spot on the plane.

The name of carrier is "Iris Air Travel Carrier" and looks to be a Japanese product. What I like about this carrier is that it is assembled with hardware, making it something that will stay together during travel. You can check out it's listing on Gmarket with this link and scroll down to the "M" product area.

It wasn't too difficult to put together and came with a hex-key to assemble the bolts. While I worked on it Tom watched on patiently.

I lured him in there by throwing in a treat and then quickly closing the door. He didn't seem to upset being in the carrier, and had room to stand up and lay completely on his back. I hope that he finds his way into the carrier himself and gets to know his new plastic home.

Most of what I need to get done to prepare Tom for flying has been taken care of. The next step will be to take him back to the Vet about 10 days before departure and get certificates for his flight. Then it's to the airport quarantine office to be approved and off we go!

I thought I would copy and paste the following information from the Korean Air website on transporting pets, as I found this information quite useful.


Check list:

Check pet's health status

		Pets must be healthy and at least 8 weeks old.
		Avoid any type of sedatives as it can affect the body temperature and blood pressure of the pet.
		Korean Air will refuse to carry any animals that are under medication, violent, ill smelling, sick or pregnant

Pet carriage to destinations

		Please check in advance if your destination allows pets.
		Currently the UK and Australia apply very strict plant and animal regulations, prohibiting passenger planes to carry them. To check the custom regulations for each country, click  ‘Custom regulations for each country’ or contact the organization concerned.

Rabies vaccination prior to departure

		Most countries ask for a rabies vaccination certificate from pets, such as dogs and cats if they depart from Korea.
		Pets should be vaccinated 30 days before the departure date. Please make sure that the vaccine will be effective for your entire trip (Vaccine is usually good for 1 year.)

Applying for Pet Travel:

How to apply

After having documentation required for the quarantine inspection at destination ready, contact the reservation center and make the booking for pet travel. For regulations and requirements in Korea, contact Incheon Animal Quarantine Office(+82-32-740-2660~1).

Documentation required

		Customs documentation (2 copies)
		Rabies vaccination certificate (2 copies)
		Documentation provided by the animal quarantine office (2 copies)

NOTES Bring the above documentation to the check-in counter. The required documentation varies according to departure city. Please confirm the documentation before your travel.

Charge for pet travel

		Regardless of your free baggage allowance, you will be charged extra for your pet according to the excess baggage charge in the following table.
		Payment will be made during check-in.
		For the details, please refer to the table below.

Call the Airline:

One thing they don't mention on the site is that you should call the airline before you travel to alert them your pet is traveling and to make sure it has been approved. For all you know other passengers might be taking a lot of pets too, filing up the cabin space. So it is best to call and let them know ahead of time. Also you can ask important questions to the representative if necessary. You can find numbers to your airline via their website.

If you have any questions about pet travel I would be happy to answer them as I am going through this process. So far since everything has been running smoothly I feel more confident taking Tom over. As for how Tom feels, well... hehe!

Landed

My flight to SFO was quickened down to 9hrs because of strong jet streams along the way. I managed to get some shut eye on the plane. What also made it great was the middle seat was empty and the aisle seat was taken by a nice Berkeley guy who shared in the wonders of that city.

I'm currently at my hotel and waking up out of a 4 hour nap in a cozy Queen size bed. Not much is nearby this place, except if I wanted to walk several blocks. I don't feel like doing that so I'm going to order salad and pizza. I fly out tomorrow to catch a plane to Florida. I can't wait! A huge reunion.

Usually when I come back to America from abroad I feel really nostalgic on the first day. I kind of felt this way at the airport and ride over to the hotel. I admired the license plates and variety of cars and colors.

But this time I just feel sleepy and hungry. I think things will perk up more as time passes. I mostly just feel strange. I love America and being here reminds me I'm not a part of it anymore. So I'm a little sad too.

Anyways, glad to be on my way.

Joy in Jeju: Arrival

I left Gimpo, Seoul last Tuesday and headed to Jeju island. Gimpo airport is significantly smaller than it's Incheon counterpart. There were a few shops and restaurants but generally it is a lot more simple.

As I waited to board my plan, Jin Air, I thought about how this vacation was going to go. I refreshed my memory of essential Korean I would need to use and got to know the layout of Jeju via a map on my Android phone.

The flight to Jeju was short and sweet as it lasted just 50 minutes. Passengers were served juice, tea or water in paper cups during the flight. Just as I was starting to get too bored the plane landed. At the Jeju airport I got a bite to eat, some English maps and then caught a cab to my pension.

Although I had a headache, the flight was a little bumpy, I kept a keen eye on what was out my taxi window. Jeju was very lush and green with many rolling hills. As I got further and further away from Jeju city it became apparent that this island has a lot of natural wonders to explore.

I arrived at my pension on the Eastern side of the island near the small town of Seongsan. My pension, The Sunrising House or 해뜨는 집, was situated across from the island of Udo and also the volcanic crater of Ilchulbong. 

source

For just 90,000 a night (lower during non-peak season) I got a view of Udo island and a comfy room with a kitchen.

The view of the bay and Ilchulbong...

Already I could tell this was going to be a relaxing trip and made fun because I was with my friend (the wife of the blogger "KTLIT"). They were there doing the Olleh Trail and so I was able to pull his wife away to travel with me, while he still did his thing.

That evening we caught dinner together at a Galbijjim place, which was as unique as the dish itself. This is a kind of beef stew that is quite juicy and has veggies in it as well. Our side dishes were quite good and we were also given some large shrimp.

It was really nice to catch up on good times and he had a lot of knowledge to share about Jeju and what he had seen so far. He also enjoyed a bottle of unique Jeju soju, which you can only get on the island.

Dinner was beautifully finished with seeing my first sunset in Jeju...

We went back to our pension and caught some much needed rest as our exploration began the next morning. So stay in touch as I will bring you photos and words from my trip around Jeju island.

I Was Overweight

I'm talking about my check-in luggage. Winter clothes plus my art supplies and everything else made for two very heavy suitcases. I am sure I could have packed better and gotten rid of more clothes, but for some reason I didn't do that this round. Of course I paid for this mistake at the airport when I found out. We had to pull the suitcases aside and repack one to make it heavier than the other. This way, instead of paying 200,000 for each overweight suitcase I just paid for one.

The flight home wasn't too bad, but I certainly was surprised at the gate. As we boarded the plane I looked out to see it and noticed that it wasn't an Asiana plane but a United one. The ticket I bought was an Asiana ticket, although I did notice it was a carrier of United. My thinking was that the plane was going to be Asiana, boy was I wrong. There were significant differences in flying an American owned company versus an Asian aircraft. For starters there weren't any personal TV displays. Movie watching was left to aisle TV's, and whatever they picked. Our in-flight entertainment consisted of Eat, Pray, Love and some kind of mildly-scary movie. I listened to Eat, Pray, Love for the first few hours of the flight while they served us dinner. This meal wasn't spectacular and there were only Western style choices. Although, I was complaining about always having either BiBimBop or steak for dinner, I really missed the Korean option.

After the lights went out and people settled down more I took into my usual flying routine. That is of covering my eyes with an eye-mask, putting in ear plugs and snuggling up with my neck pillow and blanket. My seat-mates were a Grandma and a Grandpa, which was cute at first until they decided to talk for two hours while I was trying to sleep. After awhile I was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to get tired and shut-up. I figured out a strategy, which was to get up and go use the bathroom, which by the way we were seated next to. Thankfully, this idea worked as I when I got back to my window seat, the Grandpa was walking up and down the aisles for exercise and Grandma was resting in her spot.

I think the trick to sleeping on a plane is to move around till you find a comfortable position. It seems the body knows what to do at that point. I believe I got in about two hours sleep, not completely restful but worthy. The flight was actually kind of short coming in at just barely 10 hours. I'm not sure if flying during the winter time means the winds are better or something.

Anyways, I learned two lessons from this trip. One, that you should double check the baggage restrictions and two that you should try your best not to fly United Airlines.

Flying into Florida

Leaving SFO

Flying over the Mountain Ranges of the west.

 

Landing in Florida where the flat rules and everything is green.

Finding a comfortable room and house.

An old friend.

A Florida pool.