Travel Day

The trip began with a taxi from Banbury to London Heathrow T2. I was lucky with the traffic and I made it to the airport, got through check-in, bag drop and security, with time to see the family group take off on their flight. I wished them godspeed and made my way to the airport lounge to have a snack and drink before my own flight.

The wait at the airport was largely uneventful. There was plenty of space in the lounge and lots of food available. I made sure I didn’t fill up, though, as I anticipated an evening meal would be served on the Asiana flight. As the gate was announced I made my way along the long walkways toward the departure, only to find that there was a delay as the plane was still being prepared. There was another lounge nearby, so I opted to use this rather than retrace my steps.

Although I was told that boarding wouldn’t be for another hour, as soon as I got myself a drink from the bar and settled in, I was informed that the plan was ready to board now.

I made my way onto the aircraft and got comfortable in the spacious business class seat that would be my home for the next 12 hours. I was pleasantly surprised with the amenities kit, but made a note to keep hold of it as a gift for Sonia.

The crew introduced themselves, complementary drinks were offered and meal choices discussed, then the plane was soon in the air.

I was looking forward to the meals on the flight as I love Korean food. Although Western alternatives were available, as soon as I saw Bibimbap available I knew that I would go for the Korean option.

The description of Bibimbap according to the menu card:

“Mixing and Harmonizing” A famous Korean cuisine “Bibimbap”

The presentation of the food was fantastic and it was only the use of “airplane cutlery” that gave away that this wasn’t a meal in a restaurant, rather than being served at 30,000 ft.

I was so excited to see the main course that I forgot to take any photos and got stuck straight in. I was glad to have instructions on how to enjoy the dish, as there is a certain degree of self-assembly of the rice, meat, vegetables and sauce.

Often when you’re dining in the air the flavour of the food can feel muted, but this dish was vibrant and fresh and I happily cleared my plate.

After the meal, I decided to check out what movies and TV was available. The entertainment system was a bit basic, and there was a limited choice of “Western” films and music (much more Korean, Chinese and Indian content is available), but as I was going to be sleeping for a large portion of the overnight flight I wasn’t too concerned. I opted for “Paddington 2”. It’s a film I’ve already seen, and wouldn’t mind too much if I fell asleep, which was a good job because I didn’t get halfway through the film before I decided that getting some sleep would probably be a better idea.

The seat folded flat and there was plenty of leg room for me to get some proper sleep. I awoke as the lights in the cabin were raised to prepare everybody for the decent into Seoul Incheon airport. Having never travelled into South Korea before, I was hoping to be able to see a bit of the capital city as we landed, but unfortunately all I could see on the approach was the standard warehouses and motorways.

As my stopover in Incheon was about 3 hours I decided to freshen up with a shower in the lounge. I caused a bit of confusion as I didn’t yet have the boarding pass for my next flight (which needed to be picked up at the gate), but I was allowed to enter the lounge and use the facilities. As you would expect, the shower was excellent - clean and with all amenities including a fancy electric toilet, although the instructions were all in Korean so I had no idea how to use it!

The gate for the flight to Auckland was a bit chaotic; clearly I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know about collecting the boarding pass from the gate as they had to call several passengers. The flight was going to be full, but boarding was very efficient and I was quickly in my seat. It turns out that, as I had booked my seat well in advance, a family group had booked around me. However, the offset seats facing the aisle meant that it didn’t really matter and the family could easily talk to each other without me being in the way.

It was great to hear a New Zealand accent on the flight and the crew were amazing at making me feel welcome onboard. The food on Air New Zealand flights is always top-notch and this flight did not disappoint. Light snacks were served and I opted for a Panhead APA (a bit punchy at 5.8% but the West Coast hops really shine through at altitude). My main meal consisted of a salad course followed by a chicken pasta.

After a decent nap, I decided to watch a film (Everything, Everywhere, All at Once) to keep myself awake to hopefully prevent my body from getting too jetlagged, as I would have to adjust to New Zealand time when I landed…