Postcards from 35,000 feet
I'm in Korea. It's my first time and I've taken an all day tour visiting, amongst other places, Gyeongbokgung Palace and Jogyesa Temple. I've eaten some delicious Korean food, taken the subway, a taxi and a bus. I've hiked the Seoul City Wall and had ice cream by the Han River. And most importantly, I've seen my daughter for the first time since Christmas.
For those who don't know, my youngest daughter moved to Seoul last fall and is teaching English at a private school. She teaches 2 and 3 year olds for most of the day and a group of elementary kids after school until 6pm. Mr. UR and I flew over last week to visit our daughter. Since it's a 25 hour travel extravaganza for us, we decided to give it a good 12 days.
Our flight was a bit of an adventure as right off the bat Mr. UR left his passport at home so we had to return and get it. We hightailed it to the airport - we made it in plenty of time - and boarded our first flight for Washington Dulles airport. Our connecting time for our flight to Tokyo Narita was only 50 minutes so we knew we would be rushed - and rushed we were. Our flight was on a smallish plane so we had to gate check our one carry-on bag. We got a delayed start due to clouds in DC and then we circled for a few minutes. By the time we landed and got our gate checked carry-on, we made a run for the shuttle. Which wasn't leaving for another 10 minutes. The shuttle deposited us at Terminal D and we started our walk to Terminal C and gate 8. At about gate 28 we heard ourselves being paged - the plane doors were closing and we better get to the gate. Mr. UR took off and ran while I kinda, sorta tried to. There wasn't a soul left at the gate but the employees and they keyed us into the flightway. We made it to our seats - which were occupied by a young lady who had spread her things out all over our row - and by the time we buckled our seat belts, we were off.
And all that complaining is not to negate my gratitude for being able to fly across the world - and see all the sites I've been able to see. We were flying during daylight hours the whole way and I was able to take some photos and see some incredible scenery. I'm sharing those here - hope you enjoy some views from our flights to Narita, Seoul and Jeju.
The Potomac River
Cool line of clouds above Washington DC
Farmland of Michigan
The aquamarine water of Torch Lake in Northern Michigan
Canada
The Tundra of Northern Canada
Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
More Canadian Rockies
Beautiful blue water off the coast of Alaska
Just above Tokyo Narita
More of Tokyo area
Mt Fuji
Jeju Island
How about you? Are you a window seat photographer? Or an aisle dweller?
To see more photos from Korea, follow along on:
Instagram/Facebook
This post is part of a link-up with: Travel Photo Thursday at Budget Travelers Sandbox. The Weekend Wanderlust Travel Blog Party and Weekend Travel Inspiration at Reflections Enroute!
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| Hanging at a Dog Cafe in Seoul |
For those who don't know, my youngest daughter moved to Seoul last fall and is teaching English at a private school. She teaches 2 and 3 year olds for most of the day and a group of elementary kids after school until 6pm. Mr. UR and I flew over last week to visit our daughter. Since it's a 25 hour travel extravaganza for us, we decided to give it a good 12 days.
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| Koreans will vote for a new President this Tuesday. These are some of the candidates |
Our flight was a bit of an adventure as right off the bat Mr. UR left his passport at home so we had to return and get it. We hightailed it to the airport - we made it in plenty of time - and boarded our first flight for Washington Dulles airport. Our connecting time for our flight to Tokyo Narita was only 50 minutes so we knew we would be rushed - and rushed we were. Our flight was on a smallish plane so we had to gate check our one carry-on bag. We got a delayed start due to clouds in DC and then we circled for a few minutes. By the time we landed and got our gate checked carry-on, we made a run for the shuttle. Which wasn't leaving for another 10 minutes. The shuttle deposited us at Terminal D and we started our walk to Terminal C and gate 8. At about gate 28 we heard ourselves being paged - the plane doors were closing and we better get to the gate. Mr. UR took off and ran while I kinda, sorta tried to. There wasn't a soul left at the gate but the employees and they keyed us into the flightway. We made it to our seats - which were occupied by a young lady who had spread her things out all over our row - and by the time we buckled our seat belts, we were off.
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| The Han River in Seoul |
And all that complaining is not to negate my gratitude for being able to fly across the world - and see all the sites I've been able to see. We were flying during daylight hours the whole way and I was able to take some photos and see some incredible scenery. I'm sharing those here - hope you enjoy some views from our flights to Narita, Seoul and Jeju.
How about you? Are you a window seat photographer? Or an aisle dweller?
To see more photos from Korea, follow along on:
Instagram/Facebook
This post is part of a link-up with: Travel Photo Thursday at Budget Travelers Sandbox. The Weekend Wanderlust Travel Blog Party and Weekend Travel Inspiration at Reflections Enroute!
I love the photos from above. How can you forget a passport? We travel frequently and get a bit blase about things but we would NEVER forget our passports - touch wood. I would have been hysterical.
ReplyDeleteLOL The dark blue of the American passport was placed on top of something also that was dark blue - so he would specifically remember it - but it blended in too well. I can't be too hard on him - I once left a dark blue suitcase on a dark blue chair and went for a girls weekend with no luggage (I was driving).So I had to shop when I got there. Live and learn I guess.:) Thanks for visiting, Lyn!
DeleteWow, what a beautiful shot of Mt. Fuji! Thanks for linking up this week with #wkendtravelinspiration!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jim! I was never able to see it on my previous visit to Japan and was shocked when we took off and saw it right away. In fact, I questioned what I was seeing but the flight attendant verified it. Thanks for visiting The Unpaved Road!
DeleteThis is so cool! I would love to visit Korea! 12 days is a good amount of time to do plenty of exploration. Continue having a great time! #TPThursday
ReplyDeleteThanks Ruth! It's been a fantastic trip - we've seen and done so much - and head home tomorrow! Thanks for visiting!
DeleteNow I am scared of heights so I never look out of plane windows so this is a great post for me, I can admire the stunning views with none of the fear factor! Have a wonderful trip with your daughter! #Wkendtravelinspiration
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Jo! And I'm not keen on heights much either but I've learned that I can handle the heights from the plane window now that I'm older. Thanks for visiting The Unpaved Road!
DeleteGood for you for visiting your daughter. (My parents never came the 3 years that we lived in Malaysia.) I'm sure she was excited to show you her new town/country. Great photos! I always enjoying taking pictures out the window, but I rarely know what I'm looking at. That photo of the sun hitting the top of Mt. Fuji is fantastic, and I'm surprised by how much farmland is around Tokyo. #WkendTravelInspiration
ReplyDeleteNow that my kids are grown it is really important for me to visit them in their environment - and when I talk with them I know exactly where they are and what they're telling me about. I was able to visit her subway station, where she goes to the park and see her apartment. And I think you're right that she was excited to show us her new city/country, too. And my husband and I were also surprised at the farmland around Tokyo - and how many golf courses there were, too. Thanks for visiting, Michele!
DeleteWhen I flew jfk to narita I watched movies the whole time! I think it was dark out.... I love mt Fuji so beautiful
ReplyDelete#weekendwanderlust
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My first time to Narita it was dark the whole time so I was pretty excited to see the world from the plane in the daytime. Thanks for visiting The Unpaved Road!
DeleteReally beautiful photos and good job spotting so many cool things on your flight over! Mt. Fuji from above - amazing! I am heading over to Seoul next week and am pretty excited about it! Hope it was fun seeing your daughter!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Seoul! I really enjoyed it - the people are great! Thanks for visiting The Unpaved Road!
DeleteWhat a great opportunity to visit S. Korea and see your daughter. It's always better when you also have someone to show you around a foreign country. These photos are great. I love that you were able to capture so much and had such clear shots from the window. My favorite has to be the Mt Fuji one. Enjoy your visit!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary! We had a great visit - I loved Korea! And thanks for visiting The Unpaved Road!
DeleteGreat capture of Mt. Fuji and how lovely to be visiting your daughter. You got some great photos from the plane.
ReplyDeleteThanks! And we had a great visit - loved Korea! Thanks for visiting, Jan!
DeleteI'm still trying to convince my mom to come visit us while we're living out here! She's from this side of the world though, so I think there are other places she would rather visit with that long of a plane ride.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoyed your time in Korea!
Loved it! The Korean people were very warm and the city itself, though massive, has loads of character. We did so much in 10 days! Thanks for visiting The Unpaved Road!
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