Day 12: The day I ran after the plane

22 June 2013

Leaving Seoul today. Our trip this time has been full of surprises, some disappointments but nevertheless, it was still enjoyable. We packed our things and left our guest house to make our way to the airport. Pulling the 25 kg luggage was not easy but thank God for the lift. Haha.

Thankful for these pair of shoes, I would not be able to walk long distance without it.

We checked in and since there was time and I was hungry, went for a quick bite. Since the haze was still pretty bad in Singapore, we went over to the pharmacy and bought masks back!

We were leisurely eating our breakfast and I swear that it did not occur to us that we need to take the train to the other terminal to board our plane. We took korean air the last time so there was no need for that.

We forgot that we were NOT taking korean air this time.

The queue to check in really took sooooo long! The queue was so long and it does not seem to be moving. Boarding the train took ages too because it was so crowded.

I was starting to panic because the time was already 11 am and we were still at the main terminal! Argh. The bestie was calmer than me because she thought that MAS tends to have delays for their flight.

As soon as we got off the train, we literally RAN to the look for our gate to board the plane. As I was approaching the gate, I saw the plane moving. OUR plane! Argh!!!

The officers and staff on duty saw me running and I asked, “Is the plane leaving?! Did we miss the plane???”

One male officer said, “Yes, sorry you cannot board this plane.”

OMG, at the point of time, I was blank. Gosh, we never imagined missing our flight!

Since we had already checked in, we had to go through a series of admin procedures to cancel that check in. A male officer assisted us and brought us to the main terminal to settle. I think it must have taken 2 hours for them to settle everything, while we were following the officer like a puppy.

We were told to get brand new tickets and we cannot reuse the tickets of the flight we missed since it was a discounted ticket. For the next 1 hour, we were playing amazing race at Incheon Airport looking for a flight ticket home.

Stranded and no one to tell because my family was away in Batam.

After going to several airline counters, we found out that a direct ticket home would cost roughly $700. Since when were flight tickets so expensive?! Not only we had to look for a ticket home that was not too pricey, we were hoping that the flights won’t be full. Honestly, I really thought that we were going to be stranded at Incheon Airport for a long time waiting for a suitable flight home.

Thankfully, Korean Air was selling direct ticket back at $500+. Haizz..we had no choice, had to fork out $500 more just because we were careless with time. The counter staffs said that we could catch the 2.20 pm flight. It was already 1.15 pm and we have yet to check our luggage in.

The last thing we need was to miss another flight!!!

Once confirmed and made payment, we rushed / ran to check in our luggage and then ran again to make sure we got to the gate early. We were not going to be complacent this time even though we did not have to take the train to the other terminal. Hurray for taking Korean Air.

It was like Amazing Race.

We both relieved when we were finally seated on the plane.

Tired. 6 hours flight which means, we will arrive in Singapore at the original scheduled time.

What a way to end the holiday. There was no point harping on it because the mistake was already done and we had to focus on the next best plan of action.

I don’t think I will miss a flight ever again in my life.