So….I lied to you guys. I told you I was going to Cambodia. Just Cambodia.
But actually… I’m going to South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong as well!
Okay, no, that’s a stretch. They’re only layovers. But holy shhhhhhhh is this exhausting.
As a frequent traveller during my college days, my mom always told me to book direct flights whenever possible to avoid the transit hassle. I ended up always listening to her, but internally took her advice with a grain of salt. “Pssshhh, it’s not that big of a difference,” I thought. But it is, guys, IT IS. (Funny how your parents’ advice always ends up being so…. true…)
I’m currently on a 7-hour layover at the Singapore Changi Airport right now before my last leg to Siem Reap, Cambodia. It’s 3AM in the morning. By the time I reach Cambodia, I will have been in transit for 30 hours. 30 HOURS!!! Good riddance – do I get a prize or something?! WHERE IS MY PRIZE?!
Let’s brainstorm what one can reasonably do in 30 hours’ time:
- Defeat two full Call of Duty campaign modes.
- Run 15 half marathons (not consecutively, of course).
- Purchase and eat 60 Chipotle burritos (…I’m craving Chipotle right now.)
- Watch (close to) three Game of Thrones seasons on HBO.
- Immerse yourself in the full Game of Thrones scenic experience by flying TO SCOTLAND AND BACK to SFO (25 hours roundtrip) for the hefty price of $1900. (Yeah, I looked it up. You see what one can do in 30 hours?)
And instead, you know what I’ve done in the last 30 hours? Sat on my ass and suffered lower back pains. And maybe talked to myself once or twice.
Haha, okay, so honestly, it hasn’t been THAT bad. The real MVPs here are the elderly folks on my flight who took that same 13-hour flight from SFO to Incheon Airport in Seoul, South Korea, layover for an hour, then another 6-hour flight to Singapore. You guys are bosses. You deserve that prize.
Okay, apologies, that was a bit of a ramble. PICTURE/STORY TIME.
Goodbye, San Francisco! SFO Airport has become close to a second home to me…
Singapore Airlines, you better get me to Cambodia in one piece or else Haidee will go all “Liam-Neeson-Taken-1-2-or-3” on your butt. Also… look… The Bay is crying to see me leave… Yeah, the stupid “crying” that caused a 1-hour delay to my flight.
Oh yeah! I remember I set the “Expectation” in my last post that I’d absolutely love Singapore Air.
Reality: I’d give it… a B-. The planes seemed quite old, the food was “meh” at best, and they didn’t have tomato juice!!! I was so disappointed. This girl needs her Vitamin C. But maybe I’m just too far into my infatuation-with-everything-Japanese to ever be able to think other Airlines measure up to JAL. (Well, to be fair, I really like EVA Air when I fly to Taiwan, as well.)
Oh, also, all the flight attendants thought I was Korean. DO I LOOK KOREAN? You know when you board a plane and the flight attendant looks at your ticket to see which aisle to go down? The woman blabbered something in Korean and ushered me through. Panic set in. I HAD NO IDEA WHICH AISLE TO GO TO. Luckily, I chose the correct aisle. (Don’t worry I’m full of dumb stories today.)
Like I said, food was extremely mediocre (I will save you the pain of looking at dull-looking-food pictures)…… but sheez louise they fed us a lot! Quantity > Quality?!?! I had two full meals on my first SFO->ICN flight (+ many snacks). Then another full meal on my ICN->SGP flight. You know the tale of Hansel & Gretel and how that Candy-House-Witch tried to get them fat/plump so she could eventually eat them? I FEEL LIKE THAT. Except that the altitude also made my feet swell, too. So extra plump.
Oh, I guess Singapore Air service is pretty good, though, especially when it comes to alcohol. At one point, one of my neighbors ordered a drink. While making the drink, the flight attendant shows it to the man, and says, “Do you want more scotch in your drink than this? Here, try it first.” She hands it to him to try and then proceeds to add more alcohol in there. HAHA, I had never witnessed such an interaction before. It’s like she’s drink-pushing him.
Anyways, on the topic of alcohol, to celebrate my first solo trip, I had a cocktail on the flight. It’s called the Singapore Sling and it has a bunch of different liqueurs/juices in it. I haven’t drank any sort of non-beer alcohol in a few months, so… I got embarrassingly dizzy after this one drink.
I finally touched down in Seoul after a grueling 13-hour flight. Guys, I went full Rambo on the movie selection during this leg. Watched FIVE full movies: If I Stay, 22 Jump Street, Chef, A Million Ways To Die In The West, and Maze Runner. I’ve never achieved such a feat (which is why I still think I deserve a prize.)
Layover was an hour at Incheon so I frantically paced the airport just to look around. Cute Peanuts (Charlie Brown/Snoopy) cafe right outside my gate 🙂
No idea if this is an ad or something, but it was a billboard. I thought it looked cool.
Cultural exhibitions:
Literally a bar. For Guinness.
So I passed by this “Photo Zone” (I guess people can take pictures at this booth) without a second thought, but after a while decided to approach it. It ended up being a statue of, like, the ONLY Korean Actor I know by name: Lee MinHo. HAHAHA, it doesn’t even look like him T_T but yeah, I would seriously only expect this type of thing in Korea…
Back onto the airplane bound for Singapore. No one could prepare me for the acute heartache of flying over Taiwan without seeing the extended family or eating Taiwanese food. Cue sobs.
Slept most of the way to Singapore. Upon arriving at Singapore, I literally squealed in glee upon discovering they had full Disney + Christmas Exhibitions. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! ❤
Miscellaneous: I bought this drink because I thought the can was… interesting looking (read: ugly). It’s a white grape juice drink. I threw it away after a single sip. It tasted like pure sugar with a sprinkle of grape flavoring. Would not recommend.
Miscellaneous #2: What is this fashion, Singapore. What is it. I can’t. It looks like modern renditions the dress robe Ron Weasley wore to the Yule Ball (you know what I’m talking about?!?!)
Cool cultural exhibitions in Singapore, too. I know there are so many more, but in my sleep-deprived, over-travelled state, I didn’t take any pictures, really. Which is a bummer, because since the Airtrains don’t work at 2AM in the morning, I had to walk the full length of the Changi Airport (WHICH TOOK ME 2 WHOLE HOURS). So yeah, I saw everything.
Disneyland/world fanatics will appreciate this: HIDDEN MICKEYS!!
Alright, writing this post was a really good time waster as I spend this layover in Singapore. Next stop: Cambodia! WAHOO! Hoping the visa process goes smoothly. And that Singapore Air doesn’t lose my luggage in this whole transit/connections nightmare.
Me, blogging right now (cut me some slack, this is the “I’ve-been-traveling-for-30-hours-haggard” look):
Until next time! (Hopefully tomorrow.)
With love,
Mendi
the wanderlust is real. 
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