75% There

I'm in Korea now, the local time is 5:51 pm, July 10th.

My adventure started today with a chatty shuttle bus driver. Apparently she is REALLY into antiques and similar craft fairs. She wants me to call her when I get back with any silks since she might want to buy some. It's hard to think business at 4:00am.

Checking in with American is always a thrill. They do an OK job, but you never know what you might get in today's air travel climate. I've had them charge me for bags sometimes and not others, wonder where my destination is, and the like. Today I got a slightly surly lady. Not really in a bad way, since she knew exactly what was happening and zipped me through the process, but I could tell she was distrustful. Probably of more than just customers. No tinfoil hat, but I bet there might be one in her car. Plus, I didn't have to pay any bag fees. I'll take surly over hard dollars any day!

Flight to Dallas was quick and uneventful. A tad late, but that's normal now. Dallas connection was also no big deal. I even had time to finish watching a movie I had started on my laptop.

The Dallas to Seattle flight was just fine, right up until the end...

"Good Morning everyone, this is your captain speaking. Looks like we have a warning light on up here. We've already spoken to maintenance and control on the ground, and we all feel this won't effect our landing. However, you will see that we're greeted by firetrucks when we land. Thank you"

So, after the flight attendant made a rather emphatic statement about getting our seatbelts "Low and Tight", we had a perfectly smooth landing. Seattle's finest were there to wave.

That little excitement made me more late for my connection to Korea. I had to sprint to the other end of the airport, and as I approached my gate, the agent was calling for me over the loudspeaker. No issues, they just wanted to make sure I was checked in and OK. Pretty much the opposite mindset of the US based carriers. No tinfoil hats.

10 and 1/2 hours later, here I am. I've already indulged in my annual Seoul Airport Burger King Luncheon. No time for a shower, my next flight is just over an hour away. I guess I get to arrive into Cambodia with a little bit of funk.

Oh, and I just got first hand experience with the falling value of the US Dollar. I think I paid about 20% more for my Whopper than last year.