This blog brings us to the end of the story for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. We have really enjoyed our time in Korea and will miss not being here for the end of the Games. I'll especially miss the pin trading now that it finally seems to be going strong. But we've been going full blast for the last 10 days and we are worn out. It is time to go home.
We spend the morning trying to get everything back into the places into our suitcases while simultaneously trying to cram in the new things that we've picked up while we've been here. Fortunately, we had the foresight to bring a couple extra duffel-type bags. The bad news is that we still have to figure out a way to carry all of this stuff.
Sunny has agreed to take us to the train station in time to catch our 3:15 PM train to Inchon International Airport, but before that, she has volunteered to prepare a brunch for us. While we are eating an assortment of leftover New Years items and a few new things, Sunny asks if she can ask us a question. We say sure. She says, "The two of you seem so harmonious. How do you do it?"Hmm, not a question we were expecting, but we tried to take a whack at answering it. We tell her that there are a lot of things that go into it. We were a couple for almost 6 years before we got married so we had a pretty good idea that we were compatible. When you've been married for 35 years (Yikes!), you pretty much know what things you like about your spouse, you also know what things that you don't like, but that aren't going to change and you know that you can live with those things you don't like. In my case, my parents and grandparents all married for life, so that was the model that I expected as well. We also thought that it was important that we've grown along parallel paths as we've aged. It isn't so important that we share all of the same interests, but it is important that we give each other the space to pursue our interests. I get the feeling from Sunny's questions that she and her husband do not have as much harmony in their marriage. I hope that our answers help, but I'm not sure that what works for one couple will always work for another.
Finally, it is time to haul all of our stuff down to Sunny's car and head back to the train station. Sunny pulls into a loading zone and helps us get our stuff out of the car and into the station. This is the last day of the New Year's holiday and the station is packed with people returning home in addition to the usual Olympic comings and goings. There are no available seats, but we find a place to put our bags and find someone to take a picture with Sunny:
We tell Sunny what a great time we've had in Korea and thank her for opening up her home to us. This has really made this trip special. We tell her that we hope that she and her family will be able to visit us in California some day. Then she hurries off to get her car before it is ticketed.
We know that it will take us a little more time to get our bags down to the train than usual, so we head for the security lines a few minutes before the train departure is announced. Unfortunately, the security team is still processing the passengers for another train so they place us in a line to wait for the security station to open us for our train. When the line finally starts moving, it is clear that security expects us to haul our stuff down the escalator. This is definitely not happening. We point to the nearby elevator. Finally, one of the officers comes over and lets us call for and board the elevator. We walk down to our car and manage to get our stuff up into the train. As we expected, the baggage storage on our train is already full. But we knew from our trip to Gangneung that it was okay to shove our suitcases behind the last row of seats and pile our other bags up on top of them. We stow them and head to our seats.
While we were still in Cupertino, we knew that travel on the 18th was going to be a problem when we were not able to buy train tickets for the 4-day New Year period from the US. So, we asked Sunny try to buy them for us. This is first-come, first-served and Sunny got up early on the first day of sale to try to get us tickets. I told her that it was okay to buy first-class tickets if that made it easier. This turned out to be a winning strategy and now we are sitting in the first row of a first class car. There is a tray that pulls out from the wall so that I can work on this blog. The seats reclines and has power and wifi, there are footrests and we get free snacks and water from the cabin attendant. There is even a bathroom right on the other side of the door to our car. Nice! The funny thing is that no one checks our tickets. This is true of all of the other trains we've ridden as well. Sometimes a conductor would walk down the aisle, but I never saw him ask to see anyone's tickets. It appears to be entirely on the honor system. Anyway, we settle in for the 2 hr trip to the airport, which goes by in what seems like no time.
The train pulls directly into Terminal 2 of Inchon International Airport, so all we have to do is follow the signs to check-in. Usually, I'd be able to trade pins with other travelers who are also heading home, but the Olympics still have another week to go so only a handful of passengers appear to have come from the Olympics. We head up an escalator and down a long hallway toward check-in. While we are walking, I'm noticing that my left foot is really getting sore. I'd had problems with this foot earlier in the trip, but this is different. I find out once we get home that I'm experiencing symptoms of gout (crystallization of uric acid in your joints) caused by eating too much fatty meat and not drinking enough water. There is nothing much I can do here except limp along.
We check our suitcases and most of our bags, but we've still got about 3 hrs before boarding. Our first task is to find something to eat. The restaurants at Inchon are up one level from the main departure lounge. All of the restaurants have pictures of some of their dishes outside and it takes us a while and a lot of painful walking before we find one that looks like it might have dishes that weren't flaming hot. Beth has a noodle dish and I have the Korean equivalent of a Japanese bento box with small bites of a bunch of different items. Good choice.
Now it is time for our other important task before boarding - finding a way to spend our Korean cash rather than being ripped off by the exchange rate. This time will be a little more difficult than usual because we've spent much less, especially on food, than we expected and have a lot more cash to spend. One of the rules of this game is to find something that is culturally relevant - no t-shirts allowed! It takes some time, but here is our first selection:
These are called Hahoetal masks. They are traditionally made from the alder tree and are two of the twelve characters needed to perform the Hahoe Pyolshin-gut t'al nori ceremony. This is a ritual dance drama from the 12th century that originated in the city of Andong in Gyeongbuk county about 50 miles southeast of PyeongChang. The mask on the left is Punae described as a "flirtatious young woman" who plays a concubine. The guy on the right is Yangan the arrogant aristocrat. He is the character in the play with the most power so he is continuously mocked. In one scene, he and a scholar are trying to prove that they are most deserving to possess Punae.
Our second purchase is an item to remind us of Sunny's amazing lacquerware closets:
We are told that this is a traditional Korean folding box design with small drawers that are hidden when the two sides are latched together. The inlaying of mother-of-pearl into lacquerware is called najeon chilgi and has been practiced in Korea since the bronze age. It differs from similar Chinese or Japanese arts in that the Koreans only use the interior lining of the abalone cut very thin to extract the brilliance of the iridescence.
Purchasing complete, we sit around until it is time to board the plane. As on the trip east, Asiana gives us a choice of Korean or non-Korean dinner. We both go for the Korean barbecue with various items rolled in lettuce. It seems like a perfect end to a perfect trip. We are glad to be back in California, but this has been an awesome trip that we will remember for a very long time.
I hope that you have enjoyed this blog. We are only through about 5 days of our stored Olympic coverage. I might write another entry about my favorite Olympic moments when we get finished watching all of the recordings. But if not, I hope that you will tune in again in August 2020 when we go to Tokyo for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad.
Steps for the day: 4,951
Steps for the trip: 165,544 (roughly 66 miles)
