Notes from a navaratri trip to Seoul

The hat trick

Three years in a row now, I have played Houdini around Navaratri time. Set up the golu, leave on a trip and return just in time for Vijayadasami (and dismantling); skipping the social aspect of the festival altogether. Oh, and leaving the wife to take care of inviting people over, entertaining and running the show. By herself.

The clash of the calendars

Around September and October is when the Hindu and Jewish calendars are brimming with festivals. Vinayaka chaturthi, Varalakshmi poojai, Navarathri, Vijayadasami on the one hand competing with Rosh Hashannah, Yom Kippur and Co. on the other. Festivals are good especially if you love food. But in the global world we live in, the latter have a stronger branding than the former that leaves guys like me traveling to meet upset customers during golu and whining away in a remote corner of the internet post facto. People, at least the ones I work with, are aware that Americans can’t be asked to travel around Thanksgiving, Chinese folks in February or Jewish people around RH. But sadly even the regulars at Indian lunch buffets don’t seem to be aware of our festivals of which there are many. The solution: I’m pitching Varalakshmi vratam cards, Pillayar chathurthi coconut chocolates and karva chauth dolls to Hallmark! In about a year, America won’t schedule business trips on avani avittam or even start a new project on a prathamai during rahu kalam. You’re welcome!

The ring

No, it is not the scary movie. I’m talking about the hottest accessory that I saw on everyone’s hand in Seoul. And it’s not even wedding season in Korea – although I could be wrong. The ring is attached to the back side of the cell phone and comes in handy for the very purpose these sophisticated phones are built: for taking selfies. Everyone and their mothers had one hanging off their phones. Run your finger through the hole and click away knowing that the phone ain’t falling down. In a way it makes sense that they are “coupled” to their phones by a ring since most of them seem to spend more time on the phone rather than with their BFs/GFs/spouses.

Navaratri at Incheon

So I missed out on homemade sundal. But on the way back, I satisfied my sundal craving in the lounge at Incheon airport. I was sniffing around for vegetarian stuff when a pretty girl of the lounge crew walked up to me and learning my predicament, asked whether I would like to have lentil salad. The dish had not yet been brought out from the kitchen when she handed me a bowl of channa, rajma and black-eyed beans salad and a bottle of tabasco! Kamsahamnida dee kondhe! (Non Koreans and non Tamils excuse!) If only she had started a rendition of a“gaja vadhana…” my Navaratri setting would have been picture (and sound) perfect. 

An aborted take off and the aftermath

The world’s best airline. The second best airport in the world. What happens when the proverbial shit hits the fan?

6:00pm

“Flight crew to your stations please.”

The reassuring voice of the captain from the flight deck came over the PA system. The aircraft taxied to the head of the runway, turned around and came to a halt for those few moments before the take off. The engines gathered speed as the aircraft started thundering down the runway, all set to take off from Incheon, South Korea on its long hop to San Francisco late in the evening on the 5^th of May.

From my 44C aisle seat, I peeled my eyes from the LCD screen and looked out the window. I could see little more than the wing and the slats in the dim light. No number of years of flying can make me feel insouciant at the time of takeoff. Truth is, I’m still awed by flying, planes and everything connected to aviation. And from my seat, watching or visualizing the plane actually lifting off, the wheels folding, imagining the pilots manning the big bird through the clouds is now a habit. Oh and a prayer or two also, I must add. Perhaps my own way of being part of, in my opinion, what is a magical phenomenon.

I reckon we were maybe eight seconds, or ten at the most, from lift off when instead of accelerating the plane actually started braking. Momentum, braking efficiency, friction – all those concepts float by when a nearly full Boeing 777, about to lift off, is brought to an abrupt halt. That rare time when you appreciate why the seat belts are put in and thankful that you are wearing one. As the plane came to a shuddering halt, quizzical looks were exchanged till the pilot came back on and to say that he had aborted the takeoff on the orders of the control tower. You could be flying the greatest planes to the most exotic locations but the guy in the tower calls the shots.

We must have been sitting for about fifteen minutes at, what I’m pretty sure was, the very end of the runway when the pilot came back on again and shared further news. First about a plane straying on to our runway (gulp!) and then about flat tires and a brake system that is hot, dashing my hopes of a short delay. This could be longer. Many Indian parents (SQ16, May, California Spring…) had meantime started floating multiple theories, one more interesting than the other. Buses showed up about 30 minutes later and ferried us back to the terminal with our hand baggage and I could actually see the flat tires through the window. But this is the world’s best airline having issues at the world’s second best airport and I reckoned we could be airborne later that night.

7:30 pm “Let them have cake!”

The ground staff led us to the waiting area in front of the Krisflyer lounge. I identified two colleagues who were on the same flight – frequent flyers – and hence could shadow them into the lounge. The colleagues managed to take in 3 elderly folks to the lounge. As a fan of test cricket, you are familiar with the torture of rain delays in a tantalizingly poised game: a break in the rains – mopping – pitch inspection – new start time – more rains. The airline equivalent of this started playing out. The first announced 2-hour delay quickly became three after some checks and then four by which time it was rather clear that the chances of flying out that night were slim. No complaints there: ensuring flight worthiness of the aircraft and hence passenger safety is paramount. I’ll wait till you are satisfied. But I’m sure glad that I had access to the packed-to-the-gills lounge and hence some reasonably good finger food. The economy class folks in the waiting area outside, in the meantime, had been given a rough deal in what was the first of many goof-ups that night. Meal vouchers, I learned, were handed out but the restaurants had all closed down by that time, rendering them useless. Later some cake was then distributed to the folks. “Let them have cake!”

11:30pm “The wheels on the bus go round and round…”

It was finally announced that a special flight would be made available the following day at 1300hrs – a delay of nearly 20 hours - and that we would be provided accommodation for the night. Accommodation as in an hour-away-by-bus-back-into-Seoul and not something close by. The first class and business class travelers were whisked away separately. Again, no complaints: this is how the world works from temples to airports and everywhere in between. All of were asked to head to the immigration counter for canceling the departure stamp to allow re-entry or get a temporary visa issued as appropriate. In what was a masterstroke in customer service, when the elderly started looking for baggage trolleys, the Incheon airport officials informed us, rather callously, that no trolleys would be available as it was late night. Yes, the world’s second best airport couldn’t let the elderly and the infirm use baggage trolleys. We took turns helping out those who needed help with either walking or heavy bags.

A quick side note. Most Indian Americans, by default, seem to ask for wheel chair service for their traveling parents. Some of them genuinely need it; case in point the 88-year-old couple that was in the plane. But many others, don’t get me wrong, seem to be playing it extremely safe. A few fifty year-olds had been enrolled for the wheel chair service: I helped them with some paperwork and hence I know their age. Granted that I don’t know their medical condition to make a judgment on whether they really needed one. But as they say, it is a small world. I ran into some of them a few days after in the Bay Area, walking around just fine! My point? Walking during the layover and/or arrival would actually be better for them instead of more sitting from a health stand point. Again, this is not for everyone but something to think about.

Immigration was long and cumbersome given the lack of enough officials at that hour. More so for a few that required help with questions. The ground staff wasn’t around to help out here and we pitched in to help out to the extent possible.

2:00am

Buses took us to the Hilton at the foot of the Namsan Hill in Seoul. Check-in was not too bad but we were informed that dinner was not part of the accommodation plan. And needless to mention, food on the late night menu was steeply priced. We again helped out people with their bags and kids. Most of them required help with the card key entry, the lights, the faucets and figuring out window screens. By the time we could go to our rooms, it was past 3am.

10:00am

It was a grey, murky, wet morning and breakfast was a solemn affair. Everyone had one thing foremost on their minds: Can we get back to the airport and be on our way please? We were bussed back to Incheon and check in to the special flight was quick.We raised the lack of support at many stages since the aborted take off with the ground staff and requested this: that the really elderly be upgraded either to the business class or at least the premium economy section. No and no. After much haggling, they upgraded the 88-year-old couple to premium eco. I wish they were a lot more reasonable under the circumstances.

May be I sounded whiny. It is not my intention to be so and I consider myself as having been nothing short of extremely lucky. But what was truly appalling was the lack of adequate support and efficiency that should have been made available, particularly to those that needed it the most. Looking back at the incidents of that night, here are my takeaways in no particular order.

We were an extremely lucky group in that a plane straying on to the runway could have been much more, umm…serious? I don’t think I will know whose fault it was but full marks to the air traffic controller and to the pilot for making sure that a canceled flight was the worst thing that happened that night.

One would expect that things would be handled smoothly given that it is Singapore Airlines having an issue at Incheon. But the lack of coordination, bad communication/updates at every step of the way was stunningly bad! I could hear many people murmur that United Airlines (yes, United!) would have done a better job in that same situation.

If you need great service onboard, a fantastic entertainment system or finely customized meals to suit every palate, one needn’t look further than Singapore Airlines. But when things weren’t going according to plan, we got to take a look at their underside. Verdict: not very pleasant. Was it lack of experience or training for such a situation that led them to trip up the way they did? Whatever be the reason behind it, I hope they learned a thing or two from the incident.

Once again, full marks to the ATC and the pilot! Being around and healthy to post this is a better outcome than the other possibilities, the annoyances notwithstanding. 

Vignettes from a trip to Seoul

What better way to squeeze out yet another post than cough up dregs from another business trip? If I can post something exercising only my fingers, I'm a happy camper. Without further adieu, here are my jottings from a recent trip to Korea - the peaceful one of the two. I have had far more interesting trips to that region in the past but when you are returning there after a long gap on a week-long trip, I'll happily settle for uneventful.

Incheon and the obsession with A

I have observed this on my first trip to Seoul way back when. A display proudly proclaiming Incheon as “A world best airport.” And it is still there today. I’m amused by this board every time I catch a glimpse of it on my way. Reminds me of the “Chainese” restaurant signs in Chennai.  They must have spent a fortune to build the airport and run it as a world class facility. And yet, this board with its message in bad English has survived the years. Please tell me they just picked the lowest bidding English copywriter and it is not because of numerology. In fact, I don’t find such funny English at too many places across town.

World number 2? You don’t say.

The (A?) Incheon airport, located about 40 kms west of Seoul city is a swanky place, done up really well and takes its place, by right, I must add, among the top three (Ranked #2 in 2015) airports in the world. Millions of passengers pass through its terminals and the place runs smoothly – a world best airport indeed. But by having used it a number of times, I have a few minor issues with the airport that I would like to document here. First, any airport that makes a passenger getting off an 11-hour, economy class flight to hop on a train to even clear immigration is screaming “bad design” loudly from the top of the control tower. Yes, it is a less-than-2-minute train ride. Yes, the trains run frequently. But a train ride to even get to immigration? This easily adds about 15 minutes to the usual airport routine. By comparison, I have cleared immigration, picked up my bags and have been on a taxi in less than 20 minutes from touchdown at Changi when Singapore used to be our home. Speaking of taxis, taxi drivers are teeming in the arrivals area, offering cheap rides into the city which they should not be doing. But I know why: fantastic and economical bus rides to all hotels in the city wait just outside the terminal doors and these guys want to hijack you ahead of that.  I don’t see Changi losing its first rank anytime soon.

The desi looks

Singapore Airlines flights SQ15/16 is preferred by the Indian diaspora living on the US west coast for their travel needs to the old country for obvious reasons: great service, fantastic Indian food options and for the able bodied and the adventure minded, a quick trip into Singapore without visa hassles. You will know where that extra money for the tickets went as soon as you place that warm towel on your face and sit back even before take off. This flight was no exception and had its quota of Indians - particularly aged parents - returning home. Most of them assume - quite reasonably - that I'm headed to India also and in the course of conversations, raise an eyebrow or even do a double take when I let them know that I'm actually headed to Korea. Seoul, to many Indians in that age group, is a two-hour layover to stretch the limbs, jump through the security hoops, perhaps get a hot beverage before heading back into the plane for the next leg of the tiring journey to or from the US. Not a destination. 

More than meets the eye

Dynamic Korea is a phrase that hits you at many places, starting from the immigration area. If Korea is dynamic, Seoul is truly its nerve center. The city is pulsating. The Han River bisects the city into two: the older, history and culture-rich North and the business, residential South (including the now (in)famous Gangnam) with hills all around. The cityscape is filled with extravagant skyscrapers with ornately done facades. Some tasteful, some less so but all of them wasteful. The city is served by a fantastic metro system working in tandem with a complementing bus service. But there is more to Seoul than meets the eye and much of it lies under. The underground shopping complexes, sometimes up to 3 floors deep, throb with teeming shoppers and are an experience by itself. What also hits the visitor is the density of population. Seoul houses a big chunk of the nation’s population and honeycomb-like multi-storeyed (and expensive) apartment matrices stretch out in all directions.

Churches-r-us

I had been surprised during my first few visits by the sheer number of churches dotting the cityscape. Churches of all sizes, shapes and denominations, I’m sure. They are there all the time but become more prominent once night falls with well-lit crosses identifying them, especially if you have a 25^th storey vantage point. Blame it on watching too many martial arts movies as a kid, but when I was a first time visitor, I was expecting to see “local” shrines or temples, incense sticks, prayer wheels, beads, you know, anything but churches. But I was simply blown away by the extent of the spread and reach of this faith. In fact, seated in the flight to Seoul, I could see many people crossing themselves as the aircraft took off at SFO. I had to check my boarding pass to ensure that I wasn't on a flight to Rome. Amen! Or is it Hallelujah?

Asian hospitality

Hotels, airports, airlines…when it comes to quality of service, in my personal opinion, the buck stops in the nicer side of the Pacific Rim. Granted, no matter where, the service industry is just that – an industry – peopled by professionals incentivized for being nice and hospitable. Yet, the Asians appear to be inherently better at it than “the West”. The pampering (compared to United) that one receives on board a Singapore Airlines flight, the quality of service at the hotels and restaurants is clearly a notch or two above what one would expect at comparable places in the US. I have little experience in Europe or elsewhere to make a statement. The difference, to take a cynical view, is simple: even if both of them – US and Asia – are secretly wishing someone to go to hell, the Asians do a much better job of masking it.