Art Sindlinger: Travel Day: CDMX

I'm taking advantage of a sabbatical benefit this year and spending a few weeks in South Korea. TBD how and when the various posts get up on the blog, but we'll start with one on the travel day, which is long. I left my apartment in la CDMX at ~4pm to catch flight one from MEX > MTY. Around 10:20pm I boarded the flight from MTY > ICN. And right on time at 11pm we pushed off for a 15 hour flight to Seoul. So that's 22 hours from getting in the Uber to getting into the immigration line.

It all starts with the obligatory departure shot from the jetway, even though that's not the plane I would be flying to Monterrey.

REMINDER: Click on pics for a higher res version of the image

Couple of pics from the in-flight display underlining just how far it it.

Multiple times I came to from a state of semi-sleep only to see there were still 9, 8, 7 hours left. We did this once before in 2017 but maybe we left at a different time of day? This one was a grind. But I got there. "Manual Inspection" sign threw me for a second.

In the end, line was not bad and the processing process was smooth and painless.

Some shots of a big, clean, organized airport in the arrivals area. While Benito Juarez did get a facelift for the World Cup this year (and, not surprisingly, suddently the price of bottled water is 3x what it was last year), we've got a long way before we're looking this sharp.

Bags in hand, first order of business was to pick up my LG sim card. I've been using Airalo for all my recent trips, but in my YouTube research I found a guy suggesting this would be a smooth option. Thought it was worth a try. You can order online in advance of your arrival. The service counters are 24/7, so my 5am arrival would not be a problem. Just need to find the service counter. If you don't see the counter but do see one of these help screens, you're in business.

(I didn't even notice until reviewing the pics later that it cleverly switches from I to AI there in the welcome graphic. Not sure any major AI was applied in my encounter. Seemed to be a straight forward enough search-and-respond type of transaction.)

Once you're in the screen you pick your language, then either search for something specific or browse by category (e.g., Telecom), find what you're looking for and get the orienation / directions graphic. Smooth.

Once you're at the service counter there is another touch screen where you take your turn. I was a bit confused upon arrival and asked someone if they were waiting. He politely gestured toward the touchscreen, which I had overlooked. Not sure exactly how long I waited, but it could not have been more than 10 - 15 minutes despite being 7 customers deep in line.

I didn't eat during my travels to Poland back in April since I was dealing with stomach issues and didn't want to provoke anything with plane food. What I learned by accident during that trip was I actually felt better not eating the plane food. So besides a few BYO cashews and a granola bar, I hadn't eaten since departing Monterrey. That was now 16 hours ago, so, hungry, I found myself drawn to Lotteria.

I'm a big fan of kiosk ordering. Got myself some kind of fried chicken sandwich and an iced Americano to start. For the record, this is 6am local. Or 3pm the day before CDMX time.

Lingering in the Lotteria for a while, wanting another coffee, I also granted myself a second chicken sandwich.

This was a good 25 minutes after the first course, so I think it can be considered appetizer and main, or main and dessert. Either way, within my first 90 minutes on the ground I got my sim card, ate two Lotteria fried chicken sandwiches, and downed two Americanos (one cold, one hot).

Fed and caffeinated and feeling semi human again, I checked the time and see it's 7am. Judy would be coming to meet me here around 11am (ish), as I didn't see the need for her to get up and make the hour plus commute to Incheon so early in the morning. So I had a few hours to kill. In past trips where I've had long layovers (thinking of a couple 4hr + stays in Madrid, for example), I would have been one of the people on these benches.

However, in my pre-trip research I learned about Spa at Home from this blog post. That sounded like interesting good deal.

First thing I noticed was it is pretty busy.

They have a few flavors of service. Shower, shower & rest, 6hrs, 12hrs (seems like a lot).

I guess if they are super busy, and you're clear on the concept, you can order up your services on the touchscreen. As a newbie, I queued up for counter service.

As I explained to Judy later, the shower was great. Like any nice lockeroom environment. Felt good to grab a hot shower after ~24 hours of travel. The nap room, though, was just okay. Felt a little bit like what I imagine a shelter environment might be. Big open room, sleeping mats on the floor, side by side (but decent width, maybe 1.5m). It was not crowded, so I had that going for me. I was, of course, in the men's area. They have 3 distinct areas for men, women, and families. Family room was pretty busy. Just a handful of us solo dudes in a room that probably had 40 + mats. I did snag one surreptitious pic while recumbent on my mat.

Anyway, I was clean, had kinda slept, and now needed to get back outside to go meet Judy. She was running a little late, so I stopped for another coffe and some water at Paul Bassett.

Sharp place, with what appeared to be a great deal for their brand Nespresso capsules (I'll look to get some on the way out; not looking to overload myself on day 1 of a 3-week jaunt).

Also had an extensive drinks selection on their touchscreen. I opted for ... an americano.

Judy was getting closer, so I made my way over toward the part of the terminal where the train comes in. Conveniently found a Starbucks and a place I think is called 'Korean Savory Bakery Salon'.

Kind of camped out and browsed there a bit. Tempted by the Starbucks merch, but I still have my two Starbucks Seoul espresso cups from the 2017 trip, so I restrained myself.

Over at KSBS, however, I did buy some of the little bread balls, both cheese and potato flavored. Both very tasty.

Held off on the bulgogi croquette and dubai syle scone, figuring it would be a little messy to deal with and that I'll have another opportunity at some point to try something similar during my stay.