Who’d a thunk it would be so hard?
Back in early June, I booked us a ticket on Turkish Airlines. That trip was supposed to be quick (by Ecuador to Korea standards). About 4 days later, Turkish Air ceased operations. Getting my money back was a hassle. I had to dispute the charges with the bank. That worked out, but it was a hassle after already hassling with the online booking company and Turkish Air which doesn’t even answer their phones anymore.
It get’s worse. I then booked a ticket which had two stops in Shengen countries, in Madrid and Amsterdam. I didn’t know nobody could make two stops till we weren’t let on the plane in Quito. I was denied right away, so I was able to call the booking company and at least get a partial refund. Myung was going to go on by herself while I stayed and figured out how to go. They even gave her a boarding pass. Then at the gate they told her she couldn’t get on. Why not till then? Who knows. By then it was too late to get a refund on her ticket. I had to eat it and part of my ticket.
We had been staying at an airbnb in Quito. After the incident I just described, we went to a hotel near the airport, owned by a guy I know, until I could make new arrangements. It was boring at both the airbnb and the hotel. The airbnb was in a neighborhood a long way from anywhere, so we did nothing and ate food from nearby tiendas and had pizza and KFC delivered. The hotel was in the middle of nowhere, so we just had the cheap Ecuadoran fare they offered.
The new arrangements were tickets with only one stop, in Amsterdam, then a second leg direct to Seoul. Of course, we were a little nervous. What could go wrong this time? Would they just not let us on, for whatever reason, even after I clarified all the details of our nationalities, how Americans still don’t need visas to enter Korea, and every other thing we could think of with the US embassy, the Korean embassy and the airline?
It still didn’t go smoothly.
We got to check-in and the woman there said I needed a visa. The following took an hour and a half to transpire. I called the embassy, which gave me the URL with the information that I didn’t need a visa. He stayed of the phone while I tried to get the woman, her supervisor, and that person’s supervisor above her to talk to him. They weren’t interested in anything except their own chain of command. They next up supervisor was interested in the email from the Korean embassy, and relented when he/she found out we had one. He/She didn’t even read it. We were given boarding passes.
At the gate, the guy said I needed a visa. We had to whip out our computers again, all the while berating him about how we just went through all this. Fortunately, he relented after only a few minutes. Then, getting on the plane in Amsterdam went normally.
I hate long flights with long layovers going west to east. We got here to our current airbnb about 18 hours ago, and I’m just feeling normal again. 10+ hours from Quito to Amsterdam. 14 hour layover. 10+ hours Amsterdam to Seoul. 9+ hours from deplaning to our place. Fortunately, I got about 4 hours of sleep from Amsterdam to Seoul. Myung slept well on both flights.
Oh, I didn’t tell you about getting our deposit back from the landlady. She didn’t want to give our deposit back. Myung hit the roof. The landlady said Myung was being agressive and made the mistake of calling the police. The cops came. She said Myung was yelling at her. I showed the cops our expired contact. The landlady admitted she didn’t want to return the deposit. The cops made her return the deposit. But it was quite a scene.
So, now we are just hanging out in quarantine. The health department had us download an app, so they can keep track of us, at least the phone. We have to report our temperatures twice a day. They did a PCR test yesterday, and we passed. They gave us a big box of food, and Myung had more food delivered. So we’re good.
That’s going to be it for now. When we get out, there will be lots to talk about.
Until then, be well. Be safe.