The Travel Home

As I sit here in the Incheon International Airport, Korea looking at the overly large potted plants, I appreciate the fact that I am nearly home, one more flight and that is the end of another trip. I may have started three or four other articles with these same words but not every airport has such talking pieces, they have become the symbol of reality to my arrival or departure from this particular place.

An Evening of Fun
Photo Copyright © Ieuan Dolby, 2007

To be a Bonsai or not to be a Bonsai apart; to start off from the last article I spent two days on the Pacific Enterprise, got extremely drunk one night in Kholmsk on a mixture of Baltica 7, White Stalk and excellent atmosphere. I mean the bars are nothing to write home about, dingy little back rooms as if somebody has converted their sitting room into a KTV lounge to try and scrape in a few bob. All bars come standard with some extremely rough looking Russians with shaved heads, girls who perk up at the sound of an English voice to the annoyance of the constantly smoking boyfriends and a barman who feels he has to begrudge every beer he serves. The bars also come equipped with a cold blast every time the door is opened, a low ceiling to ensure that the room is constantly filled with smoke and a toilet that has never seen a toilet brush since it was installed fifty years ago.

We had good fun and although the walk back to the ship in minus ten degrees and high winds was a shock to the system, especially since my gloves had gone for a walk in some bar or other, we made it back safe and sound.

The next morning I was dragged out of bed and through my fogged brain I came to the conclusion that I better hurry up - this was departure day! The "look-a-like" fisherman agent came and picked me up. He threw my bags in the back of his ramshackle Lada and drove out of the port gate and then to my surprise he parked his car! One of the main drawbacks of being in Russia is that nobody feels that they have to pass on any information. There I was preparing to fall asleep in the back of his car when he parks, gets out and indicates that I should do the same. Strange Guy! Not soon after all was explained as a mini bus pulled up and we transferred me and my bags to this new transport. I can only assume that this better equipped vehicle for snowy roads was not allowed in the port thus the exchange of vehicles.

The dented bumper of gthe other car!
Photo Copyright © Ieuan Dolby, 2007

As I was preparing to fall asleep in the back of the mini-bus ………. We had just left the port when my driver decided to pull out into the oncoming traffic. Why he did this I have no clue (being Russian he probably would not have told me anyway) but the end result was that a fancy white car careened off the side of our mini-bus before both vehicles managed to brake. The end result was one smashed in front bumper of a very surprised Russian and one side of a mini-bus dented in different places along its length.

After some lengthy diatribe another car was called and I eventually managed to fall asleep in the back of a car. A little bit of advice here; never call Kholmsk 60333 for a taxi; they're not very good at all. I arrived in Yuzhno a little better in mind, had lunch with my boss and was then ushered to the airport for the flight out. The airport has not changed much, the immigration officials are still weighed down with their gold stripes and 'sniffy' attitudes but I was on the way out of the country, not in, so they left no lasting impression.

And so as I sit here in Incheon International airport having spent a night in the transit hotel! In a couple of hours I will board an Evergreen flight for home and into the arms of my wife and the ball of fun that is my son. Another trip has come to a close!

Ieuan Dolby
Author and Webmaster of SeaDolby.com
Copyright © Ieuan Dolby, 18th January 2007