If you have read my previous posts, you will know that I have had such a hard time coming to South Korea. My flight was delayed, I missed my connecting flight, my luggage was left in the U.S., I missed my meeting time to go to the hostel, I was lost in the airport with no hostel address, and I even lost my passport!! It was a rough time, but yet still a good learning experience for someone whom had never traveled alone before. So here I am offering you tips and advice on what to do if anything similarly bad happens to you.
1. Flight Delay
If you realize that your flight has been delayed, immediately talk to the flight attendant to see if you will still be able to make your next flight. If you will be cutting it close and might not make it, see if the flight attendant can't get you a back up plan immediately, especially if you are on a tight schedule. If you wait to see if you can make it to your flight without this backup plan, chances are that you won't make it and will get stuck because even though the flight time may not take time, the boarding and exiting time does. Also, if you cut it too close, your baggage won't make it to your destination with you for sure. With my experience, I talked to the attendant but he just told me to run. I didn't think to ask him for back up tickets, but I realize now that I should have. I ran and still didn't make it.
2. You Miss A Connecting Flight
If you arrive at your second airport and have missed your connection flight, once again talk to the flight attendant immediately! Make sure that they check multiple airlines so that you can get the soonest flight out. There may be a plane leaving only a few minutes later that you can take. For asian flights, these mostly leave in the early afternoon, so if you don't want to wait another day for your flight, try to get on any flight flying to an asian country as soon as possible. If you have to wait at the airport though, just realize that there is nothing that can be done and that you have to relax. In my case, though, I had a plane that I could catch to Shanghai leaving in only a few minutes. I had to run to the gate, waving my ticket in the air, so that they would wait for me. Luckily I made it because I was on a tight schedule.
3. Your Luggage Doesn't Make It
If your luggage doesn't make it to your final destination with you, just realize there is nothing you can do to get it to you now. Check and make sure it is not on the rotation belt at the baggage pickup, and also check the lost and found. If you are sure your luggage hasn't made it, go to the luggage help center and show them your luggage ticket. Yea, make sure you have these with you at all times! At the help counter, they will look up the location of your luggage and will tell you what flight it will be flying over on. Then you will have to fill out a form telling where you want your luggage to be shipped to and what phone number the airport can call in confirmation. If you are flying over for school and you don't have this information, use the schools address and phone number. Then once you get to school, you can inform them that you lost your luggage and that it will be shipped there. Your school will be happy to receive it for you.
4. You Don't Know Where to Go When You First Arrive
If you had a designated meeting time with people at the airport so that you could travel together, make sure you contact them and let them know you are ok if you are going to be late. If you are so late that they can no longer wait for you, try asking an attendant at the airport if they can help you get to your destination. If you are younger, many attendants want to ensure that you have a safe trip so they will help you as much as you can, especially if it is late at night. In Seoul, when you arrive at the airport, there are multiple ways to get into the city. There is an express train, a commuter train, limousine bus, and taxis. You have to be careful when you plan your transportation because the buses and trains stop running after a certain time at night, and also the taxis will raise their prices. If you are forced to take a taxi and you cannot speak the language, once again ask an attendant if they can help you hail a taxi and find out the price. Sometimes, when taxi drivers know you can't speak their language, they will charge you more. Receiving help from attendant will help you eliminate this problem.
5. Losing your passport
If you lose your passport, you are in trouble. You need this passport as proof of your identification and you need it to enter and exit the country. When you first realize you have lost your passport, try and retrace your steps. You may have dropped it along the way. If you have traveled between destinations during the time between you last had your passport and when you realized you lost it, try calling the places you had been in between to see if they had found your document. Always, Always try and contact someone whom can help you look for it and whom might have it. In my case I asked my hostel father, the taxi driver, and I even called the airport. If you cannot find your passport, immediately contact your program coordinator! They will help you get in contact with the nearest embassy to help you try and get a new one. When I went through this process, I was also informed that I needed to file a police report first before I could get a new one. This is why it is good to talk to your coordinator first, because they understand the language and can help you file a police report. If worse comes to worse and you don't find your passport in the next couple of days, you will have to apply for a new one. To do this you will need a copy of the police report, a new passport photo, and about 150 US dollars, if you need a U.S. passport. It is very expensive, but necessary. Luckily for me, someone found my passport in the next few days.
Travel Tip 1:
When packing your carry-on, make sure that you pack supplies that you could live off of for at least two days. You don't want to be stuck without any extra clothes at all, because wearing your sweaty airplane clothes is nasty. Also, I would recommend packing more pairs of underwear than the number of outfits you have, because you can always re-wear outfits, but you don't want to re-wear underwear!
Travel Tip 2:
Always keep your passport close by you until you have settled into your final destination, where it can be stored safely. The best thing for this would be a passport pouch that fits under your clothes close to your body. It may be uncomfortable, but as long as it is zipped, you don't have to worry about losing your passport. Definitely do not keep your passport in a pocket that you zip open frequently. It can fall out! This is probably what happened to me, and ever since, my passport has been secured next to me.
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