Monday: Departure

Detroit:  Geoffrey called last night, just to check in before I left. This morning I got up at 4:00, showered, fed Sophie, had a light breakfast, packed the CPAP machine and final medicines. I caught my cab and got to the airport in plenty of time. Security was uneventful.

So, I flew out of Philadelphia this morning at 7:15 AM on Delta flight 1611. I have a few hours here in Detroit before the long leg of the trip on Delta 0159 to Seoul, then on to Busan (Gimbae) on Korean Air, to arrive at 6:50 PM local time (5:30 AM Philly time) on the 9th.  Detroit was a hub for Northwest and Delta took them over so I guess it is the Asia hub for Delta now. We were served two meals and a snack in the middle. We flew north from Detroit through Canada and over the Artic Ocean, comming down in Siberia and following the Russian coast to the Sea of Japan (East Sea), then once below the DMZ cut west to Seoul.

I brought a few books: Don Clark's on  Korean Customs and Culture (read a little on the plane), and some Sudoku puzzles (did a couple). I also brought The Tragic Sense of Life, Ko Un's What? 108 Zen Poems, and a Korean phrase book but am too tired for anything so serious, or that I'd have to study. I slept some and watched television on the monitor (one "Big Bang Theory" I hadn't seen). 

 The map on the monitor was set to display the great circle route which would have taken us over North Korea; I knew that couldn't be right but when I asked the attendant she said she'd check with the pilot, and she later said he confirmed it. That is the same pilot that said we would fly over Russia (correct), Mongolia (no way!) and China (possible if we cut west to avoit North Korea but not likely), and later said (but not in public) he misspoke.