Starting with my Korean Air flight from Incheon to Dubai,
this post is a record of the journey all the way to arriving in Dubai.
I actually meant to write this one first,
but I accidentally hit publish on my Martina Lounge post,
so that random lounge review went up before this one.
Maybe it’s because so many people are traveling these days,
but it got popular the second I posted it…
Anyway—
I seriously would’ve been in trouble if I hadn’t booked ahead,
because I took a completely sold-out Airport Limousine bus.
Before I knew it, I was at the airport.
A huge crowd got off at Terminal 1,
and at Terminal 2, I think only three people got off, including me.
Everyone kept saying the airport would be absolutely packed,
but I guess that only applied to Terminal 1, because Terminal 2 felt pretty relaxed.
So I had plenty of time to get ready for boarding.
Since I was seated near the front, they called me to board early.
I still can’t believe I actually made it to Dubai.
Life really is impossible to predict.
Korean Air currently operates just one flight a day to Dubai,
and mine was KE951 on the Airbus A330-300.
When I was younger, I flew Korean Air all the time,
but these days I take a lot of low-cost carriers and Asiana too,
so it had been a long time since I’d flown Korean Air.
I picked seat 28 in the very front of economy, which is one of the more comfortable options,
because it’s an extra legroom seat that normally costs more.
But since I bought my ticket kind of late—and paid a lot for it—
I was able to choose it without paying an extra fee.
The cabin was in a 2-4-2 layout, and since it was a long-haul flight,
I chose an aisle seat so I could get to the restroom easily.
If you want to see the full seat map, it’s on the official Korean Air website.
Time to board.
Since I was flying alone,
I was a little nervous about who I’d end up sitting next to, but it turned out to be a very polite American.
We didn’t talk,
but we both kept to ourselves and made it through the 10-hour flight peacefully, which was perfect.
Here’s the legroom in 28G, the front row of economy.
You can judge from the photo.
I also liked that it wasn’t one of those seats facing the flight attendants.
This definitely made me think
I should work harder so I can casually fly business class someday.
Even in the very front row, you still get a screen.
It’s tucked away under the armrest.
There was also a USB charging port under the seat.
And since there were two windows,
I could look outside
without making the person next to me uncomfortable—though from a bit of a distance.
My flight was scheduled for 1:30 p.m.,
but because the runway was backed up, it was delayed by 30 minutes,
so we took off around 2:00.
I’d heard they usually serve the first meal about an hour after takeoff,
but maybe because we left late, it came out after only about 30 minutes.
And for Korean Air economy, bibimbap is still the classic choice, right?
I could have pre-ordered a special meal,
and I did think about trying one,
but since it had been a while, I just went with the standard meal.
The bibimbap tray was exactly what I wanted—still delicious.
It came with seaweed soup and pickled cucumber on the side,
and dessert was some kind of rice cake plus bread… a total carb overload.
The American next to me mixed his bibimbap like a pro too.
He clearly wasn’t new to it.
I also asked for a Coke Zero and happily sipped that down.
The toothbrush set tucked into the slipper pouch
was actually decent quality—good enough to use twice on the flight.
The cabin wasn’t freezing or anything,
but since I was sitting still for so long, I started to feel a little chilly,
so I asked for an extra blanket and wrapped myself up properly from top to bottom.
About two hours after the first meal,
they handed out a snack too: a chicken bulgogi rice ball.
I took it thinking I’d eat it later,
but because I barely moved the whole flight, I never got hungry again,
so I ended up leaving it untouched and still don’t know what it tasted like.
There were plenty of newer movies and TV shows,
but nothing I really wanted to watch,
so I mostly kept the flight map and route information on the screen.
About two hours before landing,
the second meal came out.
The choices were spicy dakgalbi or beef bulgogi,
and I was craving something spicy, so I picked the dakgalbi.
It was smaller than the bibimbap meal,
and the whole setup felt a little simpler too.
This one honestly wasn’t that great.
Not terrible—just fine.
It had been a long time since I’d done a long-haul flight,
and doing it solo made it feel even more boring.
I watched YouTube, looked out the window, dozed off, woke up, and repeated,
and I even breezed through a book on Millie’s Library.
Then finally, we started descending.
I was so excited.
Entering the UAE and getting off the plane already felt exciting,
but my husband had arrived much earlier,
so this was also the day we’d finally reunite, which made it even more emotional.
Goodbye, my little rice ball…
I also took a quick video.
The area around Dubai Airport is Sharjah,
and the moment I landed, I checked the local weather.
It felt like 38°C—absolutely brutal.
But inside the airport, the air-conditioning was so strong
that I didn’t really feel it until I stepped outside.
Korean Air arrives at Terminal 1,
and after getting off, you need to move quickly to the train area
and take the shuttle tram to immigration.
There were already people lined up ahead like this,
but from our flight, I ran the fastest and made it onto that train just in time—the last one to board from my group.
Everyone else was moving way too casually.
The tram doors opened on the same side we boarded from,
and even after getting off the shuttle train, I recommend walking fast.
Because immigration gets this crowded.
I got off the tram first,
shot out of there like a bullet,
skipped the escalator completely,
and ran down the stairs like Usain Bolt.
At immigration, tourists should line up
on the side with the blue electronic sign, like in the photo.
There’s also a line on the right
with a purple sign,
but that’s the automated immigration lane for registered travelers only.
The immigration line took quite a while,
and Koreans were still relatively quick and efficient,
but since people from all over the world were there,
there were definitely some very confused travelers in the mix.
There were especially a lot of workers from India and Southeast Asia,
and it also overlapped with a Chinese holiday period, so there were lots of Chinese travelers too.
Anyway, once it was your turn, the immigration process itself was very simple—they basically just asked, “What’s your name?”
Which made me think… it’s literally in the passport. And my name isn’t even hard to read.
Still, just like I’d seen in other people’s reviews,
I got a free 1GB SIM card and made my way out.
I always use roaming when I travel anyway,
so for me it was more like a souvenir.
Once you come out after immigration, there’s a small duty-free area,
and suddenly you’re surrounded by people who look completely different from what I’m used to.
It felt totally different from traveling in Japan, which was fun in its own way.
When I got to baggage claim,
my suitcase was passing right in front of me.
In other people’s reviews,
they said the bags had already been taken off the belt and placed below,
but I guess I got there early enough that mine was still going around.
Koreans are already known for moving fast,
but my husband and I are always even faster.
My husband was there to pick me up, and as I hurried toward the exit, I saw those Rolex wall clocks I’d only ever seen in photos—not just one or two, but everywhere.
Oil money.
Apparently everyone knew I was arriving,
because the welcome crowd just went on and on.
My husband was standing at the end of that long line of greeters,
and after our emotional reunion, we headed to the car.
I took another quick video here too.
Since my husband was staying for quite a while,
he had rented a car for the trip.
He’d booked something in the Hyundai Avante class,
but they gave him this totally unexpected red car in the same category.
He’d gotten there ahead of me and had already gone full Middle East mode—
my husband had basically mastered driving there.
The roads in the Arab world are full of absolute maniacs, though.
We even stopped for gas right after setting off,
and from the very beginning, the trip already felt fascinating and fun.
We booked the Pullman Dubai for our hotel,
and not long into the drive,
I could already see the Burj Khalifa—seriously stunning.
You could even see it clearly right in front of the hotel.
Anyway, we made it safely to the hotel that night.
This trip was so full, so varied, and so genuinely happy
that I have way too many things I want to post about.
Now the question is: when am I going to write it all?
P.S. I still haven’t gone back to Korea yet,
and I’m actually writing this from Abu Dhabi,
so there’s no return-flight review in this post.
I’ll share my Korean Air KE952 return flight review later.