A Narrow Escape From Death - Jeju Part 1

This week started out very exciting. Talks of vacation and packing our bags were all around the office(s). Monday went by quickly as did Tuesday, giving truth to the ever popular saying "time flies when you're having fun". In this case it was more like the time was flying in order to have some fun.
Tuesday after work Margaret and I left straight from work to get on the airport bus near Jamsil. Our plane was scheduled to leave at 715, and we made it to the airport around 6. We were happy to be there and got ourselves into vacation mode, talking about how nice it would be to be away from Seoul and all the things we were going to do once the rest of our friends got there. Little did we know our lives were about to be turned upside down, almost literally.
We grabbed a quick sandwich and waited for our plane to board. Eventually we took off around 730, a little late but not a big deal. the first half of the flight was good, we were sitting in a section with a group of cheerful Chinese travelers and tins were going smoothly. Then as we made our way closer to Jeju the turbulence began to pick up. Tossing the plane back and forth, up and down as I've never felt we became at the mercy of the storm brewing outside. things then went from bad to worse as the passengers started worrying and some even turned a little green. Not to worry though, the Chinese were still having a good time.
No wonder they ran kamikaze missions back in the day, even as the planes ride became like that of a roller coaster they were laughing and joking with each other. Soon enough that would come to an end. As some of the Chinese passengers started feeling sick and the mood got a little more serious.
The plane tossed and turned, dropped like a rock and rose again under the changing air pressures outside. Then it happened, people started vomiting; probably from a mix of being thrown around and nervousness. Even Margaret, the poor girl, fell victim to the night and I all could do was try to tell her it was going to be alright. What happened next made me doubt what I was saying and brought me the closest I had ever felt to the end of my life.
The pilot, now above Jeju airport, decided to try a landing. As the plane made its decent we hit a patch of bad air and the plane dropped like a stone. It dropped hard enough and long enough to leave me weightless in my seat for over a full second. As son as that happened the pilot then throttled up the plane harder than I have ever felt. We moved faster than I've ever felt, even during a take off in order to get back up into the clouds. People were now very quiet and solemn as I can just imagine, the thought of getting through this was on everyones minds. Once we were back in the clouds the pilot circled trying to wait out the storm, and the flight attendants did what they could in the still turbulent plane to help those who had been sick.
Finally the pilot decided to turn the plane around and make the 45 minute flight back to Seoul. Once we got into calmer air, about half way back, the mood lifted and people started relaxing. This was most noticeable among the Chinese passengers who once again started laughing and joking. they were making fun of themselves and their friends who had been sick. Even though I had no idea what they were saying i couldn't help but laugh with them. It was just too funny. After we returned to Seoul we were told that a flight had been scheduled for 640 am for those of us who would like to try again. Margaret and I assumed that a trip like that could only happen once and opted for the morning flight, that and our friends were going and we didn't want o miss out. We grabbed a hotel close to the airport for the night and then headed off again in the morning, making it without a problem the second time around.
My next post will be of a much funner nature I promise.