Got luggage from Nippon Airlines, went through Immigration, rechecked through Korean Air, went through Immigration again and got through security with absolutely no problems.
While waiting for our flight, Emma began to hold her head. She gets migraines every so often, and I knew by looking at her that we might be headed in that direction. I gave her a Tylenol and tried to keep her mind on other things.
Flight was uneventful and she seemed to do well. I had gotten instructions from our hotel - which is a military-sponsored hotel - on how to get from the airport there.
We were to take a city bus from the airport to the Capital hotel and then take a cab to the Dragon Hill Lodge, which is actually located on a base in the middle of Seoul. (This tidbit will come in handy later on as I did not realize that it was on base. I thought it was "free world" like we had been in Toyko).
En route on the bus, Emma's head began to hurt again and the heavy breathing started. I just started praying that God would see us through to the hotel before she started throwing up.
We arrived at the Capitol Hotel and tried to get a cab. The bell captain told us that we have to have a special cab to take us on base, to go inside and use the phone by the bell stand. Emma accompanied me and we splashed her face with water and went into the restaurant and got some water and took another Tylenol.
I called the cab and the dispatcher told us to wait outside and a cab would be there in 15 minutes. The girls think that 15 minutes has passed after about three minutes and are beginning to doubt what we have gotten us into.
Finally a very nice man in a big car arrives and we are headed on our way to the hotel.
We pull into the gate and the driver asks us for our military ID. This is where it begins to unravel. See, I had only grabbed my little magic wallet that Gina gave me for my birthday that holds credit cards and has a place for dollar bills. I left my big wallet at home, which had my military ID.
Now we had been on four different bases last week in Okinawa and nobody had said "boo" to me. I had driven on base, through the gate, handed them Woody's ID and they saluted us on through.
The sentry at the gate said that we would have to go over to the office and sign me in under my sponsor (Woody). This is where we have the "lawd have mercy, help me Jesus" moment.
Woody presents his ID card to the guards - who happen to be civilian Korean rent a cops. They scan the card and it flashes up in yellow and black. "ID is not registered in BIDS system."
The guard says, "I'm sorry, but you cannot come on base because you are not in the system." Ellie is starting to hyperventilate, Emma's head is pounding worse, and I'm wondering where we're going to sleep tonight. It's 9:30 at night and we're in the middle of Seoul, South Korea, without a valid ID.
Woody asks them to get someone on the phone. While they are speaking in Korean, people are coming and going through the gate - Americans, Koreans, adults, children, grandmas and grandpas. All are presenting IDs and there's no problem.
As an American comes through the gate, I stop him and say, "Hey, can you tell me what the BIDS system is?" He said, "Yeah, it's biological ID system." I said, "Well, they won't let us in because we're not in the system." He shrugs his shouldersg and keeps on walking.
They finally put Woody on the phone to a guy at a desk somewhere else on base. He is telling him something in English with a Korean accent. Woody keeps telling him that we have a reservation at the hotel and he's not going off to war and they will not need to identify him on the battlefield. He only wants to check into the hotel and go to sleep.
Emma is constantly poking on my arm and saying, "Mama, tell him to be nice."
Between chemo brain and hearing loss as a result of chemo, Woody is getting more and more frustrated. He finally says, "Here's my wife. Talk to her."
They guy keeps saying, "Have you been on post before?" I keep telling him not this base, but we were on four different ones last week in Okinawa. I said, "We've shopped in the exchange, eaten at restaurants and we even went to the movie." I'm getting nowhere. I finally say, "Let me talk to your supervisor." He places me on hold and comes back to say his supervisor is outside but will be back in just a minute. When he comes back on the line, I hear a guy talking in perfect English saying, "They just need two forms of ID." At that point, the guy asks me if we have ID - Woody had already told him we had passports - and says to put the guard back on the line.
We were finally admitted. The sweet cab driver waited 30 minutes on us only to take us 200 yards inside the gate to the hotel.
It is a beautiful hotel with everything imaginable located within the walls. I told Woody that I'm thinking at this point we'll just hang out at the pool as I'm afraid to walk outside the gates of this base for fear I'll never get back in.
I've also decided after tonight I WILL NOT take a chance going to the DMZ!!
Here's what I found on the Internet on BIDS: Too bad we didn't know about it BEFORE we tried to get on base in Korea:
"As a result of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, installation security has become the number one priority for American organizations worldwide, especially within the U.S. military. Within the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) theater of operations, BIDS has been fielded and operational for a little over 6 months. Since its inception in May 2001, BIDS in Korea has been recognized as a successful force-protection-enhancement initiative. In light of the recent increased security, BIDS has established itself as a valuable tool by assisting with verifying personal identity to determine who is granted access to U.S. military installations in Korea. Our recent increase in force protection conditions (FPCON) has provided the perfect test bed for the system, therefore, solidifying its command value."
2 comments:
As usual, you have to live on the edge. Glad it all ended well.
Can't wait to see pictures of my old stompin' grounds around Yong Dong Po and Seoul American High School! Hope you are all having fun.
Post a Comment