After the 9 hour flight from Seoul to Doha we arrived 4am local time. I still had a 3.5hr layover to my connection to Budapest. Fortunately the duty free shops were still open at this hour.

Qatar markets itself as the worlds 'five star airline' but their hub Doha airport was not. There were only a few computers for free internet use and it wasn't worth waiting. The washrooms were certainly not 'five star' and more like something from a highway truck stop

At the hub of Qatar Airlines I was curious to see how this one bag 7kg hand luggage rule was being enforced. Everyone seemed to be ignoring it and had 2-3 bags in excess of 7kg and staff didn't care

It was interesting at the airport being able to read all the Arabic allowing me to switch from always reading Korean. The flight crew was made up of two South Africans and three Korean ladies. I didn't get a chance to talk to them and practice my hangul one last time.

We arrived in darkness and I was hoping to see something on takeoff. Unfortunately I was facing the wrong side so only saw the coastline not the city. Their was a very annoying Indian family whose kids and father could be heard several rows away as I was trying to sleep for the remaining five hours left

We flew directly across Iraq starting from Kuwait and northwards to Kurdistan. It was completely barren desert with no civilization or cultivation. Towards Kurdistan it improved somewhat before entering Turkey.

This was my first time being in the Middle East since 2007. Once we crossed the Black Sea into Europe it was all cloud so nothing to see

The flight was stopping at Budapest and continuing to Zagreb so not everyone was getting off. They checked our boarding cards as we left to make sure the Zagreb people didn't get off. They also had immigration officers to check our passports as we left the plane as this was the first port of entry into Europe

At Budapest I waited anxiously for my two checked bags. I usually travel hand luggage only and I had the misfortune one time with Air France when I arrived at Munich and my bag didn't arrive. After waiting both bags arrived with no damage

I was finally in Europe for the first time since 2009 and my third time back in Budapest. There is a door to door airport shuttle for 3200Ft ($16). The hostel is on the Buda side on a city mountain. It was easy driving up but I dont want to be walking this everyday

Diving thru the city it was nice to be back in Europe and seeing all the Soviet era tower blocks. I reminded me of Tashkent in Uzbekistan at the other end of the Soviet empire

The hostel room was not as clean as they make out in their pictures but it will make do for five days before I move into the schools apartment for a month

After unpacking a few basics and setting up my laptop and alarm clock I fell asleep by 5pm and slept thru to 4am