The Odyssey Back to Masan (25.- 26. Aug.)

Alright, you should have read about my odyssey to South Africa, now here's my odyssey back to my city in Korea.

I'll divide it into itinerary segments.

Brace yourself.

Jo'burg --> Singapore

Before the flight:
My friend and I were dropped off at the airport. Her flight was scheduled to leave 1.5 hrs before mine, so she had to check in and go through security before me. That, and I couldn't check-in to my flight yet. The counters opened after my friend went through security (at least, that's when I checked again and saw they were processing passengers). Eventually, I made it through security. I found my friend at her gate (fortunately near mine) and spent some time there with her. It's not every day you can see someone off at the airport at their gate.

I went for breakfast and some last-minute shopping. I tried getting the VAT refund but found out too late about the process. Kinda my fault for not researching into it sooner. A quick google search brought this, this, and this. You'll find more without a doubt.

The flight itself was fine. It got a little turbulent at times, but it wasn't too bad.

Singapore --> Incheon

I didn't have much--or any--problems on this side either. But I was pretty tired. In the 10-hr. flight from Jo'burg, I did not sleep. Arriving at Singapore at 6am and leaving after 8 am didn't help either.
Praise GOD, this flight went well too. I managed to close my eyes and rest/relax a few times, but not really "sleep."

Incheon --> Masan

This is where things got interesting.

I arrived at Incheon. I thought I may have a complicated transfer, so I try to check-in to my Korean Air flight to Busan online (since I'm back in Korea, I've got data coverage again). It wasn't working. I got to an information desk, and they break the news to me: my flight to Busan was canceled.
What? Why?
Due to weather.
Huh? (Remember, I'm sleep-deprived) Ok, what are my options?
[It was about 16:00. My canceled flight was scheduled to leave at 17:15.]
The next Korean Air flight to Busan (18:20 or so) was also canceled. The next available plane left at 19:30-ish. I didn't like the odds of that one being canceled too. Also, how many passengers from the two previous canceled flights were going to make it on that one? I decided to try my luck with ground transportation since I was in the country (and it takes about 6 hours to cross it. Hence it's not so bad).
Trains? First available train from Seoul to Masan was scheduled to leave after 22:00 and arrive at Masan after 1am. Transfer trains? Not much better.
Buses? The 1st limousine bus directly to Masan was going to leave at 19:50 (it was around 17:30 by then).
Fine, I'll take that one. I did and arrived at Masan after midnight--and at home by 00:30.
Maybe I should've stayed on the flight. Again, I was too sleep-deprived to make wise decisions.

At least I was able to contact Singapore Air about that one flight (I booked the entire itinerary via Singapore Air), and they've allowed me to use that one ticket any time between now and November 11th. Thank you!
I'm still tangoing with them about the reimbursements we were promised back on our flight from Incheon to Singapore at the beginning of my trip...
I'd like to think they're coming along... please.

In Conclusion

Without much ceremonies, that concludes my odysseys to and back from South Africa.

Would I go back to South Africa? As soon as I have a travel partner--and a few friends in South Africa with time to guide me/us around.

Is South Africa safe? Not like Korea or Japan, but it can be safe. You just need to be careful and not be stupid (same goes for everywhere in the world, honestly).

If you have the chance to go to South Africa, do it--with caution. Nothing happened to me, but I was careful, and locals guided me. I hope the current situation doesn't get worse. It would be a tragedy if this country became a "no-go zone."