# Lessons from a long layover
|Token| Current| Goal| % Complete | |---|---|---|---| |Helios: |**2,86** | 1000| 0.3% | |HP: | **140** | 700| 20% | |GLD Held: | **699** | 5000| 14% | |GLD Owed:| **795** | 0| Loan at 113% of assets | |Offchain:|0 | $50 | not yet started | |EDSI |0 | 50| not yet started|

# Don't say no to free money
Sometimes it is hard to write and the past couple of days meet that criteria. I just got back from a very long transit from Manila. 31 hours from Mania to Vancouver. It was long. Not bad just long. ### Making a long flight bearable. Now when going on a trip that long I was lucky that I enrolled in the airlines points program. Many people just get the best price and then think nothing about the carrier they are going with. That would have been a big mistake for me. I flew with Korea Air. Korean Air has a free points program. If you fly you get points but **only** if you actually sign up for the benefit. Many people don't bother as they think they are just going to fly once and it won't be worth anything. It is true, maybe you wont use them, but not collecting them is like saying no to free money. Of in my case, a free visit to an executive lounge. In my case flying to Manila got me 4700 point. Flying back another 4700 points. The first batch of points was available long before my return flight and 4000 points? It was enough for a free lounge pass. **That was huge!** ### Why? I arrived in Seoul at 6am. I didn't leave Seoul until 11PM. That is a very very long time in an airport. A quick word about airports? They are expensive, crowded and boring. Food typically costs double what it would outside of an airport. Sometimes much more than double. There are long distances between places so lots of walking and the seats aren't exactly comfortable. Charging for your phones? Typically available but you are fighting with a lot of other people. ### But free executive lounge? Having the lounge pass changed a long grueling layover to an actually enjoyable one. I redeemed my points online, chose the lounge I wanted and showed up, presented my passport and onward ticket and I was in.

# What did the point / lounge give me?
However many people have never gone into the executive lounge and don't know why I would care. Let me tell you. ### ONE : Free food Food presented breakfast, lunch and supper. **Free** Want to eat a meal in the airport? Prepare to pay a lot of money. $10HBD easily and probably more. If you like to eat three meals a day? $45 easily and ever time you pay you keep thinking *this is so expensive* but you are a captive audience so you have no choice. Unless you are in a lounge and they bring out breakfast, lunch and dinner and keep on serving. In this case: Sushi bar, noodle bar, western food, drinks, pastries and more. Free because I signed up for a points program and used those points on a return trip. Side note: Unlimited drinks. Alcoholic and non alcoholic. Can get people into trouble so while I love the lounge, drink responsibly :) ### TWO : Entertainment The lounge had an arcade in it with lots of video games. Would I normally play in the arcade during a regular day? No. Would I play when I'm far from home and have time to kill? Well, still no, but it is nice to know the option is there. ### THREE : Shower Don't underestimate the slower. I had a late night and slept on a plane. Awake and don't exactly feel fresh. Having a shower to refresh myself is huge. There were three showers and I have to talk to the attendant to get into them but still, well worth it. ### FOUR : Faster internet Using the airport WIFI is way way better than no wifi to be sure. However when there are thousands of people on one system it can get laggy. Fine if you are just researching something but lousy if you are playing your favorite online game or streaming your favorite video. The lounge had its own wifi router and even dedicated ethernet ports if you were in their laptop seats. Fast and reliable make a noticeable difference when you have time to kill :) ### FIVE : Comfy seats. There were a variety of seating options in the lounge. There were couches which can be much nicer when you need a little nap. True, some lounge have sleeping pods but this one didn't (sigh). There are laptop tables for those who want to get some work done. There are regular tables for those people who want to focus on eating. Even big comfy single person chairs for those who just want to lounge and maybe watch a video or chat with friends. ### SIX : Storage lockers Okay. Sometimes walking around the airport is interesting. There are displays, stores and more to see. Walking around the airport with heavy luggage can kind of suck. What if you have a free storage locker? Put your luggage in a secure place and walk without the cumbersome baggage. I certainly did it and enjoyed walking around the airport without the excess baggage, literally. I will admit though that being away from my stuff does cause a bit of anxiety but I keep wondering "What if" but then again, it was worth it ### SEVEN : Phone call / Video conferencing room. Not a big deal for me but they did have some self contained privacy cubicles. Essentially a little room where you can go in and do a video call or chat without a bunch of prying eyes and background noise. So, if you need to do a team meeting you just head on in and take advantage of privacy and good internet rather than trying to find a quiet corner in the airport and pray that the wifi doesn't flake out. ### Eight : Power outlets Now I won't say that the lounge is perfect for finding power outlets but I will say that there are a lot of them. Most of them work (although I did fine one that didn't). If you need to charge your phone while sitting in a comfy seat this is absolutely the place to do it. ### Nine : Chatting with fellow travelers. Okay. Meeting people at the airport is kind of hit and miss. There are thousands of people but it is not exactly the kind of place where you walk up to strangers and say hi. However, while I was in the airport this time I absolutely met two really interesting people. First was Reggie and next was Samira. I didn't expect to start up a conversation but while being polite (offering up my charging spot to one and watching their luggage / keeping their sport for the other) I ended up meeting really interesting people. The executive lounge is quiet enough you can enjoy a conversation and the people there seem to be of the more seasoned / more interesting variety.

# Worth it for just the food
If you are curious to see images of the lounge you can check out this website here. I can verify that the images like this one: ![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/cinderclaw.gld/23wgMdRrkbR49uz7L6fxhQdeszDYLRyyVnz3dMTknZpmsnhH1pYzbrmc3oE83cqAWBxTK.png) Image source: Executive traveller.com Do indeed look exactly like what you would see there, although there is a whole lot more to the lounge than just that one part of the food area (there were four). At the end of the day though by simply signing up for a points program, reading about how it works, and making a redemption I ended up getting a very nice experience....for free. I always say **"Don't turn down free things"** (provided they are truly free) and I also say **"Always read the find print"**. In this case by accepting the points and by reading the fine print about executive lounge access I got a really unexpected and very nice bonus :)

18