Bibimbap on a plane

What I learned about traveling:

1) Carry light carry-ons or baggage with wheels. I learned the hard way. Don’t do it.

2) Know when your airline opens. This would have made the heavy carry-ons less annoying. After arriving at LAX and wondering how exactly to get out of domestic terminal central, I exited security, walked over to the other terminal, confused myself when I didn’t see a ticket booth for Asiana, walked the long hallways a couple times until someone was finally helpful enough to mention that Asian wasn’t even open until 4 hours before flights… Know when your airline opens. But good comes out of everything, right? I ended up securing the seat I wanted by waiting 40 minutes before the airline even opened. Which leads to point number 3.

3) Aisle seats definitely win, and with the Boeing 777 you actually have a fair chance of getting one. It is arranged in seats of three, starting at each window and with a set of three seats in the middle. For a total of four aisle seats, two windows, and even if you did get stuck in the middle, you only need to ask one person (and not several) to get out of your way.

4) Gift giving. Still a prevalent element of Korean culture found on Asiana air. These gifts ranged from hot towels (they were hot! Let them cool a little) upon entering the plane to toothbrushes and toothpaste (Dad, I know you’re excited) provided in the bathroom (individually packaged of course).

5) Food provided, also an extension of gift giving, or maybe just some element of service that hasn’t died with the entirety of the airline industry. 2 full meals. First choice: 1) American style “beef steak” with mashed potatoes and broccoli (although I’ve heard to be wary of “American” style food made by Koreans) and 2) Korean style meal with Bibimbap which is a bowl of Asian style veggies that you mix in rice, hot/sweet chili paste, and sesame oil. Being a good blossoming Korean-phile, I chose bibimbap. Luckily, I was a step ahead of the game because I knew how to assemble it. Others on the plane were not so food enlightened. They started in on the vegetables alone or attempted to put the fishy soup broth in the veggies and add some rice in a rather noxious sounding mix. Bibimbap is probably one of the best reprieves in Korean food from the fishy taste that is prevalent in many dishes, like kimci (yes, it is served breakfast, lunch, and dinner!). So, to CORRECTLY do BIMBIMBAP: 1. put rice in with veggies. 2. squirt in red chili paste (remember it’s usually equally sweet and spicy so don’t be too worried about the red color meaning overwhelming heat). 3. add sesame oil if desired. 4. mix thoroughly. 5. eat with chopsticks OR spoon. Both seem to be acceptable while eating this dish. 6. enjoy my favorite Korean food so far.