Notes from on board KE86

According to the in-flight map, we are some where over Siberia with about 3 1/2 hours left to go. Really kind of an amazing thing to consider. Only a few hours ago I was finishing Shabbat dinner in Park Slope and now I'm 38,000 feet abve the ground and almost halfway around the world hurtling forward at almost 600 miles per hour - all information given to me at my finger tips from the back of the seat in front of me.

The flight has been nothing but enjoyable. Unlike domestic flights I've been on where every inch seems to be taken up by a seat and every seat filled, Korea Air has spacious accommodations even in their economy class and I haven't noticed a single row completely filled, except for those with a family. And while meals on US flights have been relegated to snacks, if not entirely phased out or provided for purchase only, we were given the choice between a chicken entree or a traditionally bowl of bibimbop. Which do you think I chose? The funny thing was that when I asked for the bibimbop the flight attendant asked if I had it before. I guess the common choice for non-Koreans is to go with the western style chicken. Not me. And while not served in a hot clay bowl (I suppose there would be some weight and safety issues about that), it was fresh, with all the items one would expect to see. The individual package of rice - well cooked, I'd add - accompanied it along with a lightly pickled kimchi and small tube of Korean chili paste. I think that later I will have to stock up some extra tubes of it because it travels easily and provides a nice, spicy kick to any food.

Another interesting aspect of the flight is that because we basically flew over the Arctic, if not the North Pole itself (it is a bit difficult to precisely track our route so high north on the Mecater Projection, we experienced a sun rise and sunset already. I'm guessing if we left in the day time we would have been flying in daylight the whole time. (Also on the topic of navigation, while the direct line of flight would have taken us over North Korea, for reasons that should be obvious - especially in recent days - the plane went wide to the west while we were over eastern China to avoid the north completely and approach Incheon from the south. An extra few minutes in the plane but certainly worth it.)

A final observation is that the movie selection, again shown on the individual screens at out seats, don't merely show recent films but many that are still in the theater now. I'm not sure if Avitar would be worth seeing on a 5x5 LCD screen, but the Blind Side was perfectly fit, no pun intended, for my post-dinner entertainment.
Well only a few more hours. I'm still excited for the trip but also experiencing that twinge of apprehension that comes when you go outside your comfort zone. But I've been there before on other trips and at other times in my life. I've no doubt that this is going to be a great experience.

That's all for now from KE86 (and uploaded from Incheon Airport). Next stop Kyoto.