survive a 15 hr flight: must-have essentials

10 things I must pack for a 15-hour plane ride to korea every time

PRELUDE

Traveling 15 hours is no easy feat. And yet, I’ve been taking this same flight since I was five years old. My parents don’t believe in layovers (only direct flights exist in our world). This comes with some serious pre-planning…

Before we dive into what we all came here for, let me explain. WHY KOREA?

“But… Korea is so cold right now”

It is. It’s below -10 degrees right now.

“Bro have you seen the news…”

Ugh. Yes.

But it’s Lunar New Year, my birthday, and my mom’s birthday. Now that I’ve just graduated college it seemed like the perfect time to visit Korea (post-impeachment, flights crashing, political turmoil, incredibly cold arctic temperatures) for 3 weeks since I am seriously unemployed for the foreseeable future. It also seemed like a great time to bring my Danish boyfriend for his first trip to Korea (and Asia)! I got so excited to go back that I made this:

I was born in the U.S. but grew up in Korea from ages 5-15 before I went to a boarding school for high school in Connecticut, coming home every winter and summer break dutifully to visit my family ever since. But it’s no longer the home it once was, it requires me to do some serious planning and research into where all the cool people are actually going instead of holing up at home with my family the entire trip.

All that to say, I’m very excited to spend some time with my family and show my boyfriend around! Maybe you’re interested in hearing more about my trip to Korea… let me know in the comments!

(P.S. some links I share are through my Amazon account!)

SMALL BITES

⚡️ ELECTROLYTES

My biggest health game changers last year were my iron supplements and electrolytes. Electrolytes have been so amazing for a few reasons: I started working out again a bit more seriously and also the winter has been so dry and dehydrating. I get the most basic electrolyte brand on the market that I’m sure everyone has already seen before online, but they get the job done. My favorite flavors are grapefruit and citrus lime! These help prevent any headaches and tiredness and you don’t have to use the bathroom every 2 seconds because you are super duper hydrated!

🧦 COMPRESSION SOCKS

Sitting down for hours does real damage to our bodies and walking up and down the aisle is not always an effective or accessible possibility on the flight. Keeping compression socks on for a really long time can be uncomfortable, so I’ll pack these in my carry-on and put these on once I’m buckled in my seat. (The ones I linked seem to be available only in Korea?)

🧴 HAND SANITIZER

This hand sanitizer made me so popular in my travels to Italy – helpful when public bathrooms are lacking or before digging into a hot group meal during travel. First of all, this specific scent is incredible (and unfortunately the most expensive???). I bought like five during Black Friday sales. It’s so convenient and slim to have in your bag or sling pouch. I cannot live without this!!!

🫖 TEA BAGS

This is my favorite travel hack ever. Every long-haul flight ideally will offer hot water or tea at some point. Bringing your own tea bags offers a comforting scent and a moment of familiarity that helps ground yourself, reminding you that home is never too far away…

🪄 INCENSE STICKS

I actually forgot these for my trip this time, but I love the scent of these incense sticks and will use them at home all the time. I first heard of these from Dan Levy’s GQ video and picked these up in Korea. I loved these for my travels in Europe (it really did bring a sort of comfort and routine to every place I was staying at) and promptly bought more when I was in Tokyo!

🧳 TRAVEL CUBES + EXTRA CLOTHES

Personal preference: I like to bring an extra shirt of pair of lightweight sweatpants to change into on the plane. The only way to make this possible is to have a small but effective travel cube to squish everything in there into my carry-on bag.

👛 TOILETRY BAGS

I dump every Sephora sample, mini tester kit, travel kit item I own into this and pray for the best on my trips. Bonus items: wet wipes, facial wipes, feminine wipes.

🪩 IPAD (downloading my own movies/scripts/books)

I don’t like airplane screens. I don’t like the sound quality of airplane in-flight entertainment systems (more on that in a second). Instead, I prefer to bring a paperback that I can read without interruption. Or on my iPad, I download some films, TV show episodes, or even a couple film scripts. It’s the worst when you are on a plane for 15 hours and there’s just nothing you really want to watch or read.

🎧 BOSE HEADPHONES

Nose-cancelling headphones are worth the investment. Every flight I am reminded of this. Bose has my heart and my wallet locked in for life. Every crying baby, every crowded airport, I would not have been able to survive without the ability to just bring everything down just a little bit. Alternatively, my boyfriend has “borrowed” my loop earplugs as well which are also quite effective at helping bringing the volume down just a little bit to make it more bearable.

🍬 SNACKS

Long-haul flights are exhausting. Bringing your favorite comfort snack is just the right thing to do.

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That’s it for today! Safe travels everyone ✈️

Skylar xx

the view from JFK~