Being the anal-retentive worry-wart that I am, I've given the matter of how to best survive this ordeal a lot of thought. Also, I have had requests from friends of mine for advice. So I figured I would just lay it all out here on my blog.
What I have done is to bring everything I need during the flight in one carry-on backpack. I've grouped all the items by function, and then packed them together into smaller bags which are placed into the larger backpack. These smaller bags are:
- The In-Seat hygiene Bag: This contains everything I need while seated to stay healthy.
- The In-Seat Comfort Bag: This contains all the items I use to keep myself comfortable.
- The In-Flight Lavatory Bag: This contains the items I take with me to freshen up in the aircraft's lavatory.
- The Transition Bag: This Contains the items I use while at a transition airport.
- The Document Bag: This contains all the documents and loose items that I need for travel.
The In-Seat hygiene Bag.
This contains everything I need while seated to stay healthy. This bag is a tiny airline comfort bag that the airlines give you on long flights. They usually come with a strap. In this bag I pack the following items:
- Saline Nasal Spray
- Lip Balm (like Chapstick)
- Listerine Pocket Pack
- Relaxation pills (I use Temazepam, which is prescribed by my GP for my flights)
- Hankerchief
This contains all the items I use to keep myself comfortable. This isn't one bag. It is actually a group of items that I place into the backpack.
- A NadaChair Slouch!Buster. This folds up into a self contained bag.
- Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Noise canceling Headphones
- Custom Fitted Earplugs
- MP3 Player loaded from "Sounds of Nature" CD.
- Eyeshades
- Extra AAA batteries
- inflatable Neck Pillow which come in their own little pouch.
- Bottle of water.
The In-Flight Lavatory Bag.
Like the in-seat bag, this is also a tiny airline flight comfort bag. It has the items I take with me to freshen up in the aircraft's lavatory. It contains:
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Floss
- Antiperspirant
- Cologne Samples
- WetOnes
- Skin moisturizer
This is a mid-size bag the size of a large shaving kit. This Contains the items I use while at a transition airport. It also functions as my emergency luggage should my bags not arrive at my destination. It contains:
- A clean pair of underwear
- A clean pair of socks
- A clean shirt
- A mini travel towel
- Body Soap
This is not a bag, but a clever portable file cabinet. It contains all the documents and loose items that I need for travel. It has
- Airline ticket(s)
- Passport/visas
- Car rental information
- Cash
- Cards
- Receipts
- Pants: I usually wear a pair of comfortable cargo pants with no belt. The metal in the belt sometimes sets off metal detectors which slows you down. Don't wear blue jeans because the metal rivets can also set off sensitive detectors.
- Shirt: I wear a comfortable long-sleeve cotton shirt. The sleeves can be rolled up or down depending on how warm or cold it is.
- Underwear: I wear nice looking and comfortable boxers. Nothing silly or grungy. You never know if you are going to be pulled aside for a strip search. So you might as well have something on that doesn't make you look silly when you are standing there in your underwear infront of inspection officers.
- Socks: I wear dark thick cotton socks that will keep your feel warm when you sleep. If they get dirty, no one will notice.
- Shoes: I wear comfortable shoes that you can walk a couple of miles in if you have to.
- Jacket: I usually do not carry a jacket unless I am going somewhere where I expect colder weather. Otherwise, it is just extra weight.
I prefer to sit in a window seat. There are many reasons for this.
- First off, you get a few more millimeters of space. The space between the seat and the window can make a big difference when you are crammed in like sardines.
- Being in the window seat means that you one have to deal with one other passenger, not two. That means one less elbow in your ribs.
- The window and side of the aircraft can be used as a surface to lean against for rest. You don't get this option in center or isle seats.
- No interruptions! Because you are not between the isle and another passenger, you are never disturbed when they have to get up to go to the lavatory.
- Storage. The small space between the seat and the wall can be used to store your hygiene bags. That makes one less thing getting in the way or getting lost.
Also, I try to sit before the wing if I can. This is because most of the noise from the engines travels aft, so there is more vibration and noise the further back you go. It is slightly quieter in front of the engines. It can make a difference on a long flight.
One thing to be careful of on Qantas flights is getting stuck on the crib row. The rows right behind the center galleys or lavatories have drop down cribs for newborns that are mounted on the bulkhead. So guess where all the screaming babies sit? That's right, they go on crib row. When stuck on a 14 hour flight, babies get pretty loud.
Food & Drink.
I will not drink coffee or alcohol before or during a flight. They just screw you up more than they help. Also avoid softdrinks (caffeine and sugar), tomato juice (too much salt), and too many fruit juices (they often contain extra sugar).
I will drink water. You have to stay hydrated. I bring a bottle of water with me. The Qantas jets have a small water spigot where you can refill your bottle. I love cold water on a flight!
I will accept a cup of coffee within a hour of landing at my destination just to get things kick started.
As for food, I don't eat a lot when I fly. First, I'm not crazy about the airline chow. Second, you don't really need it. When doing the trans-Pacific leg, I will only accept their breakfast service to take the edge off my hunger. I sleep though the dinner service.
I am a big fan of seedless grapes. They are the perfect flight food. They taste good. They keep you hydrated. They are not full of sugars and additives and God knows what else. Don't bring too much because you will have to dispose of any leftover grapes at your destination. Bringing fruit in is a no-no. So I will bring washed and picked seedless grapes in a zip-lock bag to snack on if needed.
A small bag of trail mix is good too. It is easy to carry, and gives you plenty of energy.
Entertainment.
Most long flights offer in-flight entertainment. I give it a miss. I find it simply isn't worth the energy it takes to watch it. I use that time to sleep.
The films they show on flights are dumbed down and edited versions for a wide audience with the idea if not offending or scaring anyone. Also you have to watch it on a scrappy little screen. If you really want to see a particular film, then rent it home where you can watch it as the director intended you to. Life is too short to waste your time on half-ass imitations of art.
If I had my way, there would be no in-flight entertainment on trans-Pacific flights. One time I flew from LAX to Melbourne. Within 30 minutes of take off the entertainment system failed. There were no movies, videos, or music. So what did the passengers do? They all went to sleep. It was by far one of the most comfortable and peaceful flights I have ever done. I had a chat with the lead flight attendant at the end to tell her how great the flight was. She told me that she had not received one complaint, and instead had received many compliments. When daylight broke and we approached Australia, everyone was well rested and happy, instead of the usual cranky and tired.
For some reason, passengers feel compelled to watch the entertainment offerings. So they force themselves to stay awake. They squirm and they fidget and they cough and make noise. They turn their seat lights on and off. All of these actions can be felt and heard by the other passengers. And they do wake you up, even if only for a second. You can not get a sound, restful sleep when there is so much going on. It is like putting a television in a child's room and then wondering why the kid doesn't get enough rest.
My advice? Bring a good paperback. There are thousands out there. They are small, and can entertain you for hours and hours. They don't need electricity or anything. They pack up nice and are easy to carry.
The Items.
Here I will go into detail about each item, with the how and why. I am a strong believer on not over-packing. A small number of well chosen quality items will take care of most everything you encounter.
Saline Nasal Spray:
The cabin of aircraft gets very dry. Your sinuses will dry out and the inside of your nose will dry out. A simple saline nasal spray will keep you comfortable. I just give myself a pump every hour or so. I like the tiny little pump bottles. It will be more than enough to last 22 hours. You can refill it at home.
Something else to think about. You might be a snorer. In consideration of your fellow passenger, bring something with you to held mitigate this.
Lip Balm (like Chapstick)
Not much to say here. Like your sinus passage, the dry air will cause your lips to chap. Just put some lip balm on and stay comfortable.
Listerine Pocket Pack.
These are those tiny little film strips that you put on your tongue and they dissolve. You only need one pack. They will help keep your breath under control, more your fellow passengers than yourself.
Relaxation pills
I use Temazepam, which is prescribed by my GP for my flights. They are not sleeping pills. I do not like sleeping pills because of the side effects. They leave me feeling foggy and stupid. These are relaxation pills. They help me unwind enough so that I can fall asleep on my own, which is far more natural. It is like having a couple of stiff drinks without the side effects.
Hankerchief:
You always need one of these. They come in handy for mopping up messes, blowing your nose if needed, or whatever.
NadaChair Slouch!Buster
This is my secret weapon! I've written about this before on my blog. I find that this model, their smallest, allows me to sleep sitting upright. It keeps me from slouching, which strains the lower back. What I do is put this on, put the seat almost upright, put the seatbelt snug across my lap, and I can sleep for hours with no discomfort.
This folds up into a self contained bag. It is about the size of a paperback book.
These are the same earphones that are loaned to you in first class by Qantas and Singapore Air.
They are not perfect. Bose made them to not cancel out the frequencies of the human voice. This is a safety issue. Otherwise, you would not be able to hear anyone speaking to you, like a FA telling you to prepare for a crash. Audiophiles have panned these for their audio reproduction when compared to the Sony noise canceling headsets. However, I don't buy them for their noise reproduction. I bought them for their noise canceling, which they excel at.
Where they work best is eliminating low frequency sounds. This is what is produced by the jet engines and is what will cause you exhaustion and irritability. When you when spend 13 hours sitting behind a jet engine strong enough to push a fully loaded 747 across the Pacific Ocean, every bit helps.
To overcome the mid-frequency sounds that the headphones do not eliminate, I have other tools... the ear plugs and the MP3 player.
Custom Fitted Earplugs:
Don't waste your money on those cheap foam ear plugs. For around $50 you can have a set of custom made ear plugs molded for your ear canals. These custom made plugs will eliminate 2 to 3 times as much sound as the best over-the-counter ear plugs you can buy. Also, once you get them made, you can use them over and over again for years. Just clean them before each use.
If you don't want to get some made, the get the wax moldable type.
MP3 Player loaded from "Sounds of Nature" CD:
As much as I like the Apple iPods, I can't recommend them here because they don't have replaceable batteries. Personally I use the little Nike MP3 player. It runs about 20 hours on a AAA battery. It only has 64KB of storage, but that is all I need for this purpose. You can buy a cheap little MP3 that uses AAA batteries for almost nothing these days.
I only have one track on the MP3 player. It is an hour long rip from the CD "Sounds of Nature: Beach". It took me a while to find the perfect sound, and this is it. Too many of the nature/medication/relaxation CD's contained man made music. When I finally found some CD's that featured only natural sounds, I found they decided to put some stupid whales singing or birds screeching on them. This CD contains only 1 hour long track of waves gently washing on a sand beach. No stupid animals. No stupid Yanni style new-age music crap to get on my nerves.
I set up the MP3 to repeat the track over and over. Non-stop waves. Perfect!
Eye shades:
I use the little cheap ones that the airlines give you for free. There are some that claim to be better. I have not tried them. I like the little ones I use because they are very small and I can store them inside the Bose Headset case.
Extra AAA batteries:
The Bose Headset and the MP3 player use these. I bring two extra batteries. I store them inside the Bose Headset case. I buy good quality alkaline batteries.
inflatable Neck Pillow:
Because I am 6'-3", my head it too high to rest on the back of the seat. The seat comes up to my neck, if I am lucky. Thus, there is nothing to rest my head on when I sleep. So a good pillow is critical. I used an inflatable U-shaped pillow. When deflated, it folds up very small and fits inside a small pouch that comes with it.
It is not that comfortable. I've seen some travelers with jell filled neck pillows that look and feel much more comfortable. But of course they take a lot more room when you are not using them.
There is also a "ring" style you can buy which also supports your chin and keeps your whole head upright. It is tempting to try. Bit I am afraid it just looks too weird for me.
Bottle of water:
Nothing too big. You can refill it at the water fountain at the aft of the plane.
Toothbrush:
Qantas gives you a small travelers toothbrush with a spit of toothpaste when you board. However, since I'm really picky about my dental care, I prefer to use my own toothbrush. I found on that I which folds into itself. It makes it very small, but better than the crap one Qantas gives you.
Toothpaste:
Like the brush, I'm picky about my toothpaste too. My dentist gives me small sample packs of good toothpaste that they give him. They are very small, about 3-4 servings. Perfect for traveling packs. Ask your dentist for some samples.
Dental Floss:
Call me anal. I love floss. My teeth just don't feel clean with out them. Again, my dentist supplies with tiny little sample packs of floss. Perfect size.
Antiperspirant:
I am a fan of Nivia products. They sell a tiny little pump action antiperspirant that works perfect for this function. It is called " NIVEA deodorant DRY Compact". It works well and is good quality and just the right size.
Cologne Samples:
Rather than bring a whole bottle of cologne, I take some of those little samples that they give out at the cosmetic counter at the department store. They come it little tiny plastic vials with a small cap. One vial contains enough for two doses. You can get them free at your department store. Just tell them you want to try it.
WetOnes:
One of the best inventions ever. A self contained bath. They are pre-moistened anti-bacterial towelettes. They sell a small pack about the size of your palm for a couple of bucks.
Skin moisturizer:
Again, I like the Nivia. They sell a small pump of a face moisturizer that smells very clean. It is great to use before you land to freshen up.
A clean pair of underwear, a clean pair of socks, and a clean shirt:
I keep these in the layover bag. They are for two things. One, if I feel grungy during a layover I'll take a shower and change. Two, they function as my emergency clothes should my checked luggage fail to show up.
Mini travel towel:
You can get these at any camp outfitter shop. It is a highly absorbent shammy. It won't get you bone dry, but dry enough. It rolls up very small, about the size of fist. And it can be wrung dry before you re-pack it. I take this because you never know if there will be a towel to use at the airport showers. For example, in the Melbourne airport, there is a secret shower that international travelers can use. But it doesn't come with anything. Just hot water and a shower. This lets me use that shower.
Body Soap:
Goes with the travel towel. All I do is use the tiny liquid body soap that they give away at nice hotels. Nice and small.
Expanding 6-pocket Wallet:
This has been an awesome little trick that helps me keep organized when traveling. I found a small plastic expanding pouch with 6 slots at an office supply store. The top lid is secured with an elastic band on to a button. I like it because it keeps everything organized for me. In one slot I put the airline tickets. In another slot the car information. Another contains my passport and any travel documents I need.
This is also a more expensive variety known as a "ticket wallet", a "travel document organizer", or a "Departure Case". LL Bean sells an expensive leather one. But I find that cheap $2 plastic one from an office supply store works fine.
I find one thing that really helps is to use small ziplock bags for hold foreign currency. When I go to the US, I put all my Australian cash in the small bag and put it one of the slots. Just the reverse for the US cash.
In another slot I pack a couple of small Manila envelopes for receipts. Makes keeping up with all my expenses easy as can be.
Putting it all together:
So I plug the MP3 player into the Bose headsets. I take one the relaxing pills, strap on the Nadachair, put on the neck pillow and eye shade, kick off my shoes, and I'm out for 10 hours straight. Because I can't feel or hear anyone or anything else, I'm sitting on the beach in Broome listening to the ocean. It is very peaceful.
10 comments:
great ideas. going to aus. in dec.
So how does all this pan out with the new security restrictions????
www.tuliobertorini.com
Thank you so much for this page. I am traveling from Boston to Shanghai next week and I would not have thought of most of these things.
I'm flying from DC to LAX to BNE (Brisbane) next week. Your guide is invaluable for my preparations. I even ordered a slouchbuster! thanks.
I just wanted to check back in and thank you for posting this guide. I just returned from Brisbane (20 hours of flying, each direction), and being prepared made all the difference.
Good tips - but I'm not sure why you think temazepam isn't a sleeping pill - it's a hyypnotic (also called soporific) drug, a class of psychoactives whose primary function is to induce sleep.
I also use them on flights, but my GP suggested taking low-dose asprin for a couple of days before/during/after a long haul flight to reduce the risk of DVT from staying still for hours while asleep.
i love how anal-retentive you are given my travel checklist come in so many categories and sub-categories as well. makes me feel like i'm not alone.
-Zaam
Create ideas, one thing be careful where you fly to if you have Temazepam in your system or carrying it. I am flying from Perth to the UK via dubai. Its a class C drug in the UK, and can get you 4 years jail in Dubai. Crazy but true. Do some webresearch on the drug and your intended destination.
What about walking? Im flying front Guam to Chicago abandoned worry about ny legs becoming stiff and sore?
Post a Comment