Recently I flew non-stop to China (approx. 13-14 long hours) in economy… For me, traveling to California from NYC (~5-6 hour flight) is already quite painful but double that…? Ridiculous! Like any traveler, right before my trip, I looked for innovative ways to endure a 13+ hour flight. However, to my dismay, I found only the usual: sleep, read, watch a movie, drink wine, take sleeping pills, and/or whatever else to make you fall asleep. I agree; yet, if you’re flying a day flight (like I did), it won’t be easy.
So, for all you travelers out there, below are my top 3 ways* to get through a long international flight:
#3. List all the things you can possibly do on a plane… and do them. Here are some examples:
- sneak into first class cabin
- make friends with the stewards/stewardesses
- create your own dish from the airplane food provided
- create your own mix drink
- learn the language of wherever you’re traveling to from your neighbor (or whoever’s awake)
- chat up the people who seem to be New Yorkers (they always have ridiculous stories)
- play musical chairs (feel free to use the whole plane)
- do yoga in the back rows of the plane
#2. Create a new language. Just like when you did when you were a kid, except add some complexity to it. Is your language alphabet-based like English or Korean? Or is it character-based like Arabic or Chinese? Does your language have odd sentence structure like Latin or a simple subject-verb structure like English? Go all out! Who knows, maybe you could end up discovering something intrinsic about language!
#1. Devise a business proposal/fix an existing problem. You can write it down on napkins, the empty pages from the book you’re not reading, or simply write it all over your hands and arms (note: third option not advisable if you’re meeting a client or relatives that will judge you for not looking perfecto.) Trust me, you’ll spend at least a good 3+ hours figuring out what industry to concentrate on (mine: airlines), another 2+ hours trying to make an outline, and then some 4+ hours writing down details. Total: 9/13 (~75% time gone!)
Well… I hope this helps and safe travels!**
*Note: Sleep is the best solution! The suggestions above are in addition to sleep.
**All comments and/or additional suggestions are welcome.
