Long-haul flight...

[Yossarian]

And how to survive it....

I'll be heading back to the IOM next week and I'm not looking forward to being stuck in a tube, at very high altitude for the best part of 24 hours.
Do any of you folks have any suggestions for over the counter drugs that will keep me comfortably numb? I don't have a Doctor, so I won't be able to get a proper prescription for anything 'hard'.
I got sucked into buying some Rescue Remedy, but other than the fact that it tastes like whiskey and gives me incredibly vivid dreams of Maggie Gyllenhaal teaching me to act, it won't be any good.

Thanks for any tips.

Yoss.

[Tank]

And how to survive it....

I'll be heading back to the IOM next week and I'm not looking forward to being stuck in a tube, at very high altitude for the best part of 24 hours.
Do any of you folks have any suggestions for over the counter drugs that will keep me comfortably numb? I don't have a Doctor, so I won't be able to get a proper prescription for anything 'hard'.
I got sucked into buying some Rescue Remedy, but other than the fact that it tastes like whiskey and gives me incredibly vivid dreams of Maggie Gyllenhaal teaching me to act, it won't be any good.

Thanks for any tips.

Yoss.


I fly - a lot (Think 18 months of a return to LA flight every two weeks, followed by to Australia for 3 days per week for another 14 months.

There is only one thing that works - Water. Loads and loads of Water to stay hydrated. Dont drink alcohol. take a good book.

Easy as.

[Grub]

The dehydration rate is significant and in a large part is what causes bad reactions to jet lag. You actually almost have to be drinking (WATER!) non stop. Alchohol is a nono as it dehydrates.

You might try some of the supplements, like melatonin or the homeopathic remedy, No-Jet-Lag. These products work for some people, but not for others. Also consider taking a vitamin B12 supplement.

There's a million google hits talking about beating jet-lag but one of he best hints i saw was adjusting your sleep patterns to the destination times for 2-3 days before you go.

However, I'm thinking your "trying to numb" the experience is a toughie. Any drugs are going to make it worse rather than better - eventually. sleep on the plane in IOM timespace, get some really good books and read the rest of the time. Well that's what I do anyways.

[MisterD]

Which way are you going? If you're heading via Singapore, there's a swimming pool at the T1 (I think - anyway, you need to take the 2minute shuttle train to the other terminal) transit hotel. $10 or so Sing, for a swim and a shower - makes all the difference when you're looking at another 14 hrs on a plane.

[Pussy]

I share your pain. I get sleepy in aeroplanes too. And it's not a very good look for the pilot

[Manxman]

The dehydration rate is significant and in a large part is what causes bad reactions to jet lag. You actually almost have to be drinking (WATER!) non stop. Alchohol is a nono as it dehydrates.

You might try some of the supplements, like melatonin or the homeopathic remedy, No-Jet-Lag. These products work for some people, but not for others. Also consider taking a vitamin B12 supplement.

There's a million google hits talking about beating jet-lag but one of he best hints i saw was adjusting your sleep patterns to the destination times for 2-3 days before you go.

However, I'm thinking your "trying to numb" the experience is a toughie. Any drugs are going to make it worse rather than better - eventually. sleep on the plane in IOM timespace, get some really good books and read the rest of the time. Well that's what I do anyways.

What grub said...water, water, water. Then more water. Helped us no end last time.

However, no amount of water will help on the way back - it's always longer, gives you more jetlag and there's always more screaming babies, less arm room and grumpy stewardesses.:lol::lol:

BTW, wotcha going back to 'the rock' for? Have fun & make the most of it <jealous>

BTW, if it only takes 24 hours, let me know which airline you're on, cos it normally takes us about 30+ end to end.

[Quasievil]

Hi, long time traveller here, best thing get on plane have dinner (no Booze) then watch a movie, pop a pill (sleeping pill)and wake up youre there ish.

[Quasievil]

Oh and if going to a tropical island dont let them put a Lay on you, especially one with Pheramones on it that induces snakes into a raged attackNow, lets get these mutha fuckin snakes of this mutha fucken plane !!

[ManDownUnder]

Yoss - as an experienced traveller I can offer you the following
Pack the following items IN YOUR CARRY ON LUGGAGE
1) Ear plugs
2) Eye shade
3) Change of all underwear and socks
4) If you spend any time at all on/near the equator pack a change of shorts and t-shirt to change into.

Ok general tips
1) Get on the plane tired. If you have a late night the night before - that's good! Stay awake the best you reasonably can and "sleep with the locals" (meaning try to go to sleep - and just as importantly - wake up - when the people at your flight destination do.
2) Have a few bevvies with the evening meal. Everyone has their drink of choice but I prefer a wine or three with the meal followed by Vodka and Orange. When the time comes to go to sleep... *click* out like a light
3) Avoid dessert on the plane. Sugar and caffeine will keep you awake when you want to go to sleep
4) Drink plenty of water
5) Get a seat ahead of the engines (it's quieter). Ideally on an exit row (leg room) over/near the wing (least rock and roll). Avoid the middle seat - nothing like a tub of lard neighbour pouring themselves over the armrest and encroaching into your space for 12 hours... ask me how I know...!
6) Dress nicely, put on the charm then show them how incredibly tired you are getting onto the plane and ask if there's any chance of blocking off a seat or two. Hint at the fact you've "had a rough time over the last week or so" if the person checking you in is of the opposite gender and appears to have any sympathy for you at all
7) Shower just before you get on the flight
8) Shower at the 1/2 way point if you can, then change into the clean socks and daks you're carrying with you
9) If you don't have eye shades for any reason either a) sleep under the blanket provided on the plane (tuck it behind your head then sit back and/or lie down qwith it covering your face and eyes or b) PM me and I'll flick you a travel pack that I may have overstocked on
10) Check the toilet/bathroom cupboards on the plane on lift off and score yourself a toohbrush and toothpaste set

Enjoy the Isle - I was there last week. Fooken awesome place and fantastic people! Hopefully the above repays some of the help you gave me a while back

Also - when you get there, eat what you body feels like eating (I always feel like cereal at dinner time...!) and I find more small meals are better than large ones at the set times. Your wake sleep cycle will adjust quick enough (2 or 3 days probably) but your digestive system won't and there's NOTHING that gives me the shits more than waking at 3:00am ... hungry... then being unable to go back to sleep.

When you hit the ground up North, first two mornings just haul your arse out of bed and get coffee... no matter how much you "just want another 5 mins".

edit - interesting - just read Quasi's post. I'm totally against the sleeping pill personally... but then - never done it so I'm speaking from ignorance on that one. I have been around the world 2 or 3 times a year for the last 8 years though... so I have some street cred.

[blairh]

I won't fly these days without a good pair of noise cancelling headphones! I have a pair of these: http://www.cowon.co.nz/store/product.php?id=46 Blackbox M14's. Much better (and cheaper!) than the Bose ones, and Blackbox is a NZ company which I like. Can't recommend them more!

[Hitcher]

Ear plugs. Wear them. Bloody marvellous. There's nothing worth listening to on a long haul flight, and if you're really desperate, put the airline's headset on over the top of them.

Don't drink coffee or tea (apart from the fact that it's shite) and go easy on the alcohol.

Don't us the B word or the T word, and all should be sweet.

[Usarka]

Pack the following items IN YOUR CARRY ON LUGGAGE
1) Ear plugs
2) Eye shade
3) Change of all underwear and socks
4) If you spend any time at all on/near the equator pack a change of shorts and t-shirt to change into.

+1

#1 is at the top for a reason too.....

[vifferman]

Fly business class or first class. Did that in 2006 to LA, and it was fookin' MARVELLOUS. Didn't sleep much, but having more room to move around made a big difference. Plus you get treated more betterer.
Flew cattle class to Yurp and back, and ended up with what was probably DVT (had badly swollen ankles and feet for about four days after I arrived). On the flights that arrived in the morning (AK - HK, and LA - AK), I took a couple of sleeping tablets. On the other two, I watched all the movies and stayed awake.
I hate flying. My legs are too long, and I can't sleep anywhere very well (even with tablets and/or lots of booze), except my own bed. And the one we had at the vifferbabe's uncle's house in the Netherlands.

Guess what? The vifferbabe's already started planning some more trips to Yurp.
Yay.

[Brett]

Hey, I know exactly the feeling you are loathing! 2 months ago I flew here to Malta, 32 hours STRAIGHT. Land in one airport, catch connecting flight...all the way here. It was horrible.
My wife had to start work the next day, and had heard of a herbal remedy to counter the effects of jet lag. It is called No-Jet-Lag, it is a homeopathic remedy. (now normally I am very dubious of these things and so is the Mrs - she is a doctor so naturally is not all to fond of 'herbal remedies' as a whole. These however were recommended by several doctors to her, and they sure as hell have worked.)
They are made in NZ - not sure where to buy them, but phone number on back of box is 09 825 0613. This is the distributer.
Having chewed these tablets throughout the flight every 2 hours, we awoke the next day feeling a tad tired, but otherwise very well aclimitised. Had no trouble with sleep at all.
We have a anough for the 40 hour return leg home, and sure as hell will be taking them.
Otherwise, lots of water, sleep if you can and dont forget to stretch on the long flights adn keep the blood flowing. Don't know about you, but I am a bigger bloke, 6 ft 3inch and I struggle to fit in the seats, stretching helps.

Good luck, enjoy the isle!!

[Brett]

oh yeah, go to dicksmith and get and airline adapter and take your own earphones for watching movies etc. The plane ones suck. I always take my own. I see you are in Howick...I am from there too, the Pakuranga plaza dicksmith stocks the adapters. They are like 5 bucks or something.

[Marknz]

Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, and when you're not eating, reading, watching movies or sleeping, walk up and down the aisle and do lots of stretching at the back of the plane.

Works for me.

[cooneyr]

Pish, what you lot all complaining about with 24/32 hour travel times. We foolishly tried to get flights so that we could travel with Swedish inlaws back to Sweden together at the beginning of 2006. Seems that different legs get sold to different countries. 56 hours after leaving Welly we finally landed in Arlanda airport outside Stockholm. We were bloody zombies by then. Wont ever try and do that again!

Over the ear earphones to cut the noise are a really good idea, noise canceling or other wise, as they cut out noise better than the airline provided ones. They are much bulker to carry around though. Water is a very good idea. We didn't have to worry about sleeping pills, after about 10 hours traveling I was sleeping through take offs and landings (terminal to terminal) :D. Try and stay awake before leaving so your tired (but not that tired that got thermo nuclear when unnecessary) then eat, watch one movie and try to sleep on the plane as much as possible.

Cheers R

[vifferman]

Acclimation/getting acclimatised isn't hard: you need to try and match your sleeping/waking habits to the new time zone, take lotsa caffeine when you get up, and get some sunshine. These things help your body clock to reset.

I suspect the herbal remedies simply contain something that breaks down to serotonin. I took a "Peaceful Sleep" tablet when I arrived in the UK, and again in LA, and back in NooZilund. These contain tryptophan, which is supposed to help you sleep; doesn't work too well for me, but it does boost my serotonin levels and stops my brain from feeling like it's running on 1.3 cylinders...

As for noise-canceling headphones, I bought some noise-canceling Sony earbuds in HK, because I couldn't hear the movies clearly on our first leg. They worked OK for that, but they're useless otherwise. If you're going to shell out for some, the most effective type are either those that incorporate proper noise-attentuating plugs, or that cover your ears rather than sitting on them, and/or that have proper digital signal technology. Mine cost around $130, and are worth about $20, I reckon. The really good ones cost at least $600.

[Yossarian]

A lot of good advice there folks, thanks very much.

I think the main one is as most of you have said, is to keep hydrated and not to drink booze. I've done long hauls before but I usually resign my self to 'hitting the wall' whenever I land on the other side, which isn't nice for friends and family that I haven't seen for a long time, so I thought I'd minimise the effects as best as I can.
I'll look into getting a decent set of noise cancelling earphones, I didn't think of that one at all. I'll try and chance my arm and ask for an up-grade as well, if you don't ask you don't get.

I'm heading back as I've been hear about a year and a half and the main reason is I'm missing family and friends, also I've been working as a labourer for the past eight months and I'm poorer than a church mouse with a crack habit and having no bike to play with has been pretty painful, espcially now the weather is coming good. I'll be back for my holidays though, New Zealand is a beautiful place.

Thanks for the tips folks, much appreciated.

Yoss.

[Usarka]

If u go via the USA, their customs officials have absolutely NO sense of humour. Don't even entertain the idea.

[Yossarian]

I forgot to say....

I stop over in L.A. for about six hours....I have read and heard that it is a bit of a hole by all accounts.
And don't worry, I won't be wearing my explosive vest print T shirt.

Cheers.

[ManDownUnder]

I forgot to say....

I stop over in L.A. for about six hours....I have read and heard that it is a bit of a hole by all accounts.
And don't worry, I won't be wearing my explosive vest print T shirt.

Cheers.

Na mate - LAs ok - just expect to find yourself in a big city... with a lot of smog then find your way to the Pier, the beach or Hollywood in a quicksmart fashion.

[Big Dave]

Best travel thing I have is an iPod touch. I load it up with a few movies and a heap of old favourite TV shows and rock. Makes it almost tolerable.

[portokiwi]

:Oops: I am not much help. As soon as I get on board a plane I full asleep.
anoys my lady as she gets costaphobic so she walks up and down the plane while I snore the plane down:yes:
Water is your best friend. Drink plenty I allways suck up to the crew to leave me a large bottle. tell them it saves them comming back to me lol.
Try to sleap to the desternation you are going to so when you land you are allmost in the right time patten.
Drink water.

[Yossarian]

Na mate - LAs ok - just expect to find yourself in a big city... with a lot of smog then find your way to the Pier, the beach or Hollywood in a quicksmart fashion.

Sorry, I meant staying in the Terminal at L.A. not the city proper,

Cheers.

[ManDownUnder]

Sorry, I meant staying in the Terminal at L.A. not the city proper,

Cheers.

LOL... ok - find Wolfgang Pucks (a restaurant in the terminal)... sit, eat drink and stay there. Other restaurants are ok too but WP's my favourite. I think it's past security on your way to the plane (frmo memory) so you might not be able to go that way till they open the flight or boarding - not sure.