By now, my 15,000 dbase of supporters know that I do a fair bit of travel. Not as much as in prior years, but definitely enough....
Here are my ways of dealing with frequent flying and jetlag.......I will admit that my approach is quite different from what you may read and hear elsewhere.
Jetlag and Frequent Flying Tips
Don't Sleep
On a visit to Mexico City, I discovered how best to prepare for a 5:45am flight which for Mexico City means: be at the airport by 4:00am and leave my hotel at the obcene hour of 3:00am.......
The tip: don't sleep!
Pack the day before (I'm not kidding!) and leave your bags near the door. Arrange to go to a party (as I did) or a late dinner and drink and just try to leave for the airport from there.
My buddy, Ben, just tried it and he looked fine at 5am in the morning. He and I did drinks at Cuba Libre at Clarke Quay at 10pm. Watched the Latinos go at it on the dance floor till 1am. Then, moved over to the Ministry of Sound for the rest of the morning....
Ben left on time for Peru's Machu Pichu via Los Angeles without a single wink!
Do The Midnight Thing when Jetlagged
I don't mean that thing....
If you're like me, my biological clock needs a few days to adjust. So, why fight it? I just start up my "midnight jetlag" activities......
This includes:
1. "Window shop" at the 24 hour supermarkets.
In the USA especially, I find big, modern, well-stocked supermarkets to be very entertaining. I can spend at least an hour in a good supermarket just strolling the aisles as if I were on Via Spiga in Milano.
My favorite in San Francisco is the Marina Safeway which has an awesome view of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. But, don't expect to be left alone.....it's known as a local pickup place late at night by both men and women regardless if you're a man or a woman.....get my drift?
2. Walk the aisles at the 24 hour drug stores.
In New York City, you can find a 24 hours drug store in almost all neighborhoods especially the urban areas where hotels are located.
3, Sit at an all-night sidewalk cafe and meet all the insominacs you'd ever want to talk to....Paris has a few in the Saint Germaine district.
4. Try a 24 hour restaurant or diner....they can really be fun.
5. From you sidewalk cafe or all-night diner, surprise your staff and friends with emails at 3am in the morning!
6. Surf the web for deals on air tickets and hotels. Traffic is usually lower and websites are faster.
7. Get romantic.....catch the sun rising with someone special and talk excitedly about your dreams and travels over some 4 inch thich French toast in San Francisco, Huevos Rancheros (Mexico City), Eggs Benedict in London or Lox and Bagel in Manhattan....
8. Lastly, if you really want to avoid the midnight activities approach try this: 18 holes of golf with the sun beaming down on you and readjusting your biological clock!
Enjoy All 17 Hours of the Flight
The Singapore Air flight from Singapore to Newark, New Jersey is 17 hours long. The flight from San Francisco to Singapore is even longer if you count the transit time. So, relax........stop complaining and enjoy the time.
On my last long flight from SFO to Narita (that's 11 hours) , I had two mid-twenties Jewish women from Berkeley on my right one Japanese woman in her twenties (pretty cute, too, if she's now reading my blog!)
I watched 4 movies including a little known production called "Astronaut Farmer."
The movie was about a Texas man who had a dream to be an astronaut. It was just an O.K. movie, but at the end of the flick while the credits were rolling, Elton John's Rocket Man came on strong, loud and in beautiful stereo!
I couldn't resist it. So, with my earphones on, I joined Elton and belted out the song with him singing in my ears and did a few moves at the same time.
The performance was infectious. My two Jewish friends joined me, singing and moving - not just for that one time movie ending - but, each time the movie played....which was 4 times in 11 hours!
".....and, I think it's gonna be a long, long time.....rocket man!"
It was like a scene from Julia Roberts' "My Best Friend's Wedding" where at she and 7 other characters are having their rehearsal dinner in a crowded restaurant and the group breaks out in a song written by Burt Bacharach stunning the restaurant patrons........."I say a little prayer for you....forever, and ever...."
But, if you're not the singing type, here are some other ideas:
Read a book, you Harry Potter fans!
Read a bunch of magazines from cover to cover.
Read a complete newspaper like the New York Times page by page.
Bring along some fresh fruit like grapes, navel oranges or pomelo (you can't bring them into the countries, but you can eat them on the plane!) to complement your reading.
Entertain the flight crew. My friend, Tony, once invited the entire crew to dinner at the final destination!
Entertain your fellow passengers. I always thought that a networking event on a plane would work!
Do a week's worth of thinking and writing.
And, if you're on Singapore Airlines, tap into the broadband spine of the aircraft with your Skype and talk for hours with anyone....
Last Word
Fly Cathay Pacific, Royal Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines (if you have an agent or friend in KL who can help you with ticketing)....
AVOID UNITED AIRLINES AT ALL COSTS. THE FREQUENT FLYER MILES ARE JUST NOT WORTH IT!
Here are my ways of dealing with frequent flying and jetlag.......I will admit that my approach is quite different from what you may read and hear elsewhere.
Jetlag and Frequent Flying Tips
Don't Sleep
On a visit to Mexico City, I discovered how best to prepare for a 5:45am flight which for Mexico City means: be at the airport by 4:00am and leave my hotel at the obcene hour of 3:00am.......
The tip: don't sleep!
Pack the day before (I'm not kidding!) and leave your bags near the door. Arrange to go to a party (as I did) or a late dinner and drink and just try to leave for the airport from there.
My buddy, Ben, just tried it and he looked fine at 5am in the morning. He and I did drinks at Cuba Libre at Clarke Quay at 10pm. Watched the Latinos go at it on the dance floor till 1am. Then, moved over to the Ministry of Sound for the rest of the morning....
Ben left on time for Peru's Machu Pichu via Los Angeles without a single wink!
Do The Midnight Thing when Jetlagged
I don't mean that thing....
If you're like me, my biological clock needs a few days to adjust. So, why fight it? I just start up my "midnight jetlag" activities......
This includes:
1. "Window shop" at the 24 hour supermarkets.
In the USA especially, I find big, modern, well-stocked supermarkets to be very entertaining. I can spend at least an hour in a good supermarket just strolling the aisles as if I were on Via Spiga in Milano.
My favorite in San Francisco is the Marina Safeway which has an awesome view of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. But, don't expect to be left alone.....it's known as a local pickup place late at night by both men and women regardless if you're a man or a woman.....get my drift?
2. Walk the aisles at the 24 hour drug stores.
In New York City, you can find a 24 hours drug store in almost all neighborhoods especially the urban areas where hotels are located.
3, Sit at an all-night sidewalk cafe and meet all the insominacs you'd ever want to talk to....Paris has a few in the Saint Germaine district.
4. Try a 24 hour restaurant or diner....they can really be fun.
5. From you sidewalk cafe or all-night diner, surprise your staff and friends with emails at 3am in the morning!
6. Surf the web for deals on air tickets and hotels. Traffic is usually lower and websites are faster.
7. Get romantic.....catch the sun rising with someone special and talk excitedly about your dreams and travels over some 4 inch thich French toast in San Francisco, Huevos Rancheros (Mexico City), Eggs Benedict in London or Lox and Bagel in Manhattan....
8. Lastly, if you really want to avoid the midnight activities approach try this: 18 holes of golf with the sun beaming down on you and readjusting your biological clock!
Enjoy All 17 Hours of the Flight
The Singapore Air flight from Singapore to Newark, New Jersey is 17 hours long. The flight from San Francisco to Singapore is even longer if you count the transit time. So, relax........stop complaining and enjoy the time.
On my last long flight from SFO to Narita (that's 11 hours) , I had two mid-twenties Jewish women from Berkeley on my right one Japanese woman in her twenties (pretty cute, too, if she's now reading my blog!)
I watched 4 movies including a little known production called "Astronaut Farmer."
The movie was about a Texas man who had a dream to be an astronaut. It was just an O.K. movie, but at the end of the flick while the credits were rolling, Elton John's Rocket Man came on strong, loud and in beautiful stereo!
I couldn't resist it. So, with my earphones on, I joined Elton and belted out the song with him singing in my ears and did a few moves at the same time.
The performance was infectious. My two Jewish friends joined me, singing and moving - not just for that one time movie ending - but, each time the movie played....which was 4 times in 11 hours!
".....and, I think it's gonna be a long, long time.....rocket man!"
It was like a scene from Julia Roberts' "My Best Friend's Wedding" where at she and 7 other characters are having their rehearsal dinner in a crowded restaurant and the group breaks out in a song written by Burt Bacharach stunning the restaurant patrons........."I say a little prayer for you....forever, and ever...."
But, if you're not the singing type, here are some other ideas:
Read a book, you Harry Potter fans!
Read a bunch of magazines from cover to cover.
Read a complete newspaper like the New York Times page by page.
Bring along some fresh fruit like grapes, navel oranges or pomelo (you can't bring them into the countries, but you can eat them on the plane!) to complement your reading.
Entertain the flight crew. My friend, Tony, once invited the entire crew to dinner at the final destination!
Entertain your fellow passengers. I always thought that a networking event on a plane would work!
Do a week's worth of thinking and writing.
And, if you're on Singapore Airlines, tap into the broadband spine of the aircraft with your Skype and talk for hours with anyone....
Last Word
Fly Cathay Pacific, Royal Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines (if you have an agent or friend in KL who can help you with ticketing)....
AVOID UNITED AIRLINES AT ALL COSTS. THE FREQUENT FLYER MILES ARE JUST NOT WORTH IT!
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