Coping with 58 hours air travel
Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 11:23 pm
A few weeks ago I flew from Milan to the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. After giving up trying to figure out the total time in advance, when I left the hotel I just started the stopwatch on my phone. Door to door, 58 hours. I survived but would stop overnight somewhere to sleep next time.
The flights: Milan—Miami—LA—Auckland—Christchurch—Hokitika then a shuttle ride of a little over an hour. Benefits of living in a small town: the shuttle driver stopped at the supermarket so I could get a few things after she dropped off the other passengers. I got an incredibly cheap flight so I didn't think twice about the Milan to Miami leg but thinking about it, it should have been obvious that it would be a lot longer than say Milan to JFK. (Just imagine a map.)
Things I learned
On every flight I paid extra for more leg room, not premium economy, just more leg room. On every flight I had an empty seat next to me while those in the back of the plane were crammed in. On one flight the aircraft had been changed and I ended up in the back. I politely told the flight attendant that it wasn't the same aircraft and I had paid extra for a specific seat with more leg room. She said I could move up and have an entire row of four seats and even asked if that would be okay.
I could have timed my medications better by using my phone. Upon getting seated on each flight I took a 60mg codeine tablet and another with the first twinge about an hour or two later. I took a ropinerole when I thought the time was right and once I took another when I was having symptoms. On one flight I took three codeine but since I was travelling alone I didnt' want to risk taking more. The flight into Auckland arrived around 7:00am and the Christchurch to Hokitika flight didn't leave until 5:35pm. That was a very exhausting day and in retrospect I should have taken some ropinerole during that time. I did take a few codeine but they didn't help much.
I stood a lot especially during the night portions. With in-seat entertainment, standing doesn't block anyone's view of the movie. I watched about two dozen movies in total on the outbound and inbound flights. Even with hundreds of choices it was hard to find ones I wanted to watch after the first 10 or so. Then I read novels on my phone with the night feature switched on.
On the Milan to Miami flight the man in my row slept all night but was terribly dehydrated when he woke up. I only slept for two hours at a time, max, but I drank lots of water. Every time except once when offered a beverage I chose water and also had my own water bottle. I found out there were snacks in the galley for the taking throughout the night—one of the benefits of walking around.
I survived easily and surprisingly the exhaustion was worse than the restless legs. I knew it was going to be hard and just accepted it. I had a really great trip so it was worth it.
The flights: Milan—Miami—LA—Auckland—Christchurch—Hokitika then a shuttle ride of a little over an hour. Benefits of living in a small town: the shuttle driver stopped at the supermarket so I could get a few things after she dropped off the other passengers. I got an incredibly cheap flight so I didn't think twice about the Milan to Miami leg but thinking about it, it should have been obvious that it would be a lot longer than say Milan to JFK. (Just imagine a map.)
Things I learned
On every flight I paid extra for more leg room, not premium economy, just more leg room. On every flight I had an empty seat next to me while those in the back of the plane were crammed in. On one flight the aircraft had been changed and I ended up in the back. I politely told the flight attendant that it wasn't the same aircraft and I had paid extra for a specific seat with more leg room. She said I could move up and have an entire row of four seats and even asked if that would be okay.
I could have timed my medications better by using my phone. Upon getting seated on each flight I took a 60mg codeine tablet and another with the first twinge about an hour or two later. I took a ropinerole when I thought the time was right and once I took another when I was having symptoms. On one flight I took three codeine but since I was travelling alone I didnt' want to risk taking more. The flight into Auckland arrived around 7:00am and the Christchurch to Hokitika flight didn't leave until 5:35pm. That was a very exhausting day and in retrospect I should have taken some ropinerole during that time. I did take a few codeine but they didn't help much.
I stood a lot especially during the night portions. With in-seat entertainment, standing doesn't block anyone's view of the movie. I watched about two dozen movies in total on the outbound and inbound flights. Even with hundreds of choices it was hard to find ones I wanted to watch after the first 10 or so. Then I read novels on my phone with the night feature switched on.
On the Milan to Miami flight the man in my row slept all night but was terribly dehydrated when he woke up. I only slept for two hours at a time, max, but I drank lots of water. Every time except once when offered a beverage I chose water and also had my own water bottle. I found out there were snacks in the galley for the taking throughout the night—one of the benefits of walking around.
I survived easily and surprisingly the exhaustion was worse than the restless legs. I knew it was going to be hard and just accepted it. I had a really great trip so it was worth it.