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sushi

Moderator emeritus
Jul 19, 2002
15,639
3
キャンプスワ&#
with the ESL bit, guessing that you already have the hangul thing covered, but learn fast and lots, it makes a huge difference especially if you want to see more of the country, and you will want to see more of the country.
So very true. Korea is a neat country. Get out and see it.

there are t-shirts with "the 'four stages of soju': (1) you are handsome; (2) you are rich; (3) you are powerful; (4) you are invisible!" on them for a reason. :eek::)
Wise words.

find some way to capture your first impression of the smell when stepping off the plane at kimpo.
Ah, the sweet smell of kimchi and sulfur in the air. Hard to explain but very memorable.

Brings back memories of when I was stationed in Korea many years ago. :)

I've been back to Korea a few times over the years, but there is nothing like your first time. :D
 

LiveForever

macrumors 6502
Dec 13, 2007
281
0
We fly every year or so from Sydney to London so we have a fair bit of experience in long flights. I'm talking about 23-25 hour journeys.

1) Try to walk around every hour or two, do the leg excercises and if you can get a push cush which you blow up and place beneath your feet to provide a resitance to stimulate blood flow. Don't underestimate Deep Vein Thrombosis. We know several people who had it after long flights.

2) We also take an asprin just before we leave and try to drink at least a litre of water to thin the blood. Drink lots of water. Personally we always drink the odd wine and brandy though as it's quite enjoyable on a long long flight. The doctors say its not a good thing to do but we do other things to compensate for this little vice.

3) Wash on every occasion you can. Go to the toilet and wash your face and underarms and apply some deoderant. You will stink and if I don't wash my face I get zits-they just seem to flourish on flights for some reason.

4) Take a change of underwear, socks and a T shirt in your carry on bag. Before you touch down change into them in the toilet. It will make you feel so much better.

5) As you board and take your seat put anything you don't need in a bag and put it in the locker. As you will be in the seat from 12-24 hours you don't want to be sitting amongst stuff you don't need. It becomes squalid and will get lost under the seats anyway. Just try and keep your seat organised.

6) Take an eye mask as you may not always get them now. These are the best things for sleeping.

7) My theory is that airline food (on long haul anyway) makes you constipated as they don't want everyone going to the toilet. We always end up constipated so eat fruit if you can

8) Set your watch for the destination time to adjust yourself to the new time zone.

9) Try to sleep but if you don't its no big deal. If you stress about falling off to sleep YOU WILL NEVER SLEEP!. Sit back watch a film and most likely you will drift off anyway. If you don't so what you'' survive.

10) Try and book a flight which arrives in the evening. This way you will only have to stay a wake an hour or so before going to bed. If you arrive in the morning its horrendous trying to stay a wake the whole day and for us jet lag takes ages to get over. If we have an evening arrival 9 times out of 10 we don't have any jet lag.

11) For a smoother flight try and sit near the wings. If you go right at the back or front you'll experience more movements as the plane pivots about the wings. We were right at the back once and it was incredible, like being on a rollercoaster.

12) It goes without saying but if you can try and get the exit or bulk head seats without any seats in front. Usually you have as much chance of these as getting an upgrade (which are virtually impossible to get unless you travel alone, look smart and professional and are female).

13) Try and go with Singapore, Thai, Malaysian, Virgin Atlantic. Don't I repeat go with BA. We tried tehm last and they were the worse airline (well not as bad as United)



Have fun, enjoy it. We love flying and we make it part of our holiday.
 

themadchemist

macrumors 68030
Jan 31, 2003
2,820
0
Chi Town
As for getting upgrades...

I was upgraded on what ended up being about a 12-hour flight on Ethiopian Airlines between Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and London. Here's how I pulled it off.

First, a couple of things you should know. One, Ethiopian Airlines issues its boarding passes at the gate. Two, I am a big procrastinator.

I landed up in Ethiopia from Ghana, got a bite to eat, and after exchanging some traveler's checks, blew my money at the internet cafe. After enduring some jokes in very poor taste about Ethiopia from friends back home, I decided to mosey over to the gate with maybe half an hour or so to go. I was one of the last people to show up.

By the time I went to get a boarding pass, there were none left in coach. *shudder* I was informed that I was going to have to be moved to business class. What a bummer. ;)

There was a long line of folks waiting patiently to board coach. But now armed with my business class ticket, I got to bypass them. Someone looked at me and angrily asked an airline employee, "Why is he getting to go?!" She replied, in hushed and respectful tones, "Oh, he is in business class." :D

For a student who had gotten accustomed to 20-hour bus trips and eating protein bars, it was a nice change. I soaked it up.
 

Mechcozmo

macrumors 603
Jul 17, 2004
5,215
2
just watch movies and sleep. or take some vicodin.

Vicodin's a bad idea. It'll make you constipated, dehydrated, and although you may feel good while it's effective... when it wears off, you'll be in bad shape.

I suggest a baby aspirin (81mg) right when you get on. Helps avoid the possibility of blood clots in your legs.

And if you don't want to lose your sanity completely avoid looking at the "flight progress" screen. It is not a good thing to sit there willing the little digital plane to "jump" a pixel every hour or so. :D
(Unless of course you are flying 1st Class and then you will sleep right through it.)

Seconded. I've stared at that screen and felt my sanity melt away.

Also, drinking water is a good idea, both on the flight and for about 24 hours after you land.

Fiber tablets will help with the airline food and the transition to Korean food. Believe me when I say pooping is important...:eek:

Reading material and music will help, but getting up and walking around the plane is also a great way to kill a couple hours. If you're on a night flight, chat with a flight attendant. They usually aren't doing much when everyone is asleep and have great stories. That said, don't bother them if they _are_ busy.

Acceptance that no matter what you do, it's going to suck terribly. You can reduce the amount of terrible-time, but no matter what I do, there's still usually a time of ~2-3 hours that I just can't sleep, can't listen to another song, and everyone around me is sleeping. That's when you stare at the little plane on the screen and fall into a trance... eventually you'll wake up at the airport. It's sort of scary, honestly, but it's worked well for me a couple of times. :D
 
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