Perhaps for those of you who have taken the first long flight (over 6 hours), it will be an indescribable joy. I have been there too. But once the flight is over, the jet lag hits you, your lips and face are dry and your body is exhausted, you will see that long flights are not always a great experience. However, without such flights, you will not be able to reach your dream destination.
Below are some tips that Co has learned after more than 20 long flights and will share with you.
1. Bring a Multi-Function Bag
Backpacks, large bags, or suitcases can hold a lot of things on the plane. Pack your camera, batteries, laptop, or other heavy, valuable items and leave them in the overhead compartment.
Your all-purpose bag may be a compact tote bag, but remember to pack the items you use frequently and need during the flight. Here are the basic items I put in my tote bag:
Water bottle, phone charger, headphones, facial moisturizer, hand cream, lip balm, sleeping mask. With these simple items in your bag, you will always feel at home and will not have to get up to get things from your bag or suitcase.
2. Eat Smart
During the flight, you will be very hungry, even binge. My criteria is to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits and reduce starch, not abstain from everything.
You also need to time your flight to eat according to your normal daily meals, do not eat whenever the flight attendant brings you food.
Like my recent flight to Dubai, which took off at 12 midnight, the flight attendants brought out dinner. I would eat very little, just vegetables and fruits, skipping dessert and the starch in the food because it was a late night meal, my digestive system would have to work a lot, creating energy that would make it difficult for me to sleep. Then, near the landing time, the flight attendants served a meal close to my usual breakfast time, so I would eat normally.
3. Always Rehydrate
Do you see the water bottle in Co's satchel? That's Co's secret to keeping her skin from drying out.
Don’t be shy about asking the flight attendant to refill your water bottle whenever you run out. After many flights, I realized that water in a tiny plastic cup is never enough. So I learned to bring a bottle to fill with water and order some fruit juice to drink.
You should limit your intake of soft drinks, beer, wine, tea and coffee because they are all drinks that make you rehydrate more.
4. Always Have to Go to Sleep
No matter how much or how little you sleep, you need to. Even if there are countless movies on the plane that you haven't seen yet, getting plenty of sleep will help you overcome the jet lag of flying across multiple time zones.
Wear a face shield and headphones to isolate yourself from the on-and-off lights of the plane, and the loud noises around you.
5. Get Up and Move
During the time you are not sleeping, remember to always stand up and move around a little. Muscles are often shy so they often retreat to the bathroom to stand and stretch without feeling embarrassed. This helps your joints and muscles not to stiffen and make your body tired after a long flight.
Information about author Ly Thanh Co:
- Current job: Copywriter and manager of Ly Thanh Co Travel Blog.
- 2018: Traveled to 14 European countries and 2 Asian countries; launched the book "Youth in your wallet, what can you buy?"
- 2019 Plan: Launch the second travel book about the journey to Northern Europe, Western Europe, Japan; and continue to explore Africa.
- Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/colythanh
- Travel Blog:https://www.facebook.com/venturology
