question for holliday travellers

Wook

i have a 18 hour flight coming up in september.
This is something i am really not looking forward to.
It's not the flying that annoys me, it's the waiting till you get there.

i was thinking in taking some sleeping pills for the trip but i haven't got a clue what is good and what is potentially dangerous. Any help would be great. (or just something that makes you feel sleepy without a doctors visit)

Or any suggestions on what you guys do when you have an 18 hours flight ? (i dont want to end up talking for so long either)

I was not sure in which collum i had to place this, so feel free to move this as you please.

Hobnail Monkey

For an unhealthy fcuker like yerself Wook, I'd say forget about the sleeping pills. When I went to the states, I just wore some light loose footwear on the plane and sat in my seat dreaming about what it would be like over there. The flight flew by.
Bring a book if you have to, but I think you can get away with a walkman nowadays on the plane, might be worth looking into

Dr. Loon

Every time an air stewardess walks by, ask for 2 jack daniels and a coke. Problem solved.

Beruthiel

I would concur with Dr. Loon's method (be sure to check that the sick bag is in the seat in front of you) this method has the advantage of being useful on two fronts, if you crash you will be too drunk to care

Wook

hmm can't drink on planes, get sick...if i drink.
need an alternative

Dr. Loon

Get viciously locked in the airport before hand, therefore when you arrive on the plane, you'll be super fúcked and you'll just fall asleep. Or you could smoke a few joints... that'd do the trick. Either way it's goinna involve getting out of your mind

Kali

loose clothing that can come on/off esaily if it gets too cold/warm.
the same for shoes.. i generally take mine off on planes all the time so i can actually get my feet under the seat in front.
and spend loads on magazines in the airport

Wook

joint is fine , but they last like 30 minutes with me
magazines is a good idea...
loose clothing , nice...
does valium make you sleepy ? or just stupid ?

eth0_

Originally posted by Wook
joint is fine , but they last like 30 minutes with me
magazines is a good idea...
loose clothing , nice...
does valium make you sleepy ? or just stupid ?

Valium just chills you out, doesn't make you sleepy. It's pretty ****ty on the whole.
I'd get sleeping pills if I were you wook, I didn't sleep a wink when I flew to N America and I was bolloxed when I came home, spent the whole time looking out the window and reading.

Go get sleeping pills, you have to get your shots anyway (BTW 50 euro for my Hep A shot! Expensive, eh?), although you can't drink and take those pills.

ANother thing that's really good, if you get really tired legs on flights, you can get some special socks made by Scholl (get them in Boots or somewhere similar) to prevent deep vein thrombosis but they're great for the circulation in your legs, so you don't feel like you've WALKED to Thailand by the time you get there!

BattlingCheese

What Kali said is very good advice. Especially taking off your shoes.

Bring an eye mask, ear plugs and one of those inflatable thingys you put around your neck so you can sleep upright. You may look a fool but it's guaranteed to get you to sleep and you'll be the only one refreshed getting off the plane.

Also take a few minutes every hour or 2 to do some light stretching in the small area where the toilets are. The aircrew will let you and you may even find some people copying you.

bucks73

Was in Oz a couple of years ago and the flight back was 8 hours from Sydney to Bangkok and then 13 hours from Bangkok to London.

Worst mistake was not taking any sleeping pills to knock me out. I am not the best flyer and we had bad turbulence for about 7 hours straight after departing Bangkok. All I had was the eye mask and a blanket pulled over my head. Probably slept a max of 4 hours total on both flights.

Planning to go down again next year and I am definitely going to take something strong to make me sleep the whole way.

eth0_

Originally posted by Dr. Loon
Get viciously locked in the airport before hand, therefore when you arrive on the plane, you'll be super fúcked and you'll just fall asleep. Or you could smoke a few joints... that'd do the trick. Either way it's goinna involve getting out of your mind

That's a great suggestion. You do know, airlines won't let you on a flight if you're 'viciously locked'?
And its really not a good idea to get drunk when you have to fly for that length, jet lag will be 10 times worse.

foxinsocks

Long flights (even short flights) will dehydrate you... you need to be drinking a LOT of water, just water, and only water... Otherwise you'll end up completely and utterly wrecked, and end up having essentially a hangover for the first few days of your trip.

If you want to sleep, there are a couple of herbal remedies, specifically designed to deal with jet lag, and i think which generally will help you sleep when you need to. Try going into your local pharmacist, and asking... they should be able to give you proper advice.

The sock wearing fox

Wook

My doctor suggested i would buy something called 'menaline' its the same name as the substance which is part of your skin.
apperently it does do wonders for jetlag.

went to two healthstores..they never heard about it.
anyone has any tips on herbal sleepers ?

Hobnail Monkey

If only I'd listened in Biology class. That 'menaline' stuff you mentioned, I 'think' that its something to do with your skin pigments, but not sure how that would apply to a flight.
I agree with the water therapy too, drink a lot of it, it'll keep you fresh as a daisy. But unless you're copmfortable flying, pills aren't going to do a whole lot for you.
If schmoking weed only knocks you for 30 minutes, try eating some hash cakes before you get the taxi to the airport. By the time you are on your flight, you'll be well and truely trolleyed.

eth0_

Originally posted by Wook
My doctor suggested i would buy something called 'menaline' its the same name as the substance which is part of your skin.
apperently it does do wonders for jetlag.

went to two healthstores..they never heard about it.
anyone has any tips on herbal sleepers ?

Wook - Melatonin, it's a hormone that affects your sleep. I *think* I saw it in a heath store in our area, but you deffo don't need a prescription for it.
Check out this link:

http://www.internethealthlibrary.com/DietandNutrition/melatonin-sleep-jetlag-000303.htm

Try before you go though You might be better off with that Nytol sleeping aid, I can testify that works, never tried melatonin meself.

Wook

Nytol available without prescription ?

eth0_

Originally posted by Wook
Nytol available without prescription ?

Last time I used it, yep. Ask about the Melatonin thing, it sounds better. May as well try both and see which works best for you.

davros

You can't shorten the 18 hours in the air but you can sure improve things on the ground.

My favourite tricks include:

- staying in the airport hotel the night before. That means no time allowing for getting to the aiport, traffic, taxi being late, etc. Just wake up late, get ready and stroll to check-in.

- using an airport lounge after check-in or during a stopover. Not possible in Dublin airport, unfortunately, (unless you travel business, of course) but in places like Hong Kong and Singapore, you can pay a little money and have a sleep, shower, eat, listen to CDs, get a massage...

On these long flights, I'm never sure whether a window or an aisle seat is better. With an aisle seat you can hop up regularly for a leg stretch. With a window, nobody will try to climb over you when you are sleeping.

As for jet-lag remedies, don't waste your money on the homeopathic ones. Pure fraud they are. I tend to be sceptical of "herbal" remedies too. Such things are sold without any legal requirement to prove that they work, unlike medicines.

eth0_

Originally posted by davros

As for jet-lag remedies, don't waste your money on the homeopathic ones. Pure fraud they are. I tend to be sceptical of "herbal" remedies too. Such things are sold without any legal requirement to prove that they work, unlike medicines.

Perhaps you didn't read the link I posted. Melatonin is a hormone that is naturally produced by your body. This is synthesized melatonin you can buy, probably in Boots as well, if that makes it sound any more legitimate...
It'll work, it's been proven to.

davros

Originally posted by eth0_
Perhaps you didn't read the link I posted. Melatonin is a hormone that is naturally produced by your body. This is synthesized melatonin you can buy, probably in Boots as well, if that makes it sound any more legitimate...
It'll work, it's been proven to.

I agree that the use of melatonin is at least plausible.

And I realise that melatonin is neither herbal nor homeopathic. I was responding to another post that specifically mentioned herbs.

I've never tried any pills for jet lag myself. And I've never been able to figure out how to minimise it. Sometimes I have experienced no lag whatsoever and sometimes I have been completely out of whack for a week or more.

Delaying sleep on arrival until the nighttime is probably the closest to a tip I can suggest.