Travel Thread

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machinebacon
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Travel Thread

Unread post by machinebacon » Sun Mar 13, 2016 3:27 am

Can't believe we haven't got one.

Today I'll fly BJS - AUH - DUS - STR with Etihad (EY 889/1997/1547), the first two in an Airbus A330-200. I'll probably post some photos later when (if?) I arrive.

Quite a long flight all in all (I saved around 30% though), so I was thinking about how to make the flight most convenient and comfortable:

- usually I fly around 10-15 times a year, mostly 'short' haul (up to 4 hours) -- if so, I try to exclusively travel with carry-on luggage, and no checked in suitcase.
- if you often fly a specific route, or a specific destination, of course try to stay with one and the same airline or with the same alliance - this does not make sense if you fly twice a year, though.

- first, check tbooker, ctrip and other online ticket agents to find out which airlines actually serve the desired root
- clear cookies
- visit the airlines' websites directly and compare pricing - remember to clear cookies
- buy ticket 3 months in advance (if you know you will definitely fly, make these non-refundable and non-flexible, that's risky but makes a difference in price)
- be very flexible for the date of your return trip - the overall price (also for the outbound flight) might go down quite a lot if you pick the return flight a week earlier or later
- order a special meal (I took HINDU this time because it's an Arabic airline, so their food is definitely halal and/or kosher. Of course, a vegetarian would pick an Asian Vegetarian meal, or Jain vegetarian, or Dog knows what. With other non-Arabic airlines, pick Muslim or Hindu ;) - you usually will be served first, you get something that's not 'chicken or beef?' and especially hindu/indian meals are a bit spicier than the usual mass-produced crap. remember: roast your own ;)
- when the booking is confirmed, check what aircraft will be in use. Go and investigate on seatguru or similar pages
- immediately sign up for their free membership. (It's always good to have a card or number to show if the regular check-in counters are full - you just go to the Priority counter, put your passport and membership card on the counter and *pray*. Sometimes, especially when the regular check-in counters are crowded, the Priority counter will process you)
- around 2 weeks prior the flight, go online and change the seating to the aisle seat in one of the 4-seat rows - usually, the ladies at the check-in counter will assign one of the first free seats (from front to back) to their passengers, so you might have better luck at the back of the plane - only choose one of the last 2 rows if you like the fragrance of urine, stool, or enjoy being bumped by the trolleys or looking at other passengers waiting in front of the toilets.

- captain obvious: if you plan to get/give a lot of gifts or items that cannot be put into carry-on, try to get a large backpack that fits the exact specifications of the airline, and cram as many clothes as possible in there. 6 or 7 kilos for the free carry-on means a lot of stuff. I have so-called travel pouches (which are basically bags with a zipper). Put all heavy items into your suitcase.
- wear several layers of clothes. I mean, a fat person of 30000 lbs will pay exactly as much as a Ukrainian prostitute of 2 lbs, so at least put it on your body. Nobody will check this.
- if the weather allows, wear a jacket with huge pockets. yeah, I managed to carry 20 packs of cigarettes (cough cough!) wearing such a coat.
- don't fucking wear a belt. wear some comfy clothes but keep the belt in your carry-on, if you really need it. put your keys and coins somewhere, but not in your pocket. you will thank me for this at the security check. wear sneakers if possible, comfy but clean clothes. nobody gives a fuck how you look like on an economy flight, you cheapskate.
- a hoodie is one of the best clothes you can wear on a flight - planes can get quite chilly, on some of them you can't adjust the air valve overhead, the hoodie prevents a stiff neck and gives a bit of cover when you try to sleep
- talking of sleeping, earbuds are absolutely recommended. sometimes you just don't want to listen to music, or the f*cking baby crying behind you.
- put your cables and in-ear headphones in a zip lock bag. you will love this.
- take one of those plastic sports bottles with lid with you. hot water is gratis (as in free software), take a few tea bags or instant coffee with you - yeah I knoooow - BUT still better than paying 3x more for the same shit at the gate, especially if you have a layover.
- if you plan to sleep on the plane (anyway) get yourself dimenhydranate - not because it helps with travel sickness, but taking two of them makes you sleepy.
- of course you should have a few paracetamol, ibuprofen or similar meds with you, and some lozenges. I always have eye drops with me, no matter where, but on the plane they are really helpful.
- smokers: nasal snuff or snus is an excellent alternative to your cigarettes. to prevent cravings, don't drink coffee on the plane. try to get some sleep instead.

- books, magazines and newspapers weigh quite a lot and take away valuable storage space for duty free items, if wished. think twice if you really need them. i generally read ezines, pdfs, ebooks. most planes have USB slots at the seat, so you don't need to worry about charging. you can even download the whole wikipedia before your trip and put it on your SD card (pick the version without images).
- during the flight, try to move your ass every two hours for a few minutes. you don't want to have thrombosis.

these are just a few ideas, they might be completely bullshit but they work well for me.

if you plan to travel somewhere, you can use this thread to share it with us.
..gnutella..

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GekkoP
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by GekkoP » Sun Mar 13, 2016 10:47 am

Already booked our plane to London from June 30 to July 4.

We're going back to London, the city where it all began 9 years ago to celebrate our 5th year as a happily married couple.

It's going to be very amarcord and likely to end up with the firm decision to stay there and never come back to Italy.

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simgin
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by simgin » Sun Mar 13, 2016 11:02 am

^^ Wow brilliant write up. A "Hackers guide to aviation" , and it is nice that you know the "clear cookies", took me a while to figure out that they change the prices the more you look with out clearing the cookies, Cheeky cunts. Oh yeah, aisle FTW :)

And a little tip and story which will work with many other airlines, when I flew to Sardinia, it should have been Easy Jet down, and Air Meridiana back. I was checking the Easy Jet site at that time. Then I thought I don't know this so called Air Meridiana so I checked up on them. This airline is Sardinia's own, so I thought lets see what they offer. Well a return ticket (with same airline) was cheaper than the half Easy Jet half Meridiana trip. What I found out was that it had more leg space and free extra luggage. So this choice was easy :O
I did feel a little bad for the people who didn't want to do a 2 minute research for their trip (NOT!). So essentially they had payed more to Easy Jet to sit in Meridiana, but still they were under Easy Jet rules so they did not get free extra luggage :D. So next to them, I carried my "smuggled" goods, no issue what so ever, many evil/jealous eyes on me and my bags :D.
RYO or at least think outside the box!

Cheerio

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ivanovnegro
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by ivanovnegro » Sun Mar 13, 2016 2:13 pm

Clear cookies, damn yeah. I still forget this very often.

What a great guide Bacon.

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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by ChefIronBelly » Sun Mar 13, 2016 2:49 pm

Thanks for that, I picked up some great tips.
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GekkoP
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by GekkoP » Sun Mar 13, 2016 4:50 pm

One thing I forgot: no books for me this time. Got a Kindle, and that's about it. Bacon is right on space and weight.

Means of transport:

- I usually take low-cost flights, but on the plane to New Delhi I tried watching a couple of films. Screen was too small and audio not that good, so my advice is: get some sleep, leave the movies alone.

- If we're talking about trains, good luck in India and in Italy. Ok, Italy is not that messy, but unless you pay good money you'll have to deal with long waits. In UK I only had pleasant experiences with trains, but at high prices.

- I remember catching a bus from London to Edinburgh, and that was a very nice experience. Quiet driving, 8 hours of run but cheap and quite comfortable despite me being a bit too tall to appreciate the seats. Italy is pretty standard, just as in UK. India, well, you're in for a wild ride.

- Taxi: Italy sucks, India is dangerous but fun, UK works as expected.

- Rented car: only tried once in Iceland. Pricey, yes, but unforgettable. In a good way.

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simgin
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by simgin » Sun Mar 13, 2016 8:56 pm

^ Iceland rocks :)
When you get back to the UK as you wrote you will, train fairs have gone up :/
But funnily enough, as you said, in UK the longer bus journeys are actually quite nice :)
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by rhowaldt » Mon Mar 14, 2016 1:48 pm

thanks Jules, had no idea about the cookies stuff or some of these websites. my wife books all the shit and will use ebookers mostly, i have never done any proper research into any of this other than simply direct experience of being on a flight.

for films i go directly against Gekko's advice. Indeed, quality is not great, but man, those films get me through those long-ass flights. Make me sleepy too, so helpful, because i generally have trouble sleeping on airplanes.

i have mainly been dealing with ways to handle fear of flying, a little for myself but a lot for others. i found that getting up and walking around greatly reduces anxiety over being on a plane because it suddenly feels different cause you're walking. also, you can go into the back where the hosts and hostesses often have some free food and unlimited water and all that. plus, you can have a chat with them and they will calm you down. plus, you know if they ain't looking scared, you don't need to be either.

another thing i've done is: you know how when the airplane lifts off you get that feeling in your stomach, like the rollercoaster feeling? for me that feeling was unpleasant. however, one day i realized that the feeling is simply a feeling, and i make it unpleasant in my mind. so next flight i told myself "i will enjoy this wonderful feeling that comes soon... i can't wait!" - and when the feeling came i didn't fight it (tensing abdominal muscles, etc), but went with the flow, "eased into it", so to speak, just let the feeling overtake me. and fuck me, that shit worked. i now have no issues anymore when lifting off, and feel generally comfortable on airplanes.
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GekkoP
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by GekkoP » Mon Mar 14, 2016 4:46 pm

^ Oh yes, you're right: if you need help to get some sleep, the films on the plane are actually really good.

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ivanovnegro
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by ivanovnegro » Tue Mar 15, 2016 4:25 pm

I hate flying. I cannot sleep either but I always just want to sleep and get over it. I cannot even imagine a longer flight than 2 hours or overseas. Mostly low cost and it is very narrow, I am not that tall. It is too loud and all the people going up and down to take a piss etc just makes me more nervous.
I tried music, of course my own, but the engines are too loud. Reading is impossible because my head begins to spin and fuck that stomach feeling. Though something easy like newspapers works.

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GekkoP
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by GekkoP » Tue Mar 15, 2016 4:29 pm

^ Absolutely. I'm lucky I managed to sleep on most of my flights, but I agree with you.

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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by machinebacon » Tue Mar 15, 2016 4:54 pm

ivan, try dimenhydranate :)
..gnutella..

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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by franksinistra » Tue Mar 15, 2016 5:43 pm

worst travel by air experience : sat next to a Chinese guy rubbing cajeput oil and god knows what else for 12 hours long flight from Milwaukee to Tokyo.
rice no more.

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ivanovnegro
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by ivanovnegro » Wed Mar 16, 2016 2:27 pm

machinebacon wrote:ivan, try dimenhydranate :)
Of course. Usually I have something with me against motion sickness.

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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by archvortex » Wed Mar 16, 2016 3:28 pm

Completely agree with carry everything you need and no checked-in luggage unless you're moving some where. Saves a hell of a lot of time waiting at carousels for luggage which can also be a hassle if you happen to be chosen as the lucky contestant by a customs officer for "Check Your Suitcase for Contraband."

I used to go to flights early so I could get a seat in the emergency exit row for legroom but now you can book your seat ahead. Over the years, I have been bumped from economy to business so many times because of my height. I kindly remind the counter staff that I need a seat with legroom and if the emergency exit rows are booked I would get moved up. Also flights originating in Jakarta, Surabaya or Denpasar routing through Singapore on to the Middle East, Europe or somewhere in Asia are usually empty til they pick up passengers in Singapore so I would get bumped up more often than not. Philippine Airlines and Lufthansa were good for this. Same with Cathay Pacific, JAL, and Eva Air. Eva Air will sometimes give me an free upgrade to one of their extra leg room reclining seats on the Taipei-Vancouver or Vancouver-Taipei run. It also pays to have a membership card.

I love flying and so does my youngest son but my other kids and wife not so much. We laugh during turbulence. For me it's fun because I'm use to it. In S.E. Asia the most common areas I've found for turbulence are over Japan, Borneo (Indonesian part) and Malaysia on the way to Penang. Taiwan was bad for fog at different times of the year.

The problem I face now is in Indonesia. I need to use a wheelchair to get around airports and on to planes and most Indonesian airlines and Air Asia don't use the skybridge to save money and passengers use the portable staircase which of course I have great difficulty with. Outside of Indonesia is a treat and I'm usually one of the first ones on and off the plane.
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by rhowaldt » Fri Mar 18, 2016 8:18 am

^ you need to train yourself to be able to hop your wheelchair up those stairs. seen people do it on trams in NL, so cool :)
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by wuxmedia » Fri Mar 18, 2016 8:42 am

"...fucking crying baby..." That'll be us going to Corfu in April, times two! :)
babies <2 yo travel free, what do you expect :)

We didn't follow any of those tips, as we look for a fully inc. hotel too.
apart from the carry on only that is a really good tip, packing less than you need because souvenirs :)
We don't go for long anyway - only need a few things.

The fluid things are stupid, we found a set of clear bottles to put our favourite shampoo and stuff in.
Last time in Greece they didn't seem to care about the jars of honey or oil in the carry on.
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by archvortex » Sat Mar 19, 2016 8:28 am

^^ Hahaha! Yeah, but those airport wheelchairs are folding and crap so I would probably break it. There is actually a seat that attaches on the side of some of staircases that you can sit on and it takes you up the stairs. Next week I have to go back to Penang so if I need to use the stairs and pull myself up doing a modified tricep dip up every two or three steps. Going down the stairs is easy. Just slide down on my ass.

^ Wux, just check to make sure you don't exceed the 100 ml per container of whatever you have or they'll confiscate it if it's in carryon. My wife bought a big bottle of some expensive hair treatment product in Singapore and had to leave it at the security check before going into the boarding lounge. I understand procedures and why they make rules but excuse me, you won't let me take a bottle of conditioner that I didn't buy in duty-free but you'll let me on board with two bottles of duty-free brandy that can be used as an igniter fluid? WTF? LOL
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by machinebacon » Wed Mar 08, 2017 3:45 am

I'm off again for an extra-long weekend in Thailand. 29C and just a good two hours flight from here, for the ridiculous price of 50USD/EUR/GBP, so why not. At least the food is good, the weather is nice, the people are defo nicer than the people here (well, that's not too hard).
..gnutella..

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ivanovnegro
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Re: Travel Thread

Unread post by ivanovnegro » Wed Mar 08, 2017 7:54 pm

Have fun and a good trip!

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