John Grisham, dried apricots, a tennis ball, and airport security lines [Travel Tips: Airport/in-flight]

Greetings all!

Today I will share my tips for airport/in-flight basics. I like this quote by American politician Al Gore, “Airplane travel is nature’s way of making you look like your passport photo.” Waiting in the airport and being on the airplane for a prolonged period of time can indeed be a tiring and uncomfortable experience.

Here are my airport/in-flight necessities to make the experience more comfortable:

- water

- scarf and cardigan/sweater

- antibacterial wipes (also use them to wipe the tray table / remote)

- travel pillow

- books/Kindle/magazines (many hotels have a travel library where you can leave your books or you can share them with your fellow travelers)

- headphones (some airlines charge for them)

- toothbrush/toothpaste

- deodorant

- extra pair of socks (I have not yet tried compression socks but many people like)

- hand lotion

- chapstick

- aspirin, chewing gum, and cough drops

- earplugs/eye mask

- sleeping pills if you can sleep on the plane

- tennis ball for muscle stretches/massage especially if you are prone to getting tight muscles. If you can, get up/do some stretches. Getting a quick massage at the airport also helps!

- and, of course, food/snacks!! 

On a flight from China many years ago, I was seated in the very last row so by the time the food cart approached me, there were not that many choices. I asked for dessert but it looked like a science-class experiment ready to wobble away on its Jell-O legs. Fortunately, I had a granola bar!

Lesson learned, and now I always bring snacks with me for the airport and the flight. Also, I am not a big fan of airport food, and it is not cheap. 

My brown bag might contain:

·         boiled egg

·         sandwich (ham-and-cheese does the trick) or boiled potato

·         apple or banana

·         cookies or chocolate

·         nuts

·         protein/granola bar 

Here is a funny story that recently happened to me at LAX International Terminal as I was going through a security line. I never before had a problem with a hard-boiled egg wrapped in foil. This time, I was asked to unwrap the foil. But wait, they were not done with me! I was asked to take out a pack of antibacterial wipes from my travel tote because they contained “water.” How many antibacterial wipes would I need to yield an ounce of water, I wondered, but was not curious enough to conduct that experiment right then and there!

Finally, I was asked to open my luggage and get a book out onto the tray. As I recall, it was one of John Grisham’s, and I asked very politely why - since I thought the book was rather dry. The security officer said something about it being bulky.

As I was putting everything back, I could not help but notice that many people had to get out various snacks that usually pass unnoticed – I was wondering what threat a bag of dried apricots could possibly present, except maybe a cavity?

How do you make the airport wait/flight comfortable? Drop me a line!