Korean Job Discussion Forums

[gtanime]

12 hour flight, this is madness!

Any tips to survive such trip?

[noraebang]

This is madness?

THIS. IS. FLYING ACROSS THE PACIFIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[akcrono]

Depends on the airline. If you're flying Korean Air, there's enough in flight entertainment (on demand movies and games) combined w/ natural napping that should take care of you. Wouldn't hurt to bring a book though.

For other airlines (that I don't know), bring everything you can muster that will keep yourself entertained. I had a psp and 3 books which helped.

Last piece of advice is to get wasted w/ your friends the night before or just pull an all nighter if you don't drink (and if you don't drink, you picked the wrong country). This means get packed before that. Your sleep schedule will already be screwed up because of the jet lag, so it won't do as much harm as you think. I pulled an all nighter, got around 6 hrs of sleep on the plane, slept for 10 hours after the flight, and was around 90% for my first full day in Korea.

Best of luck to you. I was scared making such a crazy trip, but everything worked out just fine!

[Yaya]

[NYC_Gal]

My flight to China was approximately 15 hours. Bring your mp3 player, a book, and some earplugs if your battery runs out and you can't sleep over the two damned kids in front of you who won't shut the hell up.

Ummm... Try not to fly China Air, is what I'm saying

Also, pack snacks. The food may not be that great.

[cali]

take ambien sleep aid.

[Mr. Pink]

I guess it is someone's first long haul.

Last summer I stayed up all night before my flight as it was a 7am or some early nonsense flight. I slept like a baby on the flight...got in, did my thing for about 5hrs, slept like a baby that night and no more jet lag. You might look into that.

Book, computer, psp, mp3, etc. helps too. But 12hrs is along time so bring something that will keep you interested if you cannot sleep.

(12hrs isn't much...I usually fly 5-6hrs to San Fran, then do a 3hr layover and finally a 13hr flight to Seoul. That is 19hrs in the air...)

[thegadfly]

The all-nighter is excellent advice -- I pretty much always do this before my trips, though 12 hours seems like such a short journey that I am not sure I would bother -- my semi-annual sojourns home take between 22 and 29 hours door-to-door, depending on layovers, buses, taxis, and friends picking me up. I have a PSP and usually bring a book or two.

I have allergies, and my over the counter meds are usually enough to knock me out when nothing else is of interest on the flight....

[Paladin Brewer]

Be happy, it took me 19 hours to get there (including an hour and a half layover in LAX). I tried to sleep. The plane (Asiana) also had individual TVs in the back of the seat in front of you, so maybe you can find stuff to watch if you're lucky heh.

[Italy37612]

Hit on the flight attendants?

[Oreovictim]

When I left Korea the last time, I got stuck on a flight where it's just one screen that everyone watches. Ugh, and it was an Adam Sandler flick, and they played it repeatedly. The horror!

It's great if you have the built-in screen on your seat. When I came back to Korea, I saw that Wolverine flick. Normally, I can't stand comic book movies, but that movie was pretty cool.

I don't know. Start learning Korea; invest in a crossword puzzle or cryptoquote, read a book, get a drawing book and learn to draw naked women or fruit.

Speaking of naked women, I have some useless info. for the day. I've heard that if you're in prison, and you're a good artist, you don't get messed with. Why? Because you're the guy who draws porn for the other inmates.

[mimis]

^ excellent tidbit indeed^^

Geez, some of you guys are real snobs. Regardless of how long it takes YOU to get somewhere, generally, people around the world will agree 12 hours is a long time to be stuck in a tiny seat with no space to move around, feeling your body cramping up. The OP surely isn't a 'wimp' for thinking this is a long time and asking for some general tips? So quick to judge. I've taken lots of ("just") 11 hour flights, and they're still a drag- I thoroughly hate it.

My suggestion: if you have some hobby, like drawing, crossword puzzles, writing, reading, knitting, pink unicorns, whatever, bring it and that will keep you busy for a while. PSP's, Nintendo's, laptops are obviously very useful, if you have them. In-flight entertainment sets are good for a few hours (if you get them), though it depends a bit on the selection. I like a previous poster's suggestion of studying some Korean or something else. I second the suggestion of not sleeping the night before, you'll be dead tired and sleep through most of the flight. Some people take sleeping pills for that reason. I also like to bring snacks, because on a long flight there isn't a whole lot of service. Buy drinks in the airport, the stewardesses sometimes don't come for hours and if you're stuck on a window seat with sleeping people next to you, it can get difficult to get up (but your throat starts to hurt!). Which is why I've started preferring aisle seats... If you're bored, you can get up easily and walk around a bit. Speaking of that, be sure to get up sometimes and stretch, it can be dangerous to stay in the same position for long periods of time.

Just bring everything you could possibly be interested in, though if you're like me, you won't be interested in any of the things you brought and still be bored stiff. Just have to sit it out! In the words of a wise man: "This too shall pass".

Have a good flight^^

[daeguowl]

It very much depends on the airline. If you're flying KLM, for example, be prepared for long hours of boredom interspersed with a couple of movies that you will struggle to see on the small overhead tv. Korean Air/Air France/Emirates had on demand entertainment. I think Lufthansa had seatback entertainment with 12 channels running on a 2.5hour loop.

My Cowon has got me through a few long flights.

I've also tried staying up all night but it didn't work cos I struggle to sleep sitting upright. Being that tired just made the flight a hell of a lot worse...

[sshemma]

Twelve hours is grand! We're leaving Dublin at 9am Sunday morning and not arriving in Busan till 20.30 Monday night!

With time differences factored in thats 27 travel hours, the plan is drink for 13, sleep for 14.

[schwa]

Veteran of many 12 hour flights here. Inside aisle seats rule. Get up when you feel like it or sleep undisturbed (your seatmates are generally together so they use the other aisle).