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Long flight to Korea. Any tips?

lamina

lamina

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 9, 2006
1,757
69
Niagara
I will be heading to Seoul, South Korea to begin my new life as an ESL teacher. I've decided to make this my career, due to the huge rush I get from seeing actual improvement in someone's working English as a result of my hard work.

Anyway, the flight is 12-15 hours. For those of you who have traveled long distances and endured long flights, what are some of the things you do to make the time pass?

Any small tips or suggestions to make myself more comfortable are greatly appreciated.
 
lamina said:
I will be heading to Seoul, South Korea to begin my new life as an ESL teacher. I've decided to make this my career, due to the huge rush I get from seeing actual improvement in someone's working English as a result of my hard work.

Anyway, the flight is 12-15 hours. For those of you who have traveled long distances and endured long flights, what are some of the things you do to make the time pass?

Any small tips or suggestions to make myself more comfortable are greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

just watch movies and sleep. or take some vicodin.
 
use everything thats free

peanuts, bathroom, toliet paper, soap, food,magazines, pillows, blankets

take everything thats free and get your moneys worth

also use the barf bag that way you get a sovenier
 
I went to HK last year and it was a 16 hour flight. It was brutal for me since I get motion sickness pretty easily and it's been a long time since I've been in a plane. I bought a few magazines and watch TV the whole time since I couldn't sleep. Good luck. :)
 
Upgrade to business or first class. It's always worth it to me. More room, drinks and much better food & service. Hopefully you haven't seen the in-flight movies before.

Beyond that, I have a nano & ipod video loaded with a few movies/TV shows. Also play solitaire & sudokus. Make sure you get up an stretch as much as possible. Between my Air, Nano & iPod I can get 12-15 hours of entertainment easy.
 
What airline are you flying? If it's affordable (less than $1000 for sure, hopefully less) get an upgrade to C or F it it's available. On those long flights, it's definitely worth it. Quieter cabin, easier to sleep, better food, etc. I hop the pond four times a month and sleep is usually number one on my list, followed by watching some movies on my iPhone.
 
Sleep is your best bet :) I don't usually go the drug route ~ I just exercise a lot to try and tire myself out the day before the flight - not sleeping the night before works too...
 
lamina said:
Any small tips or suggestions to make myself more comfortable are greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Drink lots of water. Seriously. I know this means getting up and going to the toilet every now and then (which is why an aisle seat is a good idea)
Easy on the alcohol.
Also remember the time difference crossing the Date Line — you "lose" a day.

Unfortunately not all the advice in the world will prepare you for the mind-numbing boredom. :eek::eek:
And if you don't want to lose your sanity completely avoid looking at the "flight progress" screen. It is not a good thing to sit there willing the little digital plane to "jump" a pixel every hour or so. :D
(Unless of course you are flying 1st Class and then you will sleep right through it.)
 
NC MacGuy said:
Upgrade to business or first class. It's always worth it to me. More room, drinks and much better food & service. Hopefully you haven't seen the in-flight movies before.
Click to expand...

for sure. if you get there early, you could ask at the desk for an upgrade. It might be between 300 and 600. My wife and I upgraded to japan for 300 a piece and they put us in business in the 747 upstairs. It was awesome. You arrive so much more relaxed and at ease. If its closer to $300 its well worth the money.

Also any international flight should have free alcohol. I usually you sip a few baileys on ice or a kahlua and cream and despite the small amount of drink you feel it pretty quickly. it might help you sleep.
 
arkitect said:
Unfortunately not all the advice in the world will prepare you for the mind-numbing boredom. :eek::eek:
(Unless of course you are flying 1st Class and then you will sleep right through it.)
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While 1st Class is better than the peanut gallery, it still is a long and boring flight -- at least as a passenger you hope that it will be. :)

For me, I drink plenty of fluids before and during the flight, and try to enjoy the little things and not think about the time. A few years ago, I made cross Pacific flights about 4-8 times (roundtrips) per year. I sort of went into my travel mode where I just zombied (if there is such a word) out as much possible so I did not notice the passage of time.

Also, move a bit while sitting in your seat, and if you can, get up during the flight and stretch a bit. It helps.

I found that noise canceling headphones/earphones can help the passage of time. A blowup neck/head pillow can be handy as well. Wear comfortable and loose clothing. You might try living reverse cycle before leaving the states to help you get acclimated to the Korea time zone.

Also, what can make the flight bearable, is having a smooth transition on the other end. Who is meeting you at the airport? How are you getting to the place you will stay? What clothes do you need right away -- be sure to carry on those in case the rest gets lost.
 
I fly regularly, and I must say that I don't believe an upgraded ticket would help. I don't need more room, and I don't need more quiet. I'm almost always fine on all those counts. The big issue is:

1) Will I be able to fall asleep? Usually, I'll sleep for like 3-4 hours out of a 15 hour flight. That's life. I just deal with it......read magazines, a book, watch a movie, etc.

2) Will the food suck? I don't mind airplane food. ;)

Better food? Is it worth paying twice the price? I wouldn't pay an extra $50 for a better meal on an airplane.

However, I must say that the biggest difference between one airline and another is the food. I just wouldn't pay hundreds of dollars more for it. Also, I bring lots of snacks. It helps a lot. I bring 3-4 apples on the airplane if I can, and possibly even "outside food" for later (e.g.: an entire take-away bowl of bibimbap from Sydney International Airport's food court).


P.S.: Korean food is my favourite, and buying a bowl of bibimbap to take on my flight gives me something to look forward to. :)
 
Thanks for all the tips, everyone. I've heard that drinking a lot of water is a good thing, but why?
 
lamina said:
Thanks for all the tips, everyone. I've heard that drinking a lot of water is a good thing, but why?
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Keeps you hydrated. The cabin air is incredibly dry… which reminds me. Moisturiser. You will need some. :)

PS. Avoid aircraft tap water though… use bottled water. There was an e-coli scare a while back to do with aircraft tap water. Can't win.
 
Bring a textbook and a notebook

Learn some Korean on the plane, it will help when you hit the ground.
 
all the major points have already been hit -- live reverse cycle for a few days prior, sleep on the plane if possible, get up and move around lots if not, drink lots of water (not plane water), take things to do like crosswords/sudoku, etc.

seoul is a great city. crowded, get used to it. if you board a bus, you will cram in with everyone else, the driver will start to go then slam on the brakes packing everyone forward, then open the back door to fit on a few more... the subway system rules. avoid driving if possible, as the lines/lights are more suggestions than traffic law. like, the traffic light is red, you might want to stop, or not. and 5-7 lanes of traffic on a 3 lane road is really something to see! avoid Iteawan and try one of the other 'gates' like Namdaemun which was my favorite. with the ESL bit, guessing that you already have the hangul thing covered, but learn fast and lots, it makes a huge difference especially if you want to see more of the country, and you will want to see more of the country.

watch out for soju. watch out for friends who want to give you fruit juice or kool-aid... there are t-shirts with "the 'four stages of soju': (1) you are handsome; (2) you are rich; (3) you are powerful; (4) you are invisible!" on them for a reason. :eek::)

see everything, have fun, safe trip!

edit: as you are blogging about your experience, find some way to capture your first impression of the smell when stepping off the plane at kimpo. voice recorder, video recorder, whatever. it's a rare and wondrous experience!
 
Definitely try to score the upgrade at the counter. They usually heavily discount them at that point because they are willing to take some extra $$ rather than leave the seat empty. Even better, if the flight is full and they have a first class / business class ticket available they really tend to work some deals. Luck of the draw really.

I travel to Phoenix and back on a very regular basis and, I know it is only a four hour flight from Indy, sleeping makes it go by soooo much better. Get one of those inflatable neck pillows too. They are like an inflatable miracle on long flights :)
 
lamina said:
I will be heading to Seoul, South Korea to begin my new life as an ESL teacher. I've decided to make this my career, due to the huge rush I get from seeing actual improvement in someone's working English as a result of my hard work.

Anyway, the flight is 12-15 hours. For those of you who have traveled long distances and endured long flights, what are some of the things you do to make the time pass?

Any small tips or suggestions to make myself more comfortable are greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

I've flown back and forth from Iraq to the United States a few times, and let me tell you, it's a LONG flight, I usually bring sleeping pills, and watch movies, listen to music or read for the first leg of the trip, then sleep the second half.

Have a safe flight!
 
Try sleeping tactically depending on the time of day you arrive/leave, if you arrive at night you want to go straight to bed so try to keep awake or doze a little. If you arrive in the morning try to sleep on the plane so you can go to sleep at night.
 
Eraserhead said:
Try sleeping tactically depending on the time of day you arrive/leave, if you arrive at night you want to go straight to bed so try to keep awake or doze a little. If you arrive in the morning try to sleep on the plane so you can go to sleep at night.
Click to expand...
I was just going to post the same thing. When I went from Toronto to Japan I had little to no jet lag because of three things
1) I ate all the little snacks and meals offered on the flight (I think they time them to get you to sync to the destination time zone)
2) I didn't sleep at during the trip (as I was landing at 2pm local time).
3) I stayed up as long as I could that night in Japan and slept when everybody else did.
I was adjusted to sleeping and eating times there in about 2 days.

I tried the same thing for my flight to Fiji (16 hours of flight + 3 hour lay-over) but since I was landing at 6:30 AM I tried to sleep on the flight from LA to Fiji. I never sleep well on planes, but I got about 5hr of sleep which kept me going till I could take an hour nap in the early afternoon.
 
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