First time traveling by air, help?
This is the first time I've ever flown on a plane. I've read that you are only permitted travel sized liquids and gels in a small ziplock bag for your carry on. Are you permitted to bring normal sized products if they are in your checked bag? I've got some products I would like to bring with me that I cannot get in a travel size. I have lots of things I need to bring with me, not all of which will fit into a small ziplock bag. Does that mean I can't bring them, or that they have to go into my checked bag? Also what kinds of things should go in carry on and what kinds of things should go in checked luggage? Am I allowed to bring a shaving razor? What about tweezers? and I've heard lotion is banned? what should I do with my birth control? are any of these not allowed?: lint roller, q-tips, tanning lotion, makeup, babypowder, flat iron, shaving cream, perfume, tide to go? this is all so confusing. I don't want to show up at the airport and get like arrested because i brought something they don't like.
Do you like traveling at night?
Traveling at night is my favorite time to travel. I only like to travel at night when I'm with other people and going through a desert as long as I'm not driving. I also like to travel on airplane at night. How about you?
What is your favorite part about being in the United States military?
A couple of things. First, the material things.The PX. Man, I loved that place. Inexpensive great stuff that constantly changed so you could always shop there like everything was brand new.The commisary. Cheap food.After all of that, being a soldier often brought great responses from civilians when I came in contact with them. That was always nice. Of course, there were some crappy times in that, too, like when I was still a West Point cadet and I was in Boston for a speech tournament (only time we could really travel), and some random guy looked at me in my uniform and felt that I was too short to be an effective soldier. The guy treated me like crap and wouldn’t stop. Sometimes, that happens. Part of me kind of wished he’d hit me because this little West Pointer would have torn him to shreds. But I digress….One day, I was in South Korea with my girlfriend, and I got a call that I was needed for a specific assignment immediately. About ten minutes later, a chopper shows up in the field and transports us to the post where I was stationed (we were in a part of Seoul for the weekend, which is pretty far from where I was stationed). Up to this time, my girlfriend thought I was just some paper pusher on the post, but after the helicopter, she was kind of freaked out, saying: “Clerks don’t get helicopters.” Oh well, the pitfalls.But the point of mentioning that is every now and then I’d get a chopper ride, and to this day, that’s the greatest way to travel anywhere. That little benefit was probably the greatest feeling in the world. Almost every time I got into a helicopter, my thought was “and I get paid for this!”And the people. I made strong friends with a lot of people that I would have never met in any other type of situation. And I still value those friendships more than you can possibly imagine. When you make a friendship in the service, you realize you’ll never make a friendship like that again, no matter how long you live after your done with your service.
For a long flight (over 10 hours), what does someone do that entire time? Anyone done that in coach?
It depends if you are in coach or business/first. I just flew to Hong Kong from the US in an overnight flight. I left Saturday and got in Monday early morning. The flight was just shy of 16 hours. I flew Cathay Pacific in business. The plane had economy, premium Eco and business. There was no First in this plane. Here is what I usually do:1. Always pick an overnight flight. Much easier to sleep this way. 2. Arrive exhausted. The more tired I am, the longer I can sleep. So the night before I sleep at least 3hours less than normal. 3. Eat before the flight. I find it better not to eat major meals on the plane even if the food is great. If you have a full stomach it is likely that you will not have good sleep. 4. If you drink, limit alcohol to one glass of wine or champagne. Don't ever drink beer in a plane unless you want to spend half the trip going to the toilet. 5. Drink normal quantities of water. Don't "hydrate" yourself, it has the same result as beer. 6. Have a good book so you catch up on reading. It is better than to rely on the plane's entertainment system. Sometimes it doesn't work. Also if you travel often most likely you have seen all movies. 7. Plan your time. If you are doing north-south like NY-Buenos Aires or London-J'burg try to sleep just after take off. If you are going East-West it is trickier, but for a 12+ hours I would wait at least 2h before sleeping. I sleep very well in the plane regardless of where I'm sitting. I have friends who can't sleep even if they are in First. In any event the one thing that I recommend you NEVER do is take sleeping aids. I have seen some very bad results.