Over the course of my lifetime (so far), I’ve had to travel by airline more times than I care to remember. I’ve gone to places I wanted to go as well as places I didn’t want to go. Things got progressively worse in most ways after I retired from the military in 1998.
Airline Travel Isn’t Luxurious
And I never expected it to be luxurious. It should be comfortable, however, and it isn’t most of the time. Sitting erect because I don’t have a choice is as far from luxurious as can be imagined. I’ve been on flights like those and for more hours than should have been required.
It’s not just the flights. A lot of airports leave a lot to be desired. I’ve been to airports that were easy to get around, and I’ve been to airports that were murder on my legs. I don’t like taking buses or trains to get from one terminal to another, and I don’t like walking for an hour or more. There has to be a better way.
Alternate Means of Travel
Most Americans have had limited forms of transportation. I know some people, including siblings, who’ve never traveled in anything other than personal vehicles. I, on the other hand, have traveled on ships and trains as well as airlines. The military didn’t give me choices.
I will soon be traveling to the United States once again. If I could travel by some other method than airline travel, I would be incredibly happy. The trip will consist of two legs of travel, from Manila to Korea and then Korea to Washington State. The leg to Korea is relatively short, less than four hours. The leg to Washington State, however, is around 12 hours.
Travel by ship from the Philippines to the United States, or vice-versa, doesn’t exist unless I can finagle a way to tag along on a cargo ship. That isn’t going to happen. Travel by airship is nothing more than a fantasy. Both methods would be slower, but far less stressful.
Airline Entertainment
Sitting on a plane is boring, especially when you have to sit mostly upright for several hours at a time. The online entertainment options used to be limited to whatever music they piped through their systems to your chair or whatever the in-flight movie happened to be. Thankfully, cell phones have changed all that.
The last few times I’ve traveled by airline, I’ve loaded my phone with movies, TV series, and music far in advance. The time passes much quicker when you’re focused on something other than your discomfort. My wife, Josie, can sleep for most of the trip. I wish I could, but I think it has a lot to do with size. She’s a bit smaller than I am.
I’m currently paying attention to websites (including YouTube) that specialize in current TV series and movies, like TVmaze. I need to download enough video entertainment to occupy at least 12 hours of time. The faster my airline travel seems to transpire, the better I’ll feel.
Image by taehoon411 from Pixabay