By my last count, we had flown with over 36 different airlines on 100+ flights throughout the years. As I write this, I am sitting aboard a Xiamen Air 787 Dreamliner flying from Melbourne to Xiamen in China.
To this day, I am still amazed by flying. It is an unreal reality that you can board a flight on one side of the world and, 12 hours later, walk through an airport terminal on the other side of the world.
I love watching planes land and take off; I can sit for hours at the big glass windows in airport terminals. I love spotting airlines that I have never seen before. The pure amazement that something this big can drop the hammer and take off into the sky is simply mind-boggling.
If you live in Australia like we do, flying, especially long-haul flying, becomes necessary if you want to travel internationally. Being an island, we can not just catch a train or ferry to another country.
We are unlucky that we fly out of Melbourne Airport, right at the bottom of Australia. It requires us to fly 4 plus hours north (if going to Europe or Asia) just to clear the Australian continent.
You would think that after all the love of planes I just spoke about, I would love flying. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. If there was another option, I would take it in a heartbeat. It’s not that flying scares me; I have no such premonitions of a fiery death or the plane falling out of the sky.
Things i hate about flying
It’s just that there are more things about flying that i dislike than like. Every time I get on a plane, I remember why, in reality, flying really annoys me. When you break it down, you’re sitting in a titanium, steel, aluminium, composite cylinder that is built for the lowest price that Boeing or Airbus can make it for. It’s designed to jam as many people into it as it can so the airline can make the most money out of every square inch of small space it allows us.
Does that sound appealing to you? When you’re stuck in a small space for a number of hours, everything that bothers you seems to be amplified tenfold. The older I get, the less I enjoy the experience for a number of reasons.
Here is a list of things that annoy me about flying in no particular order
The age-old pet peeve of the tray-table conundrum! I get it, you want to serve us snacks and drinks, and we need something to put these on. But can you clear these trays faster so we do not have a precarious balance of coffee cups, snack packets, and cutlery?
My family nearly always goes to war when we are on a plane. First, someone puts their bag on the floor, and then someone else puts their bag on top of it, and before you know it, you’re tripping over luggage and trying to navigate through a sea of carry-ons.
And don’t even get me started on the back of the seat. It’s like you’re trying to enjoy your in-flight movie, but instead, you’re stuck with a bag of snacks and a water bottle, taking up valuable real estate.
And then, after an hour or so, everyone starts to get a little…testy. You know, the usual suspects: “Where’s my phone charger?” “Who took my pillow?” “Why did you put your bag on the floor?!”
The eternal struggle of the aisle seat! It’s like, you’re finally starting to relax and enjoy the flight, and then suddenly, someone needs to use the loo. And if you’re on the aisle, you’re basically stuck in a perpetual state of “on-call” mode.
The age-old problem of the reclining seat! Imagine trying to enjoy your in-flight meal when suddenly the person in front of you decides to push their seat all the way back, shoving the dinner tray into your stomach.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I get it. People need to recline their seats sometimes. But can’t they just do it at night, when everyone’s trying to sleep? Or, I don’t know, maybe just keep their seat in a reasonable position during the day?
And don’t even get me started on the person who’s now reclining their seat, completely unaware of the chaos they’re causing. It’s like, can’t you see that other people on this plane need to eat and drink? Do you not care that you’re making it impossible for them to do so?
Being confined to a small seat for a long period can be uncomfortable and even painful. And you’re right. The only place to get up and stretch is often near the toilets, which can be a real challenge, especially if they’re not well-maintained.
The eternal struggle of the non-sleeper on a plane! It’s like you’re trying to relax and enjoy your flight, but your brain is racing with thoughts of everything you need to do when you land, and your body is screaming for a stretch.
And then, those magical people can fall asleep anywhere, anytime. I mean, what’s their secret? Do they have some special sleep-inducing gene? Do they have a special technique for relaxing and calming their minds?
Things I love about flying
I love aeroplane food, yes, I said, and it’s probably not a popular opinion. I love the way the meals are set out, like a real-life game of Jenga, except instead of blocks, you’re dealing with food and drinks. You get your main, a little serving of fruit,
Most of all, I love the possibilities flying brings you. You know when you get off, you will be in a new place with new experiences waiting for you. Life is all about new experiences.
Read More from Mark & Bec
My desire to travel far outweighs my hate of flying, so there is no way to reconcile my contradictory feelings. If we want to be digital nomads in the future, we need to fly from destination to destination to make money online.
So, there are plenty more flights in my future, starting with an 11-hour nonstop Melbourne to Qingdao, China flight in December. In the best of worlds, I would love to fly, say, 3-4 hours, get off for a night, fly 3-4 again the next day, and so on until we reach our destination. Maybe one day, when we don’t have time constraints, that can happen.
Who are we?
