Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Crossing the Pacific

As this blog post goes up, I'll be crossing the ocean toward Japan.

I've already discussed my Japan trip in another blog post, so I'm not going to go into it too much here. Instead, let's talk about airplanes as a mode of transportation.

Airplanes are a wonder of human innovation. The fact that we can cross the country in a matter of hours is nuts.

That said, I have done some pretty crazy things to avoid having to fly. I'm not afraid of planes or heights or anything like that--the idea of an aluminum tube hurdling through the air at ungodly speeds should be terrifying, or at least fascinating.

Instead, though, it's just a hassle. Songs have been sung of the special hind of hell that airports represent, but for me the real problem is the plane itself: cramped, stuffy, and constantly surrounded by noise, it's basically impossible for me to feel comfortable on a plane. The fact that I'm about to spend eight hours in one is already making me claustrophobic.

I also get motion sickness, though that's almost never been a big problem on planes. It's only an issue during takeoff and landing, which are both relatively short parts of the experience. Plus, I'm packing Dramamine.

I have, on occasion, driven across the country to avoid having to ride in a plane. While I'm sure it's less fun for my passengers, I enjoy driving for hours on end down the Interstate, watching the countryside fly by at 70mph.

There's no driving to Japan, however. An island nation presents a problem to someone like me.

That said, I'll also be flying to Boston in just a few weeks as well. That's not a drive I'm terribly eager to make. The further away the destination, the more likely I am to accept having to fly there. Having done a few cross-country road trips, I can say that driving gets old after a while. All traveling gets old eventually. When that time comes, though, I'd rather be resting on a plane knowing I'll be at my destination in just a few hours rather than driving a squeaky van still a day and a half away from home.

One final note: I doubt I'll be able to blog while I'm in Japan, since Wi-Fi will be hard to come by, from what I understand. So, I'll be writing a bunch of blog posts beforehand and scheduling as many as I can to come out while I'm gone. I doubt I'll be able to write all eight before I leave, though, so I'll make up any missing ones once I get back~


  1. Regarding the airplane noise, I found that a simple set of earplugs made an enormous amount of difference in the quality of my flights. It's hard to realize how loud airplanes really are until you take out a pair of earplugs in the middle of a flight; I am substantially less exhausted at the end of a flight without all that noise.

    Also, for a self-proclaimed flight nerd, I don't suppose you'd be willing to share which airports you're flying through for this trip?

    1. Let's see...

      Flying out we went from PHX > LAX, then LAX > HND, and on the way back we took NRT > LAX, then LAX > PHX