Hong Kong-Anticipating another journey

A few months ago I applied for one rotation with the commodity team in Hong Kong, giving myself the opportunity to work briefly in China for the first time ever. After a month of hectic IT training and studying for (part of-) my Dutch naturalization exam, I am finally mentally getting prepared for the next 3 months! I hope it is fruitful, fun and most importantly, warm!

Now I have made and ticked many items on my packing list, planned my itinerary, waiting anxiously for my visa, one thing stays on top of my head: how do I survive the 12 hours flight on my own?

I know you will be shocked to read this. I have been flying these 12 hours since I was 15! There was not once I was not extremely exhausted in the end, because I just CANNOT sleep on the plane (not for more than 1.5 hours anyway). AND I AM SOMEONE WHO REALLY NEEDS MY SLEEP. 

You might say I could watch movies. But I do not see it as an entertainment, I see it as a sleeping alternative which makes me tired. And I love watching TV series, but they usually only show 1-2 episodes per plane. And watching TV/Movies make me deadly tired in the end, yet just not sleepy.

You might say I could use some alcoholic drinks. After all, I got a bit tipsy even from a tiny glass of Sangria. But for some reason, drinks fail to make me feel sleepy when I am up in the air. 

After some talking with friends and googling, I come up with the following ideas:

1. Bring my ultra comfortable travel pillow. Not the blow-in-air type, but the one with sandy particles inside to make it perfectly fit for whatever position I lie my head. 

 

2. Wear very comfortable clothes. Nike air with KLM flight socks, comfortable jeans (sorry no yoga pants for this one), a sports bra and a soft top with a zipper. Next time I would like to shop a pair of these when the pricing is a bit less ridiculous.

3. Stay hydrated. I intend to bring a water bottle with me, so that I could drink only water and resist the temptation of soda and juices..Many other girls will bring a facial mask with them to make sure their face stay hydrated as well. Well, I could only consider that if I can actually fall asleep, otherwise I will look horrible walking around with a mask on me. 

4. Take a very mild sleeping pill. I recently heard this from a colleague. They even use this to help fall asleep in business class. Christ, if only my company pays for a business class this time..I would actually worry a bit less about the sleeping problem. But nonetheless, seems like a good idea. Plus, I realize even my parents (who are extremely against dependent medication) use this on their long haul flights. 

I heard this would not be an OTC option for Germany, but luckily for the Netherlands it still is. So I will pay a visit to my pharmacy sometime this week.

5. Download many shows and e-books! I sometime (although not very often) develop a certain urge to watch 12 hours TV in a row or read a book non-stop for 24 hours (my Harry Potter days). A long-haul flight seems like a fantastic time slot to do such things. Therefore I will ask Niels to download the whole season 4 of Suits (which would last for 8 hours I hope), and I will look for a novel for my SONY e-reader. So in case all my previous plans do not work, at least I am not bored!

                               

6. Use the waking time to think about what I could do in the future to afford such a flight experience:

http://dereklow.co/what-its-like-to-fly-the-23000-singapore-airlines-suites-class/

Spend around EURO 14000 (one-way) to have your own suite on an A380.. I just read the article yesterday, and now looking forward to my 12 hour flight in the coach really sucks.