Secrets to International Flying

For those of you who do not know, I left for the States today. Right now I am typing this in Taipei. A lot of things were happening in my life, and I had to go home unexpectedly. But since I have a 9 hour (actually 7.5 hour since my first leg left an hour and a half late)I figured I should share a few secrets about international flying.

First airport boredom:
Make use of everything free!
1. Free WiFi
2. Free restrooms (usually very clean or very weird)

Then, make use of things that no one really knows about. Check out the lounges. Usually for as little as $10 you can spend your boring 8 hour layover in a place where they offer sleeping amenities, a shower, more wifi, all you can eat gourmet food, and sometimes a complimentary massage.

Last, fill your time with things you wouldnt normally do at home (well if you weren't me). Check out any airport spas, or the people giving a foot massage. You never know what you may find.

Do NOT buy duty free. I know, it sounds sooooooo glamorous. Oooh, no taxes...blah blah. But have you noticed, that the prices are even more expensive than if you were to pay taxes in the first place? Just a thought.




For the plane itself:
1. Again, take advantage of the FREE stuff. Yes, people already know that you get a free soda...well i say BOO to that. Go for the FREE cocktails! Yay! Gin and tonics, bloody mary's, a saki, red wine, white wine, and pretty much any good beer. Don't you think your $650 one way ticket should pay for something besides the smiles and food? It's not just first class who gets booze.
2. Go vegetarian for just the flight, even if you are not. Before I fly, i get to choose 2 things: my seat and my food preference. The seat is a given, why not get a seat that I like? But the food, a lot of people don't know better, and my fellow vegetarians will suffer with that chicken on their plate. And not only is my meal vegetarian, its INDIAN vegetarian. There are many advantages at following these processes. For one, it's free INDIAN food :) For another, I get my food before anyone else, which they verify the minute I get on the plane and ask me what kind of drink I may want (I got a gin and tonic just because I can).

So far, this was my flight, well the food part. I get on the plane and sit down. 5 minutes later, the flight attendant approaches me and verifies that I am indeed Ms. Murry. She asks what kind of drink do I want, and I'm thinking "what the hell". So I say "what do you have for cocktails?" At this point, I was willing to even pay for it if I have to. She tells me I basically can have whatever I want, and its free.
Later, (about 15 min after take off), you hear the flight attendants moving around preparing the food. Then out she comes with my food, and my food ONLY. She places it at my tray, and the woman sitting next to me stares at it practically drooling. Inside is couscus, chick peas with a touch of cinnamon, tomato curry, a cucumber potato salad, and some desert which I am sure is not vegetarian but oh well. Then the woman next to me finally gets her meal after 10 min. At this point, I already finished my salad. She had ordered the chicken and it looked just as plain and tasteless as all my previous international flying mistakes. She looked somber and quite disappointment. Just the reaction from other people makes this all worth while.
With my meal I had a gin and tonic, a coke (the gin was a bit strong), a water (came already with the meal), and a hot tea. I was actually contemplating if I should ask for another drink because my curried meal was a bit spicy...

***********UPDATE******************

I saved the names of my meals:
Paneer Lebabdar


Saffron Quinoa with Dried fruits and paneer cheese.