I absolutely love travelling. As much as I absolutely hate flying. Whilst I was recently waiting for one of my many delayed flights to take off, I penned a personal list of flying inconveniences which I think we could all live much better without. All this whilst munching on a piece of dark chocolate, which certainly beats those flying blues any day. Here they are, in no particular order…

#1: Random strangers seem to think that you sitting there with your I-pod blasting into your head means they must start telling you all about their poodle Tinkerbell and how good they are at driving trains.

#2: Now when I get dressed to fly, I make sure I am wearing a decent pair of underwear and socks with no holes. Getting screened at airport security has become as nerve-racking as a first date.

#3: Ah, how I long for the days when I could bring my precious beauty products on-board. Especially when I arrive at destination to find that the entire contents of my suitcase are covered in Nuxe body oil.

#4: Getting lost in the free spritzes of perfume at Duty Free, only to discover 5 minutes before your flight is due to close that your gate is a 20 minute walk from the waiting lounge.

#5: Waiting on the runway for your delayed flight to take off. Waiting in the queue at passport control. Waiting for your luggage at baggage claim. Just waiting.

#6: Cushions (and some fellow passengers) which smell less-than-pleasant. These, much like in-flight entertainment and complimentary socks, appear to be an invariable feature of long-haul flights.

#7: I have always questioned who in their right mind thinks that the one thing you are craving as you step onto your 11:30pm night flight is airplane food. Out come the trays right after take-off. As do my earplugs and eyemask.

#8: Trying to flirt with the check-in attendants so as to distract them from the fact that your baggage is 22kgs overweight. And then having to pay a disproportionate amount of money because that tactic hasn’t worked.

#9: People who take photographs on planes. Enough said.

#10: The sound of mobile phones being turned on the second the wheels hit the tarmac on landing. Which often leaves me wondering what part of ‘Please keep all mobile phones switched off until you enter the terminal’ people cannot quite seem to grasp.

Image ©santacroce

Filed under: Living