Overkill

More Travel Tips

So here we are! Made it to Europe!

Please bear with this jet-lagged post. In order to make it easier I thought I'd just recount the learnings thus far:

Tip One: Day Rooms:

If in transit in Hong Kong for 17 hours or so, its worth investing in a day room; a room you can use for the day - check in in the morning, check out in the afternoon. We went to the Novotel; it was FANTASTIC.  Pool, gym and wonderfully comfortable beds. 30 minutes into Hong Kong via the MTR and adjacent to a shopping mall (with food court) if you don't feel like going into the city.

Tip Two: Long Haul is awful.

10+ hours in an airplane (with teenagers) is way too long. William Gibson describes 'soul lag' - the time delay for you soul to return to your body. Ways to improve the experience: earplugs. That's it. I can't think of anything else, bar automated unconsciousness. Next best thing is sleeping tablets, but I know some doctors disagree so I can't recommend pharmaceuticals - although they worked for me.

Tip Three: Air BnB have been great.

Our hosts have been so welcoming it's unbelievable. So kind and comforting even though we are half asleep it makes us feel that instead of going to the other side of the world - we're coming home. So please ignore my earlier post...

Tip Four: Forget about the time.

Whatever the time is outside, it is different to the time of your body clock. Again, I follow William Gibson and have my Personal Standard Time (PST). So the time of the day is whatever I feel like. Of course, you need to pay attention to watches and so on when you're catching a flight, but it pays to throw out the clock in between times. Currently, my Personal Standard Time is around 10.30 pm.

Finally:

Book Review:

Safe as Houses by Simone van der Vlugt. Hmmm. I've not finished it yet, so it might improve, but if you want a mommy-thriller set in a rural location - read Vanda Symon's Overkill