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[industrian]

Yeah, I really don't want to visit around that time of the year! I am looking for a specific time, thinking about May, because I've just started studying again and I don't have very long holidays. I did find a cheap return ticket with Cathay Pacific, but I don't know what their reputation is like or anything. It doesn't help that I'm absolutely terrified of air travel so this is gonna be a significant step for me... I'm going to have to choose my flight wisely.

Cathay Pacific are well respected.

Also, why are you terrified of air travel? I personally hate flying as a combination of three factors:

1) Engineer mentality. I constantly think about the mechanisms/engines/infrastructure that's keeping me up in the air. This mentality also makes going up tall buildings impossible. I made it to the 35th floor of the Taipei 101 before deciding to bail out.

2) Boredom. Any flight over 4 hours just gets to me. My usual flight from Asia to Europe is 12-14 hours of monotony that can be interrupted by free meals, snacks and in-flight movies, but that flight from Singapore > Gold Coast was around 8 hours of budget airline boredom.

3) I'm 195cm tall and I have a history of blood clots. Go figure.

Turbulence is fucked up and I can't really bare a lot of it, but just try to stay focused on something else. Like an iPad game or talk to one of the cabin crew. If 100% of your brain is dedicated to thinking about how the plane is bouncing around then it's not going to be pleasant.

Also: if you're going to Japan then my advice is early summer at the latest. It doesn't start getting hot until around July in Tokyo. I remember it being hot and humid in September, but the fact I lived in Taipei for four years after that makes Tokyo feel like a winter wonderland in comparison.

 

[Deeku]

Yeah, I really don't want to visit around that time of the year! I am looking for a specific time, thinking about May, because I've just started studying again and I don't have very long holidays. I did find a cheap return ticket with Cathay Pacific, but I don't know what their reputation is like or anything. It doesn't help that I'm absolutely terrified of air travel so this is gonna be a significant step for me... I'm going to have to choose my flight wisely.

How cheap is the Cathay ticket? They tend to be more expensive compared to others at times. Check the price includes tax, and whether or not the list price is just half the return fair or not.

 

[legend166]

That 2-for-1 Tiger deal is pretty great for a weekend away.

 

[r1chard]

2) Boredom. Any flight over 4 hours just gets to me. My usual flight from Asia to Europe is 12-14 hours of monotony that can be interrupted by free meals, snacks and in-flight movies, but that flight from Singapore > Gold Coast was around 8 hours of budget airline boredom.

If you shop around you can buy non-prescription sleeping pills (doxylamine) over the counter in Australia. Getting a solid few hours sleep, even chemical-assisted, can really help on those long hauls. PharmaSave brand chemists have their own branded pills.

For turbulence, the #1 thing I recommend to do is *not* watch the screen in front of you or read when it gets bumpy. Also, ginger can help a lot of people - either in choc-coated crysalised form (nomnomnom) or even just a ginger beer. Or if you need a bit more of a kick, a whisky and dry ginger

As for the general nervousness, even from an engineering standpoint (and I can totally empathise with this - I got *really* nervous the last time I went up the Eiffel tower) just remember that yes, flying is actually quite a safe way of getting around. Qantas, for example, has never lost a plane. They have one of the industry's leading engine maintenance programs.

 

[Lucian Cat]

Cathay Pacific are well respected.

Also, why are you terrified of air travel? I personally hate flying as a combination of three factors:

1) Engineer mentality. I constantly think about the mechanisms/engines/infrastructure that's keeping me up in the air. This mentality also makes going up tall buildings impossible. I made it to the 35th floor of the Taipei 101 before deciding to bail out.

2) Boredom. Any flight over 4 hours just gets to me. My usual flight from Asia to Europe is 12-14 hours of monotony that can be interrupted by free meals, snacks and in-flight movies, but that flight from Singapore > Gold Coast was around 8 hours of budget airline boredom.

3) I'm 195cm tall and I have a history of blood clots. Go figure.

Turbulence is fucked up and I can't really bare a lot of it, but just try to stay focused on something else. Like an iPad game or talk to one of the cabin crew. If 100% of your brain is dedicated to thinking about how the plane is bouncing around then it's not going to be pleasant.

Also: if you're going to Japan then my advice is early summer at the latest. It doesn't start getting hot until around July in Tokyo. I remember it being hot and humid in September, but the fact I lived in Taipei for four years after that makes Tokyo feel like a winter wonderland in comparison.

Damn. I love flying. But being only 165cm tall makes my experience much better than yours. I've done Adelaide to Germany twice and had no issues. Inflight movies, 3DS, food and sleep got me through. With turbulence I just close my eyes and listen to music to calm down.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Turbulence freaks me out. Not enough to stop me flying but I get seriously worried every time it happens.

 

[Jintor]

my main fear is not getting an aisle seat

i hate having to get other people to get up when I need to stretch my legs or go to the loo. Even worse if they fall asleep. Fuuuuuuuuuuuck that

 

[r1chard]

my main fear is not getting an aisle seat

i hate having to get other people to get up when I need to stretch my legs or go to the loo. Even worse if they fall asleep. Fuuuuuuuuuuuck that

Aisle seat all the way, yep.


Also, it's RingwoodGAF time! MitchamGAF has been letting the team down so I'm proposing we do boardgames RingwoodGAF on Saturday the 21st of Feb. If that works for you please PM me.

 

[Lucian Cat]

my main fear is not getting an aisle seat

i hate having to get other people to get up when I need to stretch my legs or go to the loo. Even worse if they fall asleep. Fuuuuuuuuuuuck that

Ha I always book a window seat so I don't get disturbed. My nurses bladder means I don't have to get up as often if at all.

 

[industrian]

If you shop around you can buy non-prescription sleeping pills (doxylamine) over the counter in Australia. Getting a solid few hours sleep, even chemical-assisted, can really help on those long hauls. PharmaSave brand chemists have their own branded pills.

For turbulence, the #1 thing I recommend to do is *not* watch the screen in front of you or read when it gets bumpy. Also, ginger can help a lot of people - either in choc-coated crysalised form (nomnomnom) or even just a ginger beer. Or if you need a bit more of a kick, a whisky and dry ginger

As for the general nervousness, even from an engineering standpoint (and I can totally empathise with this - I got *really* nervous the last time I went up the Eiffel tower) just remember that yes, flying is actually quite a safe way of getting around. Qantas, for example, has never lost a plane. They have one of the industry's leading engine maintenance programs.

I totally understand that planes are safe as hell, and that buildings are sturdy as shit. But my brain just goes into analytical mode. Can't help it. It's probably some borderline Aspergers shit or something.

I can't fall asleep on a plane unless I have leg room. That's how I got my first DVT in 2010.

Turbulence freaks me out. Not enough to stop me flying but I get seriously worried every time it happens.

Flying from East Asia to Europe on a KLM flight will take you through what I call Turbulence Alley. It's the part of China inbetween Mongolia and Kazakhstan. It's around 30-60 minutes of bouncing around. Not fun.

But nothing compares to that time I flew from Hong Kong to Taipei through a typhoon. Over 1 hour of constant, unrelenting, turbulence. I could feel the plane drop by 1-2 metres at a time and felt like it was constantly struggling to lift (it never "evened out" as most planes do once they reach a sufficient altitude). I literally kissed the ground when I got off the plane.

 

[codswallop]

Over the Bay of Bengal can often be bad, too.

But nothing's as much fun as being in a biplane in rough weather. Especially when the engines are something like 700cc. Bloody terrifying, but also awesome at the same time.

Nowadays I treat most turbulence like the gentle rocking of a train. Makes me sleepy. I just hate the maddening boredom of being forced to sit in virtually the same place for hours with no escape.

 

[Darren870]

I've gone through phases with flying. I used to love it when I was a kid. Would always look forward to the next trip!

Then when I moved to the UK I all of a sudden started hating it. Would hold on to the seats during take off and landing with a death grip.

But a few years later till now I love it again. When I took the flight from Rio -> Brisbane I couldn't wait to get on the next connecting one. Each leg was 8-10 hours but man I guess I like watching movies and reading crap. I think it helped that every plane was empty so I got a lot of room to spread out.

Now I am itching to get back on a plane. Haven't been on any recently besides little propeller planes.

Oh and I need the Aisle. I have to pee like every hour. People would hate me if I made them get up every time.

 

[legend166]

The worst turbulence I ever had was flying out of Queenstown back to Sydney. I literally got airborne in my seat from the plane bouncing.

 

[quabba]

You got EXTRA letters with that money, what more could you want?!


I can attest to that. The first time I went to Japan was in early September, and it was 35c in Kyoto with like a million percent humidity. Luckily, sweat rags are in abundance in 100 yen shops, but it's pretty draining.

I went in April a few years ago and it was awesome beautiful weather and cherry blossoms everywhere especially Kyoto.

 

[bodyboarder]

Aisle seat for life. Until I can afford 1A that is.

 

[ClivePwned]

I went in April a few years ago and it was awesome beautiful weather and cherry blossoms everywhere especially Kyoto.

As someone mostly unaffected by allergies, I never understood why some people hate spring until I saw Cherry Blossom snow.

But as someone mostly unaffected by allergies- they are very pretty.

 

[roosters93]

Window seats are where it's at. For an 8-10 hour flight I'd only have to make the person next to me get up so I can go to the bathroom 0-1 times. But if I'm on the aisle I could have to get up more than that myself and I'll also be leaning over trying to see out the window.

I haven't experience severe turbulence yet but I think I'd be pretty cool with it as long as it didn't happen to cause motion sickness.

 

[Jintor]

windows only during day flights

night flight windows are pointless unless you really like seeing tiny lights in the distance but mostly darkness

 

[Gazunta]

Window seat gives you a few precious extra inches (phwoar, giggle)

However the wife has a bladder so tiny that CERN scientists have spent billions of dollars and years of manpower trying to find out how it could actually exist, so she's taken to insisting on the aisle seat.

Which means for every flight we are both on I am stuck in the useless middle seat, with neither the accessibility of the aisle seat or the space of the window seat. It is the least desirable of seats. The Google Plus of seats. The Hobbit Trilogy of seats. The 2DS of seats.

 

[Ruthless_Barbarian]

I always take window seat and never have to get up, be it a 2 hour flight or a 15 hour one.

Yes, I've sat in one seat continuously for 15 hours on a direct flight.

 

[jambo]

I always take window seat and never have to get up, be it a 2 hour flight or a 15 hour one.

Yes, I've sat in one seat continuously for 15 hours on a direct flight.

That's really, really bad for you...

 

[industrian]

That's really, really bad for you...

Unless he's 150cm tall.

And jambo is correct. Take it from me, and my daily 10mg dose of warfarin.

 

[Ruthless_Barbarian]

That's really, really bad for you...

Yeah I know, but this flight my entertainment unit had no sound, flight was full so couldn't get another seat either. I slept most of it.

 

[HolyCheck]

Popped home for 20 mins after work, hadn't been burgled... but am out now. maybe they operate at night

 

[Fogz]

Popped home for 20 mins after work, hadn't been burgled... but am out now. maybe they operate at night

They're probably still sleeping off your 4 beers

 

[quabba]

Which means for every flight we are both on I am stuck in the useless middle seat, with neither the accessibility of the aisle seat or the space of the window seat. It is the least desirable of seats. The Google Plus of seats. The Hobbit Trilogy of seats. The 2DS of seats.

I have the same situation. Any flight with the 2-4-2 config is great if we get the 2.

I find I get really annoyed by things that wouldnt otherwise bother me when flying.

Like a woman infront of me who kept moving in her seat and reclining and bringing her seat forward repeatedly. I was using the tray to hold my.ipad so eventually I started pushing against her seat when she tried to recline until she gave up

 

[industrian]

Like a woman infront of me who kept moving in her seat and reclining and bringing her seat forward repeatedly. I was using the tray to hold my.ipad so eventually I started pushing against her seat when she tried to recline until she gave up

I got to the point where I just said "fuck it" and scream out in faux agony whenever someone as slightly reclines into my legs.

Nowadays I just begrudgingly pay the Tall Person Tax for an emergency exit seat.

 

[ClivePwned]

So basically, we all hate flying. Apart from Death, who wants kidney stones and DVT, and Holy because his povo bogan neighbour's going to take his Starcraft 64 down to cashies before he even finishes taking his belt off at the airport. And Shaneus who has a boner for Gazuntas misuses of plurals and has nothing to do with this line of posts.

I forgot what my point was. NVM.

I pretty much hate everything about flying, from the battle of control for the arm rest with strangers, to the dickhead airlines who put unresponsive touch screen games on the back of your seat, to the mostly godawful food, to Canadian Airline Jizz being awful, turbulence, not being able to get to the toilet because the fucker with the aisle seat took 20 sleeping tablets and may have died, but maybe not but who cares because I gotta pee. The worst is small talk with someone you may never see again, but also might be the last human you ever see. Yeah, I'm not getting on a plane for a few years.

tl;dr: fuck air travel.

should I get The Pre-Order: 1866 from dick smith? I may be finished with FC4 by then and will need something to play and unlike everyone else, I can't see anything i really want to play until Arkham Knight.

 

[Jintor]

back in the 90s malaysia airlines had somehow managed to jam a virtual SNES into their inflight entertainment systems so they were basically the best

 

[industrian]

povo bogan

I might as well ask how these words are pronounced.

Does Bogan rhyme with "slogan" or "log in"?

And I guess "povo" is short for poverty and is pronounced "pov-oh".

"Povo" is a new one to me, but I've known "bogan" for around 5 years.

 

[reptilescorpio]

should I get The Pre-Order: 1866 from dick smith? I may be finished with FC4 by then and will need something to play and unlike everyone else, I can't see anything i really want to play until Arkham Knight.

The hype thread has got me on the The Order train. Sounds like it could be a big winner and I've wanted a story focused type game for a long while now.

 

[Lucian Cat]

I might as well ask how these words are pronounced.

Does Bogan rhyme with "slogan" or "log in"?

And I guess "povo" is short for poverty and is pronounced "pov-oh".

"Povo" is a new one to me, but I've known "bogan" for around 5 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA8gJoT5yl4

 

[Deeku]

back in the 90s malaysia airlines had somehow managed to jam a virtual SNES into their inflight entertainment systems so they were basically the best

yeah, singapore airlines had that too! was seriously the greatest thing ever being a kid playing super mario world on a flight. who cares about where we're goin, i just wana stay on the plane and play video games!

nowadays it's like the saddest shit ever

i'm an aisle person cos i drink and pee a lot!

 

[Jintor]

i finished like half of LTTP on a flight to malaysia once

 

[industrian]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA8gJoT5yl4

They should teach this in school. Very informative.

yeah, singapore airlines had that too! was seriously the greatest thing ever being a kid playing super mario world on a flight. who cares about where we're goin, i just wana stay on the plane and play video games!

nowadays it's like the saddest shit ever

I wonder if this explains why every in-flight "remote" I've seen closely resembles a SNES controller.

But trying to play the janky-ass games on most planes today is a lesson in frustration.

 

[Ventron]

Aisle-seat-because-peanut-sized-bladder-GAF represent.

And I love turbulence, it's great fun... except when they serve food which on my flights it always bloody seemed to happen then.

 

[N0VAM0D]

Cathay Pacific is a great top tier airline. You will have much more relaxed time then you would with Jetstar. May is also a good time to go as it isn't as hot yet. Once you get into June you are pushing it. We were going to go in May but decided to wait till the next sale. We kinda want to see more of Australia plus Japan is fucking expensive.

How much was the ticket?

That's a relief to hear. Why is Jetstar unrelaxed?

The ticket was 700 and something return, pretty sweet!

I've flown with them to Europe, they're great. They're to Hong Kong as Qantas is to Australia. I think they generally have a pretty stellar reputation, they won a best airline award last year

It's good to hear another positive opinion, thanks! I know in the end it will most likely be okay no matter what airline I pick, but I just need that piece of mind or I'll probably end up freaking out really badly the entire trip >:

Cathay Pacific are well respected.

Also, why are you terrified of air travel? I personally hate flying as a combination of three factors:

1) Engineer mentality. I constantly think about the mechanisms/engines/infrastructure that's keeping me up in the air. This mentality also makes going up tall buildings impossible. I made it to the 35th floor of the Taipei 101 before deciding to bail out.

2) Boredom. Any flight over 4 hours just gets to me. My usual flight from Asia to Europe is 12-14 hours of monotony that can be interrupted by free meals, snacks and in-flight movies, but that flight from Singapore > Gold Coast was around 8 hours of budget airline boredom.

3) I'm 195cm tall and I have a history of blood clots. Go figure.

Turbulence is fucked up and I can't really bare a lot of it, but just try to stay focused on something else. Like an iPad game or talk to one of the cabin crew. If 100% of your brain is dedicated to thinking about how the plane is bouncing around then it's not going to be pleasant.

Also: if you're going to Japan then my advice is early summer at the latest. It doesn't start getting hot until around July in Tokyo. I remember it being hot and humid in September, but the fact I lived in Taipei for four years after that makes Tokyo feel like a winter wonderland in comparison.

I was actually fine on my first (and only) flight, which was a massive 23 hour trip. Didn't phase me at all. Then as I got older I started seeing shit like Air Crash Investigation on TV, aeroplane accidents on the news, and just developed anxiety in general. I'm just so scared! At least the concerns that you have are way more rational than mine, hahaha. Thank you for the advice, industrian.

How cheap is the Cathay ticket? They tend to be more expensive compared to others at times. Check the price includes tax, and whether or not the list price is just half the return fair or not.

For the return ticket it said 700 and something. I will check those things though, thanks!

And to the rest of you guys, I'm glad we can generally agree the flying sucks on many different levels. Teleportation needs to happen.

 

[HolyCheck]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA8gJoT5yl4

Saw them live a few weeks back. Dat song was amazing. Crowd went totally mental.

Reminds me of the time I saw electric six (suck it cruncho)

 

[industrian]

I was actually fine on my first (and only) flight, which was a massive 23 hour trip. Didn't phase me at all. Then as I got older I started seeing shit like Air Crash Investigation on TV, aeroplane accidents on the news, and just developed anxiety in general. I'm just so scared! At least the concerns that you have are way more rational than mine, hahaha. Thank you for the advice, industrian.

Five minutes after I booked my ticket from Taipei > Amsterdam > Edinburgh, that plane got shot down over Ukraine. Even though I know KLM fly through the Baltics, and even though I trust aircraft as they are the most well-maintained form of transport in the world, this was my first long-range flight in 3 years and I was genuinely legit shook before getting on the plane due to my irrational fear that something might happen. I even told my girlfriend about what to do if the plane crashed. :/

If you fly regularly it becomes business as usual. Going years between flights (especially long-range ones) will build your apprehension about this stuff.

And to the rest of you guys, I'm glad we can generally agree the flying sucks on many different levels. Teleportation needs to happen.

I would gladly pay an extra 5-10% tax if it means we see a massive investment in high-speed/maglev train networks throughout Europe, Asia and North America.

I'm really wanting to take a train journey from Asia to Europe. Maybe Hong Kong > Beijing followed by the Trans-Siberian Railway to Moscow, then various routes to France, then the Channel Tunnel back to the UK. It's something I see myself doing in the next few years, but visas for China and Russia are the main stumbling blocks.

 

[HolyCheck]

I don't understand how Americans don't know that trackie dacks are track pants.

What do they call them? Trackers?


Amazing teenage conversation on my train.


Now they're discussing drop bears.

 

[Danoss]

I don't understand how Americans don't know that trackie dacks are track pants.

What do they call them? Trackers?

Is it "sweatpants"?

Eight-year-old me always has a little giggle when I hear them say "fanny pack".

 

[senahorse]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA8gJoT5yl4

That video lead me to this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDGrN451lZM, bogans suck.

 

[Dryk]

1) Engineer mentality. I constantly think about the mechanisms/engines/infrastructure that's keeping me up in the air. This mentality also makes going up tall buildings impossible. I made it to the 35th floor of the Taipei 101 before deciding to bail out.

I actually found that spending a year at uni building a UAV with a bunch of aerospace engineers made me like flying more for the same reason.

My main problem with flying is that my brain goes into this mode where it doesn't get anything done. I played some 3DS last time I flew and I barely remember any of it and had to put it down.

 

[Darren870]

I don't understand how Americans don't know that trackie dacks are track pants.

What do they call them? Trackers?


Amazing teenage conversation on my train.


Now they're discussing drop bears.

What?!? Track Pants. I have no idea what trackie dacks are...

Spoiler

I'm American

That's a relief to hear. Why is Jetstar unrelaxed?

No assigned seating, weight restrictions, probably charge for inflight meal or entertainment. To be fair, I've never flown them, but I would imagine its the easyjet of the UK.

 

[Shaneus]

Prediction: Gazunta will buy a PS4 this year.
Housemarque is making a game with Eugene Jarvis

(Housemarque made Resogun and the Stardust games)

 

[Quasar]

Prediction: Gazunta will buy a PS4 this year.
Housemarque is making a game with Eugene Jarvis

(Housemarque made Resogun and the Stardust games)

Certainly curious. Of course I've been following housemarque since their Amiga games.

Speaking of which, just bought SSDU. On the Aus store no less as it worked out marginally cheaper.

 

[N0VAM0D]

No assigned seating, weight restrictions, probably charge for inflight meal or entertainment. To be fair, I've never flown them, but I would imagine its the easyjet of the UK.

Agh, if I wasn't seated with my partner for the entire trip I wouldn't be able to do it, honestly.

 

[Stackboy]

Does Far Cry 4 play well on PC now? It's on special on Steam this weekend, but I heard it had performance issues.

 

[senahorse]

It's not perfect, still get a bit of stutter when driving (which I avoided, why drive when you can fly), which is typical of recent ubi-collect games, but it played fine over the past couple of weeks that I played through it.

 

[Shaneus]

Channel Ten are only going to broadcast less than half the F1 races live this year on FTA. Foxtel of course has all of them live. Fuck those cunts.

http://www.speedcafe.com/2015/02/13/new-foxten-formula-1-deal-start-2015/