I will also be taking my first long haul flight to Thailand in late January. Thanks for all the good information and hints. I just purchased Bangkok 8 to read on the flight. With a 3 hour layover in NRT should be able to get some food and lots of exercise. Also made sure to get aisle seats throughout trip. I am arriving in BKK at 11pm, have Tong reserved for days 2 and 3, so can get some good rest on day 1 if needed. Thanks again for everything, this forum has been invaluable for us rookies.

I take these pills called Whiff. Check out the website at www.takeawhiff.com. It's a bit embarrassing trying to explain. But, the website explains it all.. It has DEFINATELY helped me on all of my trips. That and always bring books, music, pen, and paper!! Hope I was of some help!

Hi Heymo--
If you do decide to take something, whether it's over-the-counter or prescription, wait until you're airborne. On our last long flight, a lady took a sleeping pill when we boarded. Some glitch occured, and after sitting on the plane for almost an hour, we had to get off and go back into the airport. She could barely function.

Enjoy your trip!

Wow she must have taken something strong, to hardly be able to function. lol

Steve
http://www.parknjet.org

Steve, I don't know why you are touting an airport parking website, but no advertising is allowed in the forum.

Any of the sedative-hypnotics, especially ambien and its relatives would cause the reaction vikingprincess mentions.

Good point, vikingprincess...I'll keep that in mind.

IF I take anything,(and I may wait to see how I'm doing to make that call) I'll wait until we're airborne.

I bought some melatonin,and plan to test it out this week. I have Bangkok 8 and To Asia With Love to read, a book of crossword and word search puzzles, a portable DVD player with some Christmas movies (We'll be flying all day Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day) My MP3 player and noise cancelling headphones, some snacks for the plane. I'm looking into some disposable socks...and I have a shawl for the flight and the airports.

I think I'm good to go!

we usually take a book or two each, crossword puzzles, and slippers. I usually wind up watching as many movies as possible and then switch to classical music to try and sleep. My wife prefers a light sleeping med she gets from her doctor.

I find that I adapt to all the time zone changes better if I abstain or cut way back on caffeine and alcohol 24 to 48 hours before and through the trip. After I arrive, I use a cup of coffee and a beer or glass of wine as my uppers and downers, strategically timed for being awake and getting to sleep. The hiatus seems to increase their potency!
Unfortunaltey, how much sleep I get enroute depends on how comfortable I am, and I only have a littel contorl of that. I try to get a bulkhead or exit row seat - and they go quickly on these long flights. I also notice that some airlines are charging for the bulkheads now. The other area I can control, unfortunately, is my weight. I was about 15 pounds overweight for a trip to Europe once and it was a great incentive to take that weight off so that I fit in the seat better, and next time I did!

As to whether or not to tour/ do much on arrival day, I usually jump right into whatever I need to do. It's best for me to be busy during the day since I have 6:30AM arrivals on the LAX-Bangkok flights. Then when night comes I really get an excellent night of sleep and am pretty fresh when I wake up the next day. Happy Travels!

what i like to do--and which happens anyway--is to exhaust myself--so that i sleep on most of the flight. If you're running around doing lots of stuff before your trip, you may be doing this naturally!

Also, bring good books (both serious and fun) as well as some music if you just don't feel like reading or reading with minimal light.

Hope this helps!

One more tip I forgot to mention.

We ALWAYS request 'special meals'. We order fruit platters/fruit plates for EVERY meal or snack that is served. On the upcoming flight, we'll be served a lot of food flying almost 20 hours each way. The more liquid the better.

Eliminating the high salt/high fat meals on the plane are the best thing you can do. They are no more than tv dinners. Clean out your system with fresh fruit and lots of water. So often you hear of how people's ankles swell; this does not happen with elastic stockings and low sodium meals.

Also, we always try to get an exit row or bulkhead seat once we get to the airport for all flights and now we can upgrade to 'economy plus' at least with United Air. For a flat fee those extra 5 inches of leg room are worth it.

Also check www.seatguru.com
and select the best seat available. Some seats actually don't recline and others have less leg room than others.

This is such an important topic since flying is no longer fun!!!