Travelling to Asia will be an experience for anybody from the west.  Asian culture is so different from Western culture that it’s an unforgettable experience.  Last summer, I had a chance to travel to China for a month.  Before I traveled to China, I spent some time practicing my Mandarin with a Skype tutor here.  I was able to learn some basic Mandarin which helped me for month long stay in China.  When I finally went on the trip, it was just a fabulous experience.  I went to Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.  China has so much history and historical sites, if you like visiting historical and ancient sites, you’ll never get bored.

I also had a chance to visit Japan and Korea.  The sushi and sashimi in Japan is excellent, it’s nothing like what we eat back in the US.  It’s just that much more fresher and better prepared than sushi and sashimi in the US.  Tokyo is a crowded city and it can get expensive if you don’t watch your spending.  Korea was also a site to see.  I found that Korean culture and Japanese culture are similar but there are subtle differences.  Probably the most fascinating part about Korea was eating the Octopus live.  The locals call it “sannakji”.  Nothing like trying to eat a live Octopus with their tentacles wrapped around your face!

Flying in a 777 is always a pleasure.  Some airlines have the lights dim slowly.  For instance, when it’s time to wake everyone up, the lights start out very dim and gradually brighten, rather than the old pitch dark to full on bright that we used to experience with the older airlines.  In addition, the leg room and space you have for each seat makes the ride that much more comfortable, especially if you travel frequently.  Unfortunately, some airlines are redesigning the seating layout and are trying to cram more seats into their 777s.  That’s a disappointment since it’s already a tough ride in economy and now, you feel even more crammed if the airlines are trying to cram that many more seats onto the plane.

The seats for most 777 these days come with your own personal video system.  There will usually be a list of movies, TV shows, documentaries, etc, that you can choose from to keep you entertained during for the duration of your trip.  Usually, there will be games that you can choose to play from too, with some airlines even offering on flight mutiplayer games where you can play with and against other opponents on the plane.  Unfortunately, most 777s today and the majority of flights across the ocean are still missing internet access.  In today’s connected world, it’s really tough to be without the internet for a long haul flight!

Jet lag affects a large portion of travelers.  Our bodies often have trouble dealing with switches in time zones.  In today’s modern world, there are an increasing number of jobs that require frequent travel, compounding the issue of jet lag for those in the work force.  There are several ways to deal with jet lag and it takes a bit of persistence and effort if you want to deal with jet lag quickly when you arrive at your new destination.

One way is to try to synchronize your timezone to your destination time zone before you travel. If you can fall asleep and wake up using the timezone of your final destination before you travel, it may help a bit.  Another way is to try to synchronize your sleep pattern on the plane.  If you can sleep and wake up on the plane according to your destination’s timezone, that will also help you when you arrive at your destination. Some people also suggest that when you arrive at your destination during the day, to hold off sleeping until typical sleeping hours at your destination.