If you are going to fly your kids on a long, international trip, here are some pointers:
1. Take empty water bottles-- an empty disposable bottle is fine.
They won't let you take the water through the security check, but you can take the bottle. In a country with potable water, you may be able to fill it at the water fountain on the way into the plane. If not, you can ask them to fill it in the plane. Airplanes at high elevations get drier than deserts, an uncomfortable environment that feels weird and makes it hard to sleep. Everyone needs to stay hydrated. Having some water with you in the seat keeps you from calling the flight attendant all the time.
2. Wear comfortable clothes.
Loose, comfortable clothes that can pass for smart casual are a good idea. Long sleeves may be a good idea for long flights since it can get cold at higher elevations.
3. Some clothes to change into in your carry on.
You may need this with kids if there is a spill. A dark t-shirt can also work as a face mask to sleep when it's bright outside. Young adults and teens may want to shave (men) and put on unwrinkled clothes so as not to look like a sloppy thug or drug user bringing drugs into the destination country. Jackets and extra socks are helpful if it gets cold.
4. Snacks.
Kids may whine if they don't have food when they want it. On long international flights, they may actually feed you for 'free'. But it is good to have snacks while transiting or even while in the airplane. Beef jerky is filling and not available in every country.
5. Chewing gum.
For some reason, a lot of kids haven't figured out how to pop/depressurize their ears on a road trip through the mountains or on an airplane. I can move a little muscle around the ears and do it, but a lot of people need to chew or open their jaws. Chewing gum helps with this. The kids got excited about chewing gum during take-offs and landings. This does not work for trips from Singapore, where gum is illegal (I hear because of kids messing up sensors on the MRT subway), but I have never been harassed for a few pieces of gum upon arrival.
6. Check-ins in cardboard boxes.
If you are actually _moving_ overseas, you will probably get more bang for your buck out of cardboard boxes for check-in luggage than suitcases. Suitcases use up a lot of the weight allowance. We have used heavy duty boxes from Lowes or Home Depot. Even though the large boxes seem like a good idea for meeting the size limit, we found that filling them up exceeds the weight limit, so medium boxes worked best for us. Not every country has as good of shopping options as the US, so you may have to scrounge up boxes for the return trip, but you can also hide those boxes behind furniture for the return trip for a year or two if you are careful to check and keep cockroaches out of your home and away from the boxes.
7. Stuff they don't have in that country.
In some parts of Asia, it is hard to find anything over a 9 or 9 and a half shoe. In Indonesia, socks have a rubber band at the top and it is hard to find the tube sock style for dress socks. If you don't know the language, it might be hard to ask for dental floss. In South Korea, I had to figure out how to ask for dental floss at the counter of a pharmacist-- there was no self-service shopping. Take essential items with you that you can use for a while as you figure out how to shop.
1. Take empty water bottles-- an empty disposable bottle is fine.
They won't let you take the water through the security check, but you can take the bottle. In a country with potable water, you may be able to fill it at the water fountain on the way into the plane. If not, you can ask them to fill it in the plane. Airplanes at high elevations get drier than deserts, an uncomfortable environment that feels weird and makes it hard to sleep. Everyone needs to stay hydrated. Having some water with you in the seat keeps you from calling the flight attendant all the time.
2. Wear comfortable clothes.
Loose, comfortable clothes that can pass for smart casual are a good idea. Long sleeves may be a good idea for long flights since it can get cold at higher elevations.
3. Some clothes to change into in your carry on.
You may need this with kids if there is a spill. A dark t-shirt can also work as a face mask to sleep when it's bright outside. Young adults and teens may want to shave (men) and put on unwrinkled clothes so as not to look like a sloppy thug or drug user bringing drugs into the destination country. Jackets and extra socks are helpful if it gets cold.
4. Snacks.
Kids may whine if they don't have food when they want it. On long international flights, they may actually feed you for 'free'. But it is good to have snacks while transiting or even while in the airplane. Beef jerky is filling and not available in every country.
5. Chewing gum.
For some reason, a lot of kids haven't figured out how to pop/depressurize their ears on a road trip through the mountains or on an airplane. I can move a little muscle around the ears and do it, but a lot of people need to chew or open their jaws. Chewing gum helps with this. The kids got excited about chewing gum during take-offs and landings. This does not work for trips from Singapore, where gum is illegal (I hear because of kids messing up sensors on the MRT subway), but I have never been harassed for a few pieces of gum upon arrival.
6. Check-ins in cardboard boxes.
If you are actually _moving_ overseas, you will probably get more bang for your buck out of cardboard boxes for check-in luggage than suitcases. Suitcases use up a lot of the weight allowance. We have used heavy duty boxes from Lowes or Home Depot. Even though the large boxes seem like a good idea for meeting the size limit, we found that filling them up exceeds the weight limit, so medium boxes worked best for us. Not every country has as good of shopping options as the US, so you may have to scrounge up boxes for the return trip, but you can also hide those boxes behind furniture for the return trip for a year or two if you are careful to check and keep cockroaches out of your home and away from the boxes.
7. Stuff they don't have in that country.
In some parts of Asia, it is hard to find anything over a 9 or 9 and a half shoe. In Indonesia, socks have a rubber band at the top and it is hard to find the tube sock style for dress socks. If you don't know the language, it might be hard to ask for dental floss. In South Korea, I had to figure out how to ask for dental floss at the counter of a pharmacist-- there was no self-service shopping. Take essential items with you that you can use for a while as you figure out how to shop.
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