metal tubes

Earlier this year I spent a lot of time in travelling. A friend commented that we were all in Metal Tubes, and I stole the idea lol.  We know my muse likes to travel and I had some thoughts along the way…

long haul travel is not for the faint hearted

Continuous queuing

Walking down seemingly endless corridors, identical the world over, except occasionally for some sporadically placed art – if you’re lucky

Hours spent sitting on very uncomfortable seats, just waiting

Hot, sticky

Hurriedly emptying water bottles, or jettisoning only just bought cold drinks

The rushed putting all your hand luggage through Xray machines; taking laptops out of bags; taking off boots and belts; reluctantly putting your phone and passport in a box and watching it whizz away

Cursing that you forgot that tube of toothpaste which is over the 100 ml limit; and watching it get thrown away

All before, you too, are x-rayed (thanks terrorists)

Then the rush to put everything back in your bag; put your boots and belts back on; retrieve your phone and passport and join the next slow moving mass trawling Duty Free; chocolate shops and overpriced and occasionally edible airport food

And that chaos is even before you board the ultimate Metal Tube, a long-haul plane.

Then come the long hours spent in a small space, often next to complete strangers.

Longer spent, closer to other humans, than we are necessarily comfortable with.

But we do it for the end reward; that long awaited visit to a far away land. We arrive exhausted, disorientated, hungry and did I mention exhausted? Lol. Oh, but, for most of us, VERY excited!

I love airports. Microcosms of humanity. Arrivals and departures tinged with joy or sadness, or efficiency – depending on the nature of the journey. Some of the best hellos and the saddest goodbyes happen at airports

Coming from a large, but small, country in the bottom corner of the Pacific, all our travel involves time spent in metal tubes and airports. Our closest neighbour, Australia, is, at its very shortest flight is around 3 – 3 ½ hours away. And that doesn’t include the time taken to get to the international airport. For most of us, there is at least 1 more flight… As I said, long haul travel is not for the faint hearted.

But we are a country built from people who travelled far to live here. The early Māori, navigated by ocean currents and wind and stars to travel here from Eastern Polynesia. They travelled in large wooden Waka, canoes. And their arrival here was nothing short of miraculous. They embraced the beauty and specialness of this place. They named it Aotearoa – the land of the Long White Cloud

Some 400 years later, other settlers arrived. Unlike our neighbouring Australia, most of our early migrants chose to come here to make new lives. It must’ve been an extraordinarily hard life where everything needed to be cleared, built, planted and settled by hand.

These ancestors travelled far; and that urge to see the world lives on in the hearts of most of us. And compared to their travels, by Waka and sailing ship, a few hours trapped in a metal tube, seems comparatively easy.

I also spent time in trains. A lot of trains. More metal tubes, of people gathered together in a small space, being moved around from station to station to get to where we needed to be. Like those old-fashioned pneumatic tubes that used to speed around shops, taking money to the cashier and returning with a receipt and your change.

Once I had mastered the Underground and the British rail system; I found it was easy and logical. Like International airports, there are signs and directions. Once you decipher them, the rest is easy. I had the luxury of very few deadlines, and time, and saw each leg of the trip, a chance to see the country and observe, discretely, its inhabitants. The people watcher in me was well satisfied. Like airports, trains are a microcosm of life. Couples oblivious to the others around them; sole travellers with headphones on, in their own world; people reading books as they commute; families scrapping, tired after a day out, bored and hungry; tired looking mums; people dressed in their finest, gym gear, suits and trackies… all connected for just a moment, until the next station.

Travelling by train seems more connected to the country, than by plane or even car. I loved looking at the back of the towns we travelled through. And enjoyed the lushness of the green fields and forests in the countryside. Like my plane companions, I found most people would return a friendly smile, and more than one offered to help me get my luggage on and off the train.

Travelling the Underground for a few days, I soon learned the etiquette of seating. I know we are always hypercritical of our fellow country people; but I saw the young give up seats for the old; and people help mums on and off with their push chairs. I think we all get a little jaded in big cities, but there are still more good than bad.

The Saturday evening tube came with many people travelling to, from and between social events. Most merry; some a little worse for wear. But mainly knowing to inhabit their own, very tight, space on the Metal Tube. Getting out of the way of people boarding and alighting. And I always felt safe. A biggie for someone travelling alone. And I absolutely LOVED the ease and speed of reaching the bits of London I wanted to explore. Coming from a town with very little public transport, I just loved it.

We travel for a variety of reasons. Holidays, of course; but for family, work, relocation. I think the reason for the travel colours the experience. If you are leaving for a long-awaited holiday, you are excited, enthusiastic and possibly more tolerant of the tedious process, than you are on the way home. Coming home is never as exciting as leaving lol. if you’re travelling for work it is more a necessary evil – something to just be done as efficiently as possible. Why you are travelling to and from family colours whether you want to trip to speed by or take as long as possible.

Travelling with small children deserves a special mention. It is hard work, and unlike your unaccompanied fellow travellers, you don’t have the luxury of settling in to watch a movie, eat your dinner and hopefully catch some sleep. You have a bored, unsettled, possibly overtired, human with you who needs all your attention. Even if they miraculously sleep, you are always on alert, and probably really uncomfortable, as they use you as a bed. I always offer to help people with small kids. It is a hard gig. And they arrive 100 times more tired than you are.

So how do I manage the long travel?

Accept that it is just 1 day (well, sometimes 2)

Hydrate, a lot. I drink a lot of water.

I eschew the window seat for an aisle if I can – better leg room, most flights travel overnight out of here, so there isn’t much of a view anyway

I pray to the travel gods for that absolute luxury – an empty seat beside me. Lol. Room to spread is always a treat.

I pack snacks. a muesli bar or 2 has made a huge difference in a 14-hour flight.

And I try to sleep as much as I can. I’m lucky. I have trained myself to sleep on planes. Even if I fly locally; I can often be asleep before we take off. I plug in the ear buds, and I have play list I now associate with sleeping. I never sleep 8 hours, but I do mange some very good naps.

And once I arrive, no matter what time it is, or how sleepy I am, I stay awake until at least 8.30pm, local time, for 2 nights; and then get up no later than 8am the next day. That seems to deal with the jet lag, and general exhaustion.

I like to hit my destination running lol. If I’m not staying with friends, I like to nose around my neighbourhood and get my bearings… find a convenience store and see what else is on offer close to hand.

I use those long hours as time to meditate; reflect; read. My life is very busy; so I see hours of inactivity as a luxury rather than something to be endured. And, as we all know, my muse does like to travel lol. Maybe she loves the luxury of that time of inactivity too.

I don’t know when my next long trip is. Life hasn’t shown me that yet. But when it happens, I will be very very ready to spend some more time in Metal Tubes…

Mīharo

Wonder

E Tūtaki ana ngā kapua

o te rangi, kei runga te

Mangarōa e kōpae pū ana

The clouds in the sky gather

but above them extends the Milky Way