I'm Scared to Fly

Yep, it's true. I'm a big wuss when it comes to flying. It terrifies me. There's something about getting in a heavy, enclosed, metal tube and hurdling through the air at 400+ mph that makes me flat out sweat. The worst part about it is that I love to travel. This means that my passion for travel requires me to face my biggest fear in order to enjoy it. Oh the irony.  

I think the comforting part is that I know I'm not alone. Many people have a fear of flying on some level and we all have similar questions. How safe is flying? How dangerous is turbulence? What happens if a plane loses an engine? What about both engines? What do those chimes and dings mean during flight - is something wrong? Fortunately for us, "Knowledge is Power" (thank you Sir Francis Bacon). What I mean is that the more we know, the less we have to be afraid of. Did you know that a full size passenger jet can take off with only one engine? Or that during almost every flight your plane actually glides without thrust from the engines (Don't worry the engines remain on). I knew none of this until I started reading. My favorite resource so far is called "Cockpit Confidential" by Patrick Smith. It not only changed my perspective on air travel, but also started to weaken my fear of flight. Patrick is a commercial airline pilot who operates out of Boston Logan and he wrote his book to clarify this industry and any myths that inevitably come along with it. For those of you who don't feel like thumbing through the 280+ pages, I figured I would jot down a few of the most significant points that I learned. With that being said, he covers so much more industry related content that I would encourage everyone to read his book cover to cover. 

For me, turbulence is petrifying. I can't stand the thought of a giant machine getting tossed around mid-air, while I'm sitting helplessly in my seat, powerless. Luckily for me, the truth helps big time with this part of flying. Turbulence is not easy to predict, but it isn't dangerous. The plane is meant to move and adjust to the forces that turbulence puts on it. Can a freak accident happen? Sure. But it is EXTREMELY unlikely. According to Patrick Smith, there has only been one commercial airline disaster ever that has been linked back to potentially being caused by turbulence (it certainly wasn't turbulence alone for that matter). With around 100,000 flights a day worldwide, that puts our chances way to the right of the decimal point. Does this mean people haven't been injured? Nope. You will have people who refuse to obey the seat belt light and inevitably end up injured during rough air. But that's on them - not the aircraft. As for prediction of where the rough air is and when it will hit, things get a little more fuzzy. Pilots have a good idea where smooth and choppy air should be, but just like our local weather channel, things change. The captain will usually adjust altitudes in order to find smoother air, not because the aircraft is at risk, but rather to provide a better customer experience for us. To summarize and as Mr. Smith so bluntly put it, it's easy to picture the captain white knuckling a steering wheel, covered in a thick layer of perspiration, as he fights his ship against a relentless storm - the truth of the matter is that he is probably just irritated that his orange juice is spilling into his cup holder. 

Who needs engines? Seriously though - hear me out. Pilots are trained for the worst case scenarios and drill on these multiple times per year. This includes catastrophic equipment failure. As a result, every take off and landing is planned with the worst case scenario in mind. For example, the following is a simplified look at the most dangerous part of a flight - takeoff. As every plane travels down the runway, it is heading towards a predetermined point at which a decision is made to either depart from the ground, or toss on the brakes and come to a stop. If it gets to the coordinated take-off distance, without any issues, the plane will depart as intended. If something happens before this mark, which could cause danger to flight, the take-off is aborted and there is enough runway remaining to safely stop the aircraft. So what happens if there is a technical failure after the point of no return? Like I said, these situations are planned for and drilled on. If an engine completely fails after the decision to take flight (and with no room to brake) the plane will still have the ability to safely ascend. Planes can take off with one engine - who knew?! In addition to takeoff, (and as I mentioned earlier) every plane glides without thrust at some point during flight (Mostly during descent). The engines do remain on and stay idle, but there is no push being utilized. This means that even if both engines were to completely fail, the airplane could still fly...and for around 100 miles at that! 

Why do I hear dings or chimes followed by a flight attendant answering a phone call? Is the pilot trying to tell them something is wrong? There is almost a zero percent chance this is what those calls represent. Most likely, the captain has to pee, or the flight attendant in the back of the plane ran out of napkins. Don't fret, this communication is normal. 

Lastly, and probably most importantly for us nervous fliers, air travel is safe. Go play the lottery - you have a much better chance of striking it rich than dying in a plane crash. Patrick Smith cited a 2003 University of Michigan study published by American Scientist magazine regarding the following. The study conservatively measured the number of take offs and landings (the times where flight carries the most risk) and compared this to rural highway data (safest driving environments). They still found that a passenger is 65 times more likely to die in a car accident! Do catastrophic failures still occur involving airlines? Sure. But you could also choke to death on a chicken bone tonight at dinner...Finally, air travel has only become safer over time. We have doubled the number of passengers world wide since 1980, yet our safety records have proved five times better than they were back then. 

Well there we have it. For my fellow uneasy flyers, I hope this helps and that you continue to fly and explore new places. I promise to continue doing the same, as I'll embark on my longest flight duration yet, when we take the Boston to Dubai leg on our way to Thailand (12 hours). Who knows, maybe I'll even fall asleep :) .

Cheers!

If you are interested in Patrick's book, it is available on Amazon in paperback. Even if fear of flight isn't a worry for you, I would highly recommend grabbing a copy, as he has vast knowledge regarding a very confusing and seemingly hidden industry. 

Thailand here we come!

It's official. Kailah and I just booked our flights to Thailand in mid-March. It doesn't seem real that we're going to travel to the other side of the world. I can remember growing up, my parents would tell me that if I dug a hole deep enough, I'd end up in Asia. Now I'm going to have the opportunity to experience the world from their perspective...no digging required.

We booked round trip tickets out of Boston, connecting in Dubai, UAE and landing in Bangkok. The first leg is 12 hours on a Boeing 777 to Dubai where we have 3 hour layover before getting on a double decker jumbo jet A380-800 to cruise another 6 hours down to Thailand. We ended up paying an extra $40 a seat right after booking through Emirates website to secure exit row seats between Boston and Dubai (as well as the return journey). This is money well spent for me, as my 6' 5" frame doesn't enjoy any flight crammed into a standard economy seat - I can't fathom 12-14 hours. We basically have the same flights coming back, but the reverse order and a shorter layover. We actually considered choosing a longer layover in Dubai on the return, so that we could step out and see the city. While this sounds appealing now, I'm guessing the combination of long flights and time zone changes would cause me to be swearing at myself in March (Lets just get home!). 

As for our plan when we get there...well we don't really have one yet. This trip idea came pretty suddenly. We've done some primitive research on where we want to go, but the flights were the first step (always are). At a high level, we want to spend a few days in Bangkok and the rest in a tropical location on a beach. We want to interact with monkeys, visit an elephant sanctuary, take a Thai cooking class and go zip lining. Most of all, we want to experience Thailand and learn about its culture. Nevertheless, we are super excited to put this trip together - after all, it is right around the corner.

Kyle

Surprise! You're turning 30 in *?*. Part 2

For me, there's something about arriving in a new place, where people speak a different language, eat different foods and my dollars are valued as pieces of paper. Looks like I'm not in Kansas anymore - or New England for that matter. People here drink tiny cups of coffee every morning with friends. They drink wine at lunch. They close their businesses on Sundays. Dinner is an event, not a meal. It's different here...and I love it. That sense of authenticity that comes from a different culture is what really fascinates me and keeps me coming back for more. 

When I started writing this post, I wanted to share every minute with anyone who would listen. As it turns out, that was pretty boring and I couldn't even keep my own attention long enough to write it. So I figured I would hit the highlights of this whirlwind trip, day by day and if anyone is interested, I'll fill in the gaps later. 

There were a few major things that stuck out during our first day in Ponta Delgada. 

1. Hotel Talisman and it's breakfast buffet 

2. Cost

3. Christmas decorations

4. A Tasca (Restaurant)

I'll start from the top. 

1. Hotel Talisman and it's breakfast buffet: Stepping out of the taxi at Hotel Talisman in historic Ponta Delgada was exactly what I hoped for. Cobblestone streets spread out in all directions between white and yellow shaded, historic two story buildings. Shop keeps were serving, danishes, coffees and cappuccinos in roadside cafes. English had been replaced with Azorean Portuguese. We were definitely in Europe. When Kailah booked the hotel, she secured an awesome rate of 49 euro per night (around $52). Despite her diligent TripAdvisor research, we still had our doubts with this one, given the low cost. As it turned out, a combination of off-peak pricing and decent dollar to euro conversion, we got a steal of an accommodation. This place had an included continental buffet (covered by our 49 euro), sports bar, restaurant and roof top pool/workout center. The room itself was large for Europe, with a king bed and french doors opening to a small balcony for fresh air. The buffet was a bonus, especially in comparison to the American counterpart of powdered eggs, old fruit, stale bread and mini yogurts. Instead, our spread included fresh fruit (which changed daily), croissants, assorted meats/cheeses, coffee, juices and several hot options (including a local mushroom and pork dish that was actually pretty darn good).

2. Cost: Who doesn't like to save money? It's even sweeter when it is unexpected. I already mentioned the dollar for value win that Hotel Talisman offered, but it didn't stop there. When it comes to food and drinks, Kailah and I generally budget around $175 a day in Europe. This is purely a number that we have agreed on, which allows us to eat and drink whatever we want. It's also an average. Sometimes we go over and we generally always go under. If you want to save money in Europe, this is a number that can get MUCH smaller, by shopping in local grocery stores, butchers, bakeries etc and eating in your room. We simply prefer to spend more money here because we love the experience that restaurants provide (Food, drinks, culture and atmosphere). Following a brief nap on day one, we landed at a restaurant in the town center, where we saw more of Ponta Delgada's cost efficiency. We started the meal off with a 19 euro bottle of Portuguese red wine and a cheese plate. For food, I had a rib eye with greens and potato and Kailah had swordfish with a veggie. Both were fantastic. Still shaking off our drowsiness from the brief siesta, we ordered two espressos to cap off our lunch. Total bill? 52 euro (around $55). Sooo ... subtract the cost of the wine and we paid 33 euro for rib eye and swordfish. To take it even further, we decided to walk back towards our hotel and stop by a few stores along the way. The  wine at lunch had wet our appetite, so we stopped at a grocery store in search of more. 10 minutes later we approached the register with 2 bottles of wine, 3 small beers, 2 red bulls and a case of water. Total cost? 11 euro ($12). I could get used to this. 

3. Christmas decorations: This one was a complete surprise. Christmas in November? But what about the Turkey and stuffing? Oh right, we're not in Kansas anymore. The entire city was bathed in colorful lights - archways, street lights, houses - brightly lit with twinkling bulbs. All of the summer flowers had been replaced with festive poinsettias. To top it off, one of the local shops near the town center had a speaker playing high volume versions of English and Portuguese Christmas songs. For Christmas buffs, this was unexpectedly the place to be. We certainly enjoyed it.

4. A Tasca (Restaurant): When I look for a restaurant abroad, I'm really trying to check 4 boxes: Food, drink, experience and value. If I find one that does, it not only creates a memorable meal, but also makes a short list of eateries that we love. A Tasca is one of those restaurants. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I made reservations on the spot for dinner two days later. Here is why this place measured up so well...

Food and drink: A Tasca is a tapas restaurant. For those that are new to this term, "tapas" are generally small plates of food that are offered at a lower cost than a full meal. I like them because they allow me to try multiple menu items without committing to just one. These menus can also be overwhelming - especially in a different language. So we asked our waiter for his recommendations and pulled the trigger on 5-6 different tapas. Each one ended up being a home run. A couple standout dishes were: the local baked octopus delicacy (yes, it was surprisingly delicious) - and a baked mushroom, bacon and cheese plate. We also tossed in a basket of bread and a local assortment of cheeses. For dessert, we shared chocolate mousse. The waiter recommended an aperitif of Portuguese cognac and I figured what the hell, how often do I get the chance to order cognac? Stuffed to the gills, we threw back two more espressos to try and keep our eyelids open for a couple more hours after dinner. 

Experience: When I ordered the aforementioned cognac, our waiter carried out a platter topped with the cognac bottle, my glass and an empty bowl. He lit a clear liquid on fire in my glass and let it burn for a few seconds before emptying it into the bowl. He then poured my cognac and lit that on fire as well, dazzling the dining room for a few seconds before extinguishing. The results of the warmed brandy were outstanding - and not just the taste, but an amazing aroma as well. This serving method might not be specific to the Azores, or even Portugal, but it was new to me and enhanced my experience. Small things like this, make all the difference. Alone, this was cool, but combined with the food, wine and ultra helpful and kind staff, A Tasca easily checked the box for an awesome experience.

Value: This one is simple. You saw what we ordered - how much? 48 euro. That's $51!!! Mind blowing. 

There ya have it. And those were just the highlights. 

Part 3 coming soon!