I'm a frequent traveler, but I absolutely hate flying. I'd rather take a twenty-four hours drive from Arkansas to California, traffic and all, than hopping in a plane for five hours. I'm also not talking about international flights; that's another story. So, if you're a frequent flyer like me, these things are probably in your hate list in no particular order.
1. The Guy/Girl Next To You
I always try to pick the window seat. Every time. But, sometimes, you can't always have what you want. So, if you're a broke college student like me and can't afford first class, you have to endure those so-so hours of being stuck with someone who smells like he/she rolled over cigarette ashes or snores so loud that you wished you bought a $200 beats by Dr. Dre. Or that person doesn't know the term "personal space." Gee, the arm rest is there for a reason. Thank goodness, there wasn't any crying babies. But just last weekend, I had the pleasure of sitting next to a man who looks like he could be Jon Bernthal's twin. Hey, you win some, you lose some.
2. TSA Checkpoint
I don't have a problem with TSA. They're only doing their job. However, there's always this one person in front of you (no, I'm not talking about someone who's about 60 years old) who's as slow as a sloth when it comes to taking off his/her belt, shoes, and bags -- especially when you have a flight that's about to leave in twenty minutes.
3. Late Planes
Your first plane is supposed to land at 1:30 p.m. and your connecting flight leaves at 2:25 p.m. You think you have some time browsing through overpriced shops and buying keychain souvenirs, right? Well, 99.9 percent of the time this scenario hardly ever happens to me unless they delay my flight for three hours, which, of course, happened last summer. Now, imagine fast walking from Gate B4 to Gate E7 in under ten minutes without looking suspicious at all, while carrying your heavy carry-on bag and dodging people running in the opposite direction. Just little advice: wear comfortable shoes.
4. Suffering Jet Lag
Keeping up with my online classes is hard enough but different timezones? Even my phone refuses to cooperate in adjusting its time. I absolutely detest having jet lag, and I'm the kind of person who considers sleep as a my number one priority followed by food. When I traveled from the States to Manila last year, I was wide-awake when basically everyone was asleep which lasted about four hectic days.
5. Lost Or Damaged Baggages
It's everyone's worst nightmare. Well, at least to me. When I picked up my suitcase after flying American Airlines, I noticed a big tear on the bottom that wasn't there before. Now, my suitcase wasn't the cheapest; it was decent enough. Luckily, nothing fell out in the process of being lugged and thrown around by TSA workers. That's why I put all of my precious items in my carry-on bag, and clothes that needs washing in my suitcase.
6. When You Have To Use The Bathroom
I loathe using public bathrooms. But I absolutely detest peeing in a tiny cubicle while up 36,000 feet in the air. To make matters worse? When you slide the door open, and you immediately know the person before you had a bad taco.
7. When You Forgot To Bring A Jacket
I couldn't sleep because it was freezing inside the plane. All I could think about is the jacket hanging on the kitchen chair that I forgot to grab. It was a horrible two hours of my life. It was lucky that I didn't catch a cold, especially when the guy two seats away from me was hacking and coughing.
8. Long Flights
The con of a cheap plane ticket is when you have to stop-over in multiple places. Instead of a five hours flight from Memphis to LAX, it turned into nine hours because you just have to stop in Charlotte and Dallas airports.
