Places where I'd rather be right now

Ah, the life of a student. Broke and bound to the confines of your charming-yet-tiny-and-claustrophobic university town by none other than the ever-pleasant cloud of exam doom. That's right. I have to write about places like Thailand, Malaysia, countries in the Middle East and many more in blocks of two hours (multiplied by six modules) in some drab old room with tens of other exam-possessed robots who I've never seen in lectures. I'd offer that as an exemplary definition of counter-productivity.

Allow me to let my daydreams take over during this glorious break from revising, oh, just the dynamics of democratisation in the Middle Ea... zzzzzzzzzzzzz...

• Back home in Hong Kong, sipping a smoothie in the scorching summer heat on the roof of IFC mall (clearly I have a knack for daydreaming up alliterations). It's going to hit 33 degrees Celsius this weekend, and I am desperate to leave the land of perpetual winter i.e. Durham, so badly that the promise of sun, a cold fruit drink and an urban oasis almost have me reaching for my credit card and buying the next available plane ticket home. Oh, wait. I'm a student.
• Brussels, at my grandmother's house. There's nothing like spending some alone time with grandma and catching up with her. It makes you realise the importance of maintaining those ties with the members of your family whom you see less of. I do love me some Saturday morning local market shopping too.
• Penang, Malaysia. Lying by the pool of some awesome hotel and occasionally nipping down to the beach for a quick go on the jetskis or a bit of horseriding along Batu Ferringhi. Getting a sunburn because you swore you were vigilant with sunscreen, but forgot that you had to reapply it, and subsequently dousing yourself with aloe vera gel and going to dinner feeling slightly sticky (and it's not the humidity). Walking around the night market to check out the insane amount of overpriced counterfeit goods on sale, and trying out some incredible post-dinner street food snacks. That is the life.
• On a luxurious safari in South Africa. Even though it's shifting to winter weather in South Africa, only cute animals bring me joy at this point in the exams period, but I've had enough of .gifs, pictures and memes. I want to see the real thing, even though it might kill me.
• The ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao). I read an article about them in an issue of Condé Nast Traveler on the flight back to Durham in April. It filled me with dread at the prospect of having to wear jeans for another 3 months as I had these images of gorgeous pastel houses and clear seas staring right at me from the pages of the magazine. The only places I have been to on the entire American continent, North and South, are Toronto and Montréal, and as awesome as those places are, I'm impatiently waiting for the day that I can venture into the Caribbean region.

Where would you rather be right now? What are your 'daydream' destinations?

Awesome web find: Flight 001

I have fallen in love with this website, Flight 001, that provides everything and anything you might possibly need before, on and after your journey. Some of their products are so well designed that I want to buy them, not because I actually need them, but because they are so... NICE! Here is a selection of products that are already on my travel wishlist.

Bread & Butter Passport Cover: Your passport has never looked cooler (or yummier). $18.00

Jetpax Jet Lag Relief 2 Pack: Add these babies to the list of tricks to conquer jet lag. Dilute the contents of each pack (1 x AM pack, 1 x PM pack) in water. The formula is different for each separate pack and their ingredients help to regulate your body clock. Each kit is good for one-way. $6.00

Patterned Luggage Tag Set: It does not take a genius to notice that a large majority of suitcases on baggage reclaim belts in airports across the world are black and have no distinctive features. This increases the likelihood of someone mistakenly taking a bag that does not actually belong to them. These cheeky luggage tags ensure that your bags are instantly recognisable. $12.50

Travel Essentials: Part 2

1. Lip balm. I can't believe I left this one out in Part 1 of this Travel Essentials series. An absolute must in your travel bag if you don't want dry, parched, uncomfortable (you get the idea) lips before, during and after your journey.
2. Travel adapter. If you're one of those people who can't live without their laptop, phone or iPod, you need a travel adapter (or two). Some hotels will already have universal plugs that accommodate appliances from all over the world, but if you're staying in an older establishment or someone's home, it's always best to have your own adapter.
3. Evian Brumisateur. Indulgent, perhaps. Beneficial, definitely. This little mineral water spray will keep your skin fresh and hydrated as well as stop your face from producing excess oil in reaction to the dry environment on the plane. You can also use it to fix your makeup. The product comes in a handy travel size, so you don't have to worry about not having it on you for the flight.
4. Clear bags. Do you ever accumulate plastic bags whenever you go to the supermarket and wish you'd brought a handy canvas tote with you? The clear bag is the travel version of that canvas tote. I've wasted far too many sandwich bags in the past, and finally bought a cheap but cute clear zip bag to carry all my liquids and gels.
5. Notebook and pen. You never know when you'll have to write an extra important piece of information down, like a number or e-mail address, or make a list of movies or CDs that are available on the inflight entertainment system but that you want to check out later. And those immigration landing cards are pesky, but waiting for someone to finish using their pen so you can borrow it is even more annoying, both for you and for the person who is about to lend you their pen.
6. Lavender essential oil. For those of you who struggle with jet lag, place a few drops of lavender essential oil onto your pillow to help you drift off to sleep. Lavender has also proven to help with headaches and depression, so instead of popping those pills you may need a prescription for, go au naturel and get some of that oil!
7. Travel-sized containers. How on earth are you going to live without that shampoo you love but is only sold in a 200ml bottle? Answer: purchase empty travel-sized containers and transfer your most-loved product into said containers. Muji make a whole range of affordable travel-sized containers for all types of products, including creams, liquids and gels.

Jet lag

As a frequent traveller, I have learned to embrace jet lag as opposed to curse it every time I take a long-haul flight. Experiencing jet lag can be overwhelming and daunting to some, but there are several ways to conquer it, and they don't take an entire month.

• Jet lag is worse when you travel east. When we were kids, my sister and I knew that by 1.30am, on every night of our first week back in Hong Kong from our summer vacation in Belgium, we would both be wide awake and unable to go back to sleep, no matter how hard we tried. However, we never experienced this while we were in Belgium, and slept like babies throughout each entire night over there, even if we had just touched down from a 14-hour journey from Hong Kong. I admit that I fail to give you a solid, scientifically-backed explanation as to why this is, but please take my childhood memories' word for it.
• Adjust to your destination's time zone a few days before you travel. This may seem a little strange, but the facts that all my essay deadlines are usually crammed into the last week of term and that I work best between the hours of 10pm and 4am (ergo, I take 4 to 5-hour naps in the afternoon) combine to minimise jet lag when I arrive back home in Hong Kong for the holidays. If you don't write essays and need another excuse to change your sleep pattern just for a night or two, try reading a book, learning a new recipe, clubbing all night... The possibilities are endless. If you can, try doing this gradually over the course of 3-4 days so that your body isn't completely shocked into sleeping and being awake at strange times.
• Before your flight, adjust your watch to your destination's time zone. This will give you an idea of the times during which you should catch some sleep during your flight, and whether you'd be better off sleeping the whole way through or taking several short "naps".
• During the flight, avoid eating or drinking things that affect sleep. Alcohol and caffeine are definite no-noes. Not to mention that alcohol decreases your level of alertness, which may cause problems should you need to be 100% attentive in case of an emergency (just sayin'. But touch wood all the same).
• When you arrive, use logic to assess whether you want to nap or not. The same rules apply as in the time zone you're used to: if you take a long nap, you'll find it harder to sleep at night or will wake up in the middle of the night. If you stay up for as long as you can, you'll be more likely to find a normal sleeping pattern sooner. When I arrive in Hong Kong (landing at around 4pm), I usually stay awake until 1am, when I finally succumb to the desire to just pass out on my bed (which also happens to be the most comfortable bed in the world). Result: uninterrupted 7 hours of sleep (at least). When I get back to the UK (I land in the morning), I take a short 1.5-hour nap right after lunch, and I don't feel tired until 10 or 11pm again. From then on, uninterrupted sleep for 7 to 8 hours ensues.
• If you find yourself awake at an awkward time, tire your eyes out. Read, stare at a computer screen, play a board game/Solitaire (I always played Monopoly with my sister, which always ended with her owing me money and being a sore loser).