Approximately 6 hours before my plane left I’d had to pack. I know, I was definitely cutting it short this time. And of course it had to rain like crazy on the day of my departure, but who cared, I was leaving Germany – at least for two weeks. During that time Germany could go blow an egg

Anyway, a couple of hours before boarding time, I arrived at the Frankfurt airport. The first announcements I heard at the Frankfurt airport went something like this: “Passengers traveling to the US, please take in account longer check-in times…”. And as if this was not enough, it was repeated every minute. Remember, this was due to the stricter security guidelines put in place after a allegedly failed terrorist attempt to down a Detroit-bound passenger plane (Northwest Airlines Flight 253) on December 25. I was just glad that I wasn’t traveling to the US. Poor bastards couldn’t even read books after the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority announced an airplane book ban on December 28th, which caused some confusion among publishers. But luckily books are now permitted on U.S.-bound planes

My luggage check-in went fine, but I have to say the security checks were quite enlightening on my flight to Hanoi. But, first things first. As I was passing through the metal detector the alarm went off, which is unusual for me, as I normally pass security checks with flying colors. I had to take off my shoes and have them X-rayed. Apparently my shoes had metal strips in their soles?! Never had problems before…And then, to top it all off, I had to part from my shampoo, even though there were only 20–30 ml left in the 125 ml container. Of course, the nosy and curious person I am, I had to ask why I could not take this bottle on board and was given the reason that the bottle has a capacity of 125 ml and only 100 ml are allowed. As an American (we always demand transparency), I wasn’t satisfied with that answer either, so I pressed harder and questioned the security officer on the logic behind this, as it was very obvious that there was not much left in the bottle. He couldn’t offer me an explanation and simply replied: “I don’t understand the regulation either, but it’s an EU regulation.” Oh great, just what we need – more senseless out-of-control bureaucracy from Brussels that tries to ruin everyone’s security check-in experience. Where’s the customer service terrorists deserve these days? In the end, the security officer gave me two options: I can either check-in the shampoo with my other luggage or throw it away. Naturally, to avoid hassle I chose the second option. The minute I passed the security checks, I thought to myself: Next time I’ll just scratch off the container capacity on the bottle. Then let’s see how good our security officers are at distinguishing between 100 ml and 125 ml. :-D (On a side note: To this day, nobody, no even authorities, can give an explanation why fluids of more than 100 ml are banned on flights. There has NEVER been a terrorist attack or hijack on any flight using fluids.)

Just before boarding time my name was suddenly called up through the intercom. At first I thought they would wanted to see my Visa again, because the lady behind the ticket counter earlier had to ask her supervisor if they can accept a pre-approved Visa for Vietnam, which I provided. (Most people traveling to Vietnam are not aware that you can get something that is similar to a Visa-on-arrival, it just works a little bit different and it’s significantly cheaper too). But instead, a couple wanted to sit together and I was asked if I would be willing to change seats with the women. I reluctantly agreed, as I specifically booked seat 42B on the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777-200ER (777) after consulting Seatguru.com. I got seat 38C instead and changed seats on board once again, because a boy wanted to sit together with his mother, which was fine with me at this point. Now, finally seated, I took a good look at my original seat. Oh boy, did I make a big mistake giving that seat up. Well, now I was stuck in this seat that had some kind of permanently installed contraction under the front seat, resulting in me not being able to fully stretch my legs out for 9 1/2 hours…Bon Voyage!

There were some highlights on my flight however. Wet towels for example. How long has it been since I received wet hot towels at the beginning of a flight? There used to be a time where Lufthansa didn’t give out these refreshing items anymore, at least to my knowledge. One more reason why I don’t like to fly with Lufthansa. According to SKYTRAX the few 5-Star airlines include Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Kingfisher Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways and of course Singapore Airlines.

The service around the meals was also really good. When I initially booked my tickets I ordered a special low-sodium meal (LSML). Why? Simply because during flight, your body get’s extremely dehydrated through the recycled dry air on the plane, making jet-lag even worse than it should be. Consuming a low-sodium or vegetarian meal before and during your flight helps your body to stay hydrated. You should also try to set your watch at the beginning of your flight and adjust the meals you consume to the time zone you’ll be visiting.

Another advantage that these special meals have, is that they are usually prepared by hand and are considered of better quality. Plus, the flight attendants generally serve these special meals first no matter where you are on the plane. Other passengers will hate you for it (as on my flight to Vietnam ), but it gives your flight a touch of First Class. Try it next time you fly.

You should also drink at least 8 oz of fluids per hour flight time, preferably water to keep your body well hydrated. Avoid coffee or alcohol. I also used a natural sea salt nasal spray every few hours for the first time and I’m glad I did. It was also my first time combining all these provisions to cope with jet-lag and can now say that I didn’t experience any jet-lag whatsoever during my entire vacation!