SLEEPLESS IN AUSTRALIA

Friday, October 2, 2015

Sleepless in Australia

A flight from Michigan to Australia is an ordeal for anybody who has trouble sleeping while in flight. No matter what routine I follow, sleep never comes.  My wife, however, can usually sleep anywhere at anytime.  We arrived at Gerald R. Ford International mid-afternoon to catch the one hour flight to Detroit and a bite to eat.  The next leg was five hours to Los Angeles International arriving 11:30 pm Michigan time and a one and a half hour layover.  Leaving Los Angeles at 1:50 am (Michigan time) I thought my body would succumb to sleep.  But that never happened.  Ninety minutes into the flight a good meal with wine was served by Virgin Airlines.  The captain than ordered lights out.  The flight crew brought out blankets and pillows.  So far so good.  I could soon hear deep breathing and even a few snores around me.  As I looked around it appeared that about half the passengers were sleeping. The rest of us insomniacs were engaged in whatever pursuits we could come up with to quietly pass the time.  There are only so many movies watched, pages on Kindle read, music listened to before the magnitude of 14 hours of forced boredom becomes a mental reality.  Virgin certainly sympathizes with the situation by encouraging passengers to keep hydrated (filled water bottles at every seat) and to walk around the cabin occasionally. Eventually, however, breakfast was served and the darkness gave way to a drizzly Brisbane Friday morning.  My depressing sleep numbers-thirty four hours without sleep.  I hope adrenaline kicks in to keep me functioning for a new Australian day.