Around the world in 20 days.
I took my first trip around the world, and this is how it felt.
Jetlag is the second most popular small talk topic after “where are you from”. Europeans make fun of sleepy Americans in Europe, the process happens the other way around in the US. But after one has done a few flights to the US, the jetlag is rarely of a challenge?—?shorten the night at home, get to bed later on the other side of the pool and your inner watch is more or less fine. More or less. Do fine tune with a coffee (or alcohol).
I’ve taken the road trip around the world in 20 days, something less usual. So here’s my experience on how to survive, be productive and perform to the max. I’m sharing what worked for me. It may be personal. But probably still interesting to scroll through.
I left Stockholm for Barcelona on Wednesday, July 6th and returned on Monday, July 26th. 20 days on the road, in the sky, doing events, meetings, networking and generating all kinds of value for King. The key for my role is to remain productive all the time?—?hold meetings, detect immediate opportunities, deliver talks, hold engaging panels, sustain networking parties?—?the usual evangelism stuffs. Also the email work, online community and everything else still has to be taken care of. Again, staying productive is the key.
I few to Kuala Lumpur via Istanbul, enjoyed the craft coffee and Turkish delight, nearly missed a coup. Malaysia is 6 hour behinds my timezone and also 20C hotter. I took a red-eye flight landing in the afternoon, so I could sleep on the plane and then zombie around the town till it was time for bed. The key thing was to go to sleep at a usual schedule. For me it normally is not later than 2AM and wake up not later than 8:30 AM.
Switching my internal clock for Malaysia was easy. Switching the body was harder. I literally overheated after 20 minutes outside of my hotel. The stomach would halt, the brain would follow.
The cure I often take in the tropic climate countries is to have solid breakfast, then keep it on the cold brew (double espresso on the rocks is also fine), may be sugary snacks. In rare cases a bit of alcohol helps till the end of the day. This is indeed a single meal per day plus maybe a lighter snack in the evening. Works for me, may not work for your local gastronomy aspirations. But then it is all about work vs belly.
Singapore had same timezone and temperature. Just that the tropical sun did not hide by the smoggy clouds for the full enjoyment. Take no sunscreen and convert to a funny red-faced creature in a short moment. Not the case with me! I walked in shadows and had a buff on my head. Looked ugly, saved from the sun strike.
In Malaysia, Singapore and all other hot weather locations I’ve been to, like Shanghai, there are conditioners everywhere. And those can be quite aggressive, resulting in sore throat or even a fever. After a weather shift, time shift and a long-haul trip your immunity may be unexpectedly weak.
Singapore?—?San Francisco flight was also overnight with an afternoon landing. Ideal case for clock adjustment, from my experience. I tried to fall asleep immediately after the take-off meal and then follow the usual asleep/awake pattern.
When travelling to SF from Europe I do wake up at 5–6 AM on the first morning, what I actually find productive, as it gives plenty of time to synch with the European team and work on whatever I have to deliver first thing next day. There’s a potential to be dead in the bed 6–7 PM-ish on that day though. The key is to zombie out until 10 PM at least, or else you’re awake at 2–3 AM and by the time the breakfast ends, you’re already exhausted.
My zombie-ing secret is to workout, or at least to take a long walk?—?it is good for the body and for the mind. Just don’t “take a little nap and be fine in 30 minutes”, as it will probably result in you being even more broken.
In the US and in the cultures I don’t know well cuisine-wise, I tend to go nearly vegan to not suddenly upset my stomach. While my body does adjust to the new time zone fast, the stomach still lives by the European day/night standards. I.e. during the day in San Francisco my stomach well may decide it is night, time to sleep, so whatever is in gets stored till European morning. So shall I avoid going vegan, I may well end up with a heavy stomach during the part of the day where my performance is required. Heavy stomach gets the body weak and the brain slow, requiring caffeine infusions. And too much caffeine may result in full reset. I guess it depends, but my take is go vegan at Whole Foods and watch your body. Also I go for cold mate instead of coffee?—?just works better for my body and mind =]
Oh, one more thing, San Francisco is cold in the evening and in the morning. Something to account and plan for.
Seattle vinegar-heavy cuisine may catch you unexpected. Otherwise no special tips within the context. This was my last stop before home, so I was turbo-ed by the last mile crunch feeling. Also the weather was nice, the city was friendly and all that.
The routine in Seattle airport can take random times though. With SFO I can appear 60 minutes before my flight, check in the luggage and get to the plane taking no stress. With SEA some adventures found me a number of times?—?such as heavy congestion at security with no priority options, need to take trains between different gates and long walking times overall. Good for Pokemon though!
My 20 days trip features Barcelona, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, San Francisco, Seattle and a few intermediate stops to change planes. King is very kind to me, so I am booked in business for the long haul, the trip is managed by the agency and I have very little to worry about.
I feel enormously productive. Cancelled flights, delays, lost baggage, any mess with a hotel?—?I just call and agent and I know this will be taken care of immediately. I don’t get extra stress and can focus on the matter of my road trip. Agency knows my food preference, seat preference, even loyalty programs. We have Concur and Tripit integrated, so I get my flights and hotel itineraries on my calendar. This is a separate calendar that I also share with those who care to catch me online.
When I used to fly long-haul in economy it was very important to reserve the long-haul leg seat as soon as I had got the booking confirmed instead of waiting for the check-in opportunities. Seat selection is often a paid opportunity even on the top class airlines, sometimes and extra 100–150 bucks for the economy seat. That’s where the airline miles matter. Modern economy class may well be in a 3–5–3 abreast cattle class awesomeness. Imagine getting a middle seat for 14 hours.
A small advice here?—?try getting economy plus, whenever you have points, miles or money?—?a tiny bit more comfortable seat works magic for long-hauls. Also preorder a special meal?—?you’ll be served first and in most cases better quality food. Again, no such stress in business class.
Last tip?—?I took only a cabin luggage and no checked-in luggage. Last time in San Francisco it had taken a whole hour for me to get my luggage, and similar time to pass the passport check. This time I broke the record?—?21:30 my SQ2 flight touched the ground, 22:45 I was by the check-in desk in SF downtown.
The main lesson learned for me was to always take my gym equipment on the longer road trips. My body happens to starve for a workout and I get sleepy, somewhat exhausted and demotivated. While getting a morning run around the marina tunes in an inspiring mood for the whole day. Gym is a valid fallback when winter happens. Or when Kuala Lumpur happens =]
Final thoughts. This was the first round the world tour for me. Travelling Eastwards is easier that Westwards for the clock/body. The whole endeavour resulted in much less stress and pressure than I expected. But this was not an easy trip. with so much time swallowed commuting, so may try to avoid endeavours as this again.