From Thanks to Rants

family, happiness, humor, lessons learned, travel, Uncategorized 2 Minutes

In yesterday’s post, I expressed my gratitude to all the wonderful people who made our time in Singapore so special.

While those good feelings will last a long time, the things I noticed on my trip home today did bring me down a bit from my SIngaporean high.

Since “they” say it’s a good idea to express your anger so that you can move on from it, I thought I’d use today’s post to do just that.

I’ve noticed most of these things about traveling that bother me before, but perhaps 24 hours of flying combined with the constant talk of covid-19 just made me hypersensitive to what I consider bad behavior.

Here are my rants for the day:

  • when we got to the Singapore airport, there were people laying down in the lounge area. They were tak8ng up the space of 4-5 people. Plus, their faces were inches away while breathing directly into the lounge chair…
  • when our zone was announced for boarding, many people ignored the concept of a line and simply joined the front of the line by entering from the side
  • AIRLINES SHOULD SIMPLY BAN RECLINING SEATS. IT IS INCREDIBLY OBNOXIOUS…
  • during the flight, the flight attendants came around with a snack of a bag of chips or popcorn; your choice – pick one. the guy next to us picks around 8-10 bags…
  • the plane lands and is heading towards the gate; inevitably one or two people feel a need to unbuckle and stand up before it is announced that it is ok to do so
  • as part of the arrival announcements, we are told to turn off our mobile phones until we are told it is ok to turn them back on. Once we have landed and are heading for the gate, we are once more reminded to keep our mobile phone off. While this announcement is being made, a cell phone two rows in front of me starts ringing…
  • our plane had two aisles, so while we are departing, two lines of people merge to exit the plane. It just seems natural that you go every other person to exit – a person from aisle a, a person from aisle b, a person from aisle a, etc. Some people, and I’m not talking about families here, are completely baffled by such a simple system and just want to barge ahead
  • we exit the plane, and almost immediately we pass through a security checkpoint and have to have our luggage checked, which means removing all electronics, gels, emptying pockets, etc. I’m not really sure what could have changed from the time we passed through security before we got on the plane and are now departing. But whatever. However, when we arrive at our gate area, we have to do it all over again…
  • speaking of the boarding gate, our passports were checked by four different people within the span of five minutes and 50 feet

I’m sure there were at least a dozen more things that people did which annoyed me, but that’s all I can come up with now that I have been up for over 48 hours with just a couple of hours sleep. I guess all these rants are getting me ready for when I get behind the wheel and start driving for the first time in 10 weeks.

Hey, nice turn signal…

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

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43 thoughts on “From Thanks to Rants”

  1. i can understand your rant! I would rant too! Glad you made it home safely and I hope that you can get a very good night’s sleep!!
    Oh and next time, take a train. 🙂
    I rode a train for the first time this past summer and now wish I could do it all the time! Plenty leg room, amazing food, amazing scenery, No security hassles!

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    1. thanks, Carolyn. We took a train from London to Scotland a couple of years ago, and it was lovely, making us want to do it again. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is a train from Singapore to Philly 🙂

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  2. The thing with people taking turns to get into the aisle is baffling. Most young elementary students could do that without any supervision, so adults conscious choice to act like you don’t exist is super rude.

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  3. Well, I can tell from your rant that you made it back to the U.S. The kindness, generosity, and common consideration of the Singaporean people has been left behind. Now it is back to everyone fighting for theirs. And Covid-19 has only made that worse. But, I am glad you guys are home safe and sound. Good to have you back!

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    1. it’s good to be back, and I appreciate your kind words. and I would hope covid-19 would make everyone behave better, since we are all in this together, but that does not seem to be the case…

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  4. what a complete flip, must have been a shock to your system in so many ways. i’m glad you’re all back, and this crisis has shown a surprising turn in humanity, both good and bad.

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    1. thanks for your welcome home! and I think the airlines are partly to blame with the way they squeeze everyone together and try to squeeze every last dollar out of us with all their extra fees…

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  8. I get it! I have noticed airplane etiquette is slowly declining. I have seen people at the back of the line practically sprint up front when it is time to get off the plane, obvious not caring to wait their turn!! My big rant is people putting their stuff in two or three seats while waiting for their flight so others have no where to sit!!!

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  9. My sympathies regarding your rants especially the reclining seats. Airlines are cramming more and more seats on planes by reducing the space between seats. That makes reclining the seat in front particularly annoying. Asian airlines normally have a very orderly boarding process. They check boarding passes and passports while people are in line to ensure they are are in the right line. Flight attendants check boarding passes at the door in part as a way to spot inebriated passengers. Out of curiosity what airlines did you fly and what route, if you have the time to share? I’m glad you made it back safely and had no trouble at immigration in the US.

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    1. we flew Qatar Airways from Singapore to Doha and then to Philly. The boarding process was quite orderly; it was just what takes before and after that where the problems are.

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  10. Well, traveling can be a huge test of patience, eh? Nothing wrong with a bit of a rant here and there. True, it’s better to let off a bit of steam rather than hold it all in until it explodes. Are you back home already? How was your entry to the US, since you were from a Covid19 country? Are you quarantining yourselves or anything?

    With small planes, I’m afraid I am one of those persons guilty of having to recline my seat. I haven’t had the opportunity to fly long haul, so I can’t say about the space between seats for those.

    Have a nice day!

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    1. we are home, but surprisingly the only place we were really screened was at the departure airport in Singapore. I did not notice any screening in Qatar or Philadelphia. I know the airlines are shrinking passenger space, and it must be tough for bigger people to fit comfortably. I don’t think I would have a problem if the person in front of me asked if it was ok for them to decline their sea before doing so. I wouldn’t say no to such a polite request.

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      1. Hmmm… I better take note and remember to ask if the person sitting behind me would mind. It does seem to be the proper way to go, specially since reclining would be using up that person’s leg room, eh?

        You probably didn’t have any symptoms or fever (which is good). Hopefully you didn’t carry any bugs with you home.

        Good to know you managed to get home safe. Have a nice day!

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  13. Sorry you had so many bad experiences but honestly that’s just how it is when you fly. It’s extremely frustrating and I always get irritated by the little things too!

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      1. If only it were a joke 😦 Sadly, the company that makes them even gives analogies to cowboys sitting on a saddle for 8 hours comfortably (?) completely ignoring the miles of open space you have while riding a horse vs the extremely few inches in their configuration between your nose and the seat in front of you. Look up photos of people trying to get out of those seats. It’s like sardines wriggling out of a box…

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  16. Lots of irritants while travelling for sure. Sadly rule following is not a forte anymore. Good luck to them during this Covid crisis. On the upside, maybe you won’t have to drive. You’ll be working from home. 👌🏼

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    1. I never thought not following rules could have such potentially dire consequences! And yes, our campus is shut down. It’s a short walk from our house, and the campus is eerily quiet…

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      1. That’s what feels so strange and eerie, the lack of people everywhere. Even though the city here is not on a formal lockdown, everyone is staying in, which leaves formerly busy roads eerily empty.

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