Batteries, Baggage & Surviving Long Haul

20 Days and Counting…

I’m not going to cover actually surviving  long haul flights (as in avoiding Deep Vein Thrombosis), but more about maintaining some degree of sanity while couped up on a plane.  That said, I will be taking some aspirin in advance as a DVT preventative measure.  As seems so trendy today, I like to claim I’m afflicted by elements of ADHD, so pinning me into an economy class seat for 2 x 12 hours stints in a 30 hour period is just asking for trouble.

To prevent me driving those around me insane with questions, fidgeting, and playing tricks on them, I’m putting a lot of stock in 8gb of MP3s…

I wouldn’t want to be around me if the battery drains out before the 30 hours of travel is up.  Mind you, 30 hours of music on it’s on is probably just as likely to push me over the edge, so I am mixing it up with a few podcasts and comedy sets.  There’s plenty else I’d like to have on the flight to help pass the time and stay fresh, but I’m going to be struggling to meet carry on weight limits as it is.  Why is the 7kg limit going to be such a challenge?  5.5 kg of camera gear and a 1.5 kg laptop…  Doesn’t exactly leave much room for other long haul niceties.

I was hoping to save a few grams by throwing all the camera and flash batteries into checked luggage…  However there’s some regulations that forbid Lithium Ion batteries in checked bags, and loose batteries in carry on.  If only there was some way to exchange my lack of body weight for some extra kilos of luggage.