What’s the opposite of an unruly passenger?
Meditative moments up in the air
A background tune for reading this newsletter:
I have this vivid memory from childhood of me sitting on a KLM flight to Europe, intensely staring out at the clouds. I’m in the middle seat (I’m always stuck in the middle seat), my brother at the window, my grandmother to my right. My parents, next to us on the opposite side, are probably thrilled to finally be away from us kids for a few hours — even if we’re just feet away. Anyway, I’m staring out at these clouds and I swear I see a cloud-shaped castle. I’m staring and staring and staring and there it is: this giant cumulonimbus cloud that is so clearly a castle. I tell my brother but since he’s the older sibling and I’m only 5, he just laughs at me. My grandmother has a more nuanced and mystical response that, if I translated for you from Macedonian to English, would absolutely sound less nuanced and mystical and entirely ruin the memory. Eventually I go back to the coloring kit a flight attendant gave me. Aside from staring at the clouds, the coloring kit is my pride and joy on this flight.
I haven’t done an official count, but if I did, I’d say 65% of my vivid memories are comprised of observations on airplanes. It’s like I find my seat and immediately go into cloud- or people-watching mode. Because if I’m focused on myself during a flight, I’ll start thinking about how I’m too hot or too cold, too squished (again, middle seat sufferer over here), too restless, too everything. I’m a huge fan of flying but it’s a complicated relationship. So most of my time in the sky, I do what I do best: get into a meditative state by casually observing things.
Everyone on a plane seems fascinating, right? Maybe not everyone, but depending on the airline and the destination, you can create some pretty great narratives for these complete strangers. I once sat next to a nun on a flight leaving Rome. That narrative was pretty self-explanatory thanks to the attire.
Another time I assumed the passenger that kept silently weeping, dressed in all black, was on their way to a funeral. The teenage me thought this assumption was poetic and deep, but the adult me is full-on cringing thinking back on the elaborate story I created for this stranger in my head.
I know what you’re thinking at this point: Why don’t I just sit back, relax, and watch a movie six inches away from my head? To be honest, a plane is the last place I want to be watching a movie. Why? Not sure. But my favorite movie viewings on planes have been watching other passengers’ movies. For example, I once watched Paddington (1 or 2? Which one’s the sadder one?) over my sister’s shoulder. Not a clue what anyone was saying — I didn’t bother to ask for subtitles or headphones. And I still ended up crying! To which I say... look up that article about emotions being heightened on airplanes.
And that time I watched an entire Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson action movie between the cracks of the seats in front of me? Not a clue who was sitting in front of me but I entered my meditative plane state and watched that thing like it was my job. I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to. (I later found out what I had watched was the 2018 film Skyscraper, which IMDb rates a whopping 5.8 out of 10.)
I consider it a privilege to have had so many of these moments up in the air, observing all kinds of people and situations and cloud formations. Whether the flight is one hour, five hours, or 20 hours (Hello, Australia!), they’ve been some of my best and most meditative moments, offering rare glimpses into the human condition. All of us strangers stuck in a box in the sky, trying to get to the same destination, only to never see each other again. And maybe, instead of wondering if I should subscribe to the Headspace app to get in a dose of meditation, I’ll instead look to my next trip in a tiny seat in the sky instead.
Natalie
Good Trip Contributing Editor
Local’s Corner
We’re venturing to Cape Town, South Africa to chat with Dave Brien, a digital marketing manager for safari experience company Asilia. In his spare time, he’s getting the party grooving as a DJ — turn on his mixes to get your weekend started!
The song he has on repeat:
I seldom have a track on repeat because I listen to everything but to pick just one, I can never get enough of Wu Tang - “Lesson Learn’d”. The Mathematics beat is too good.
Where he wants to travel next, post-COVID:
I’m in the mood for a tropical island holiday with warm seas, maybe Sri Lanka to try somewhere new, or back to Thailand. Both should offer a combination of natural beauty with quiet paradises, but also a bit of bustle when you want it, and of course good food too.
The place he’s traveled to that he’d like to go back to:
Definitely Mexico. I had an amazing time in Baja North and there are countless other places to visit. It’s beautiful, wild in the right places, and full of amazing food, beer and tequila.
His favorite local spot within a 15 minute walk of his apartment:
For a sundowner drink I head to La Perla – good location, views and a relaxed vibe. For a morning coffee I’d go to Bootlegger in Sea Point.
His favorite local-to-Cape Town snack or food he can't get enough of:
Our local bars and small food stalls are great. Check out Nish-Nush (shawarma without the drama) or Max Bagels (take a guess), both in Bree Street.
His ideal day in Cape Town:
Get up early for a walk on the mountain, then relax all day on the beach before joining friends for a braai at someone’s house. Simple!
Read all about it:
We’re big fans of Michelle Zauner’s recently-published memoir Crying in H Mart. Michelle lost her mother to cancer a few years ago, and in between her beautiful prose about grief, she evocatively describes the Korean food her mother and other family members cooked for her, as well as her frequent trips to South Korea to visit her mother’s family. Amongst the sadness, Michelle wields the feelings of comfort food to immerse the reader in Korean culture and what it’s like to live between cultures.
We’re seeing orange this weekend…
