If you don’t know this about me, I am terrified of flying. It’s stupid. Ridiculous, I know. And it wasn’t always that way or I probably never would’ve set foot on that tiny, surely unreliable Twin Otter to fly over the Himalayas to Lukla from Kathmandu.

Luckily our famous 4 year, 80 country family journey was done almost entirely overland, so I didn’t have to think about flying all that much. Since the trip I have had my share of flights, mostly ones that are 9-10 hours long. You can imagine the sacrifice I have to make to live in Holland for my boyfriend because a trip home means a very, very stressful 9 hours. It’s take-off and landing that makes me the worst. My palms sweat and I basically accept that I am about to die. So stupid!!! Don’t let my post discourage you from flying. I suppose I am lucky that Schiphol is one of the easiest, nicest airports in the world! Yesterday’s #TRLT  chat (“The Road Less Travelled”) Twitter chat that I co-founded) topic was #courage. Travel definitely takes courage. I’m often told I am brave, adventurous, inspiring, but I am just an ordinary girl with many fears. I have just learned how to overcome them and jump in with both feet. A good portion of the time, I put myself in situations and surround myself with people who I know will force me to participate in crazy adventures.

Every time I fly I wear the same red sweater, leggings and boots. It was an unintentional tradition that started but it helps comfort me. I pack LIGHT when I fly to eliminate extra stress, such as beeping when I go through the metal detector. I always get through without a beep. I only bring a tiny purse that carries my phone and passport and my small pink carryon if I have to.

Is anyone here anticipating a travel day? Dreading a flight? I saw this post and thought I’d share it because I think everyone knows the feeling of travel/flying hassles.

“How to Enjoy Travel Day

It can be done! I am a firm believer that every single part of your holiday should be enjoyable. Sure, there are certain bits that aren’t going to be as enjoyable as others; for example, checking in at the airport is not going to be as chilled out as kicking back and relaxing on a beautiful beach, but keep in mind– you’re on your way to your destination, and that means fun, fun, fun! Do you give much thought to how you get to the airport itself? I always used to hate this part, because it was never in the slightest bit enjoyable, sitting on a coach for seemingly endless hours. I decided to try and rectify this situation, and instead drove myself to the airport and booked airport parking. What a difference that made! My spot for parking at Stansted cost less than the coach, and I could go at my own pace, stopping every so often for a coffee at the service station, listening to the radio. Once you’re actually at the airport, don’t let the queue for check-in dishearten you. Listening to my iPod, and doing a bit of people watching whilst I’m waiting to get through security always helps pass the time.

Cut out the boredom of waiting by heading to a restaurant and treating yourself to your favourite meal, just like you would do if you were already in your resort; strictly speaking you’re already on holiday, so the fun can start at any point! Focus your mind firmly on your end destination; before you know it you’ll be relaxing with that cocktail in hand.”

                                  2013                                                                                                              2014

If anyone knows about flying and airports it’s The Guy Who Flies! He’s a good blogging friend I met in the early days of my Social Media “career”. He was there from the beginning to support and help me and was one of the first people to read “I Grew My Boobs in China”. His blog is all about airports and flying. He recently started doing interviews with other travellers and I was honoured to be one of the first. You can read my interview here. He often flies business class for his work and some of his flights have blown my mind. Because of this post , he has put this at the top of my “Bucket List”… can you believe FLYING is on my “Bucket List”? See? Many fears need to be overcome in order to get the reward. THOUGH, after all this, I must admit that if I can avoid it, I will go far lengths to avoid flying. For example, Mom and I will be attending the #TBEX conference for travel bloggers in Spain in April. It would be a very short flight but instead Mom and I will make a one week road trip out of it! Perhaps, I let my fears rule me. But on the other side, I have come up with a way to enjoy myself despite the fears. Do you have any crazy fears you want to share? What is your trick to overcoming a fear? What do you do to make travel days easier?

Savannah P.S. I swear I try to keep my posts short but somehow they always end up longer than I hoped!!! That’s a real writer’s curse. P.P.S. The Rigat Hotel JUST invited me to stay at their hotel in Spain while I’m at the TBEX conference. Even more reason to get excited!