Fear of Flying/Busing

[Guest]

So I'm going on a trip to the Peruvian final next week, by bus.

I have a confession to make. I'm scared to death of planes and buses.

Anyone else scared of ever have been scared of boarding either?

[Guest]

Just now, Cannabis said:

Wtf. How have you managed to get to Canada, NZ and Peru (and back?!)

I had to take pills on the NZ trip to relax me. I was terrified.

[Toinho]

Have you ever not been able to board?

I know there are travelcalm stuff that is meant to help. I'm going to count how many plane trips I've been on and get back to ya, just a random thing, I don't particularly  enjoy flying but it's got to be done sometimes. 

But a bus.... what?

[Stan]

Think about how many flights go around the world successfully every day. Millions of flights from place to place. 

Take your pills again? 

Go on 'fear of flying' courses. I don't know if they have any nearby you but I know easyjet and British Airways have events to help/workshops to help with passengers who are scared of flying. 

 

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Toinho said:

Have you ever not been able to board?

I know there are travelcalm stuff that is meant to help. I'm going to count how many plane trips I've been on and get back to ya, just a random thing, I don't particularly  enjoy flying but it's got to be done sometimes. 

But a bus.... what?

Just one time I haven't. I usually do board but am terrified throughout the trip.

As for buses, its easy to say that its not scary in a first world country, but there are a lot of accidents here especially if you're going to the mountains where the bus could fall off a cliff. I've done it once and nothing happened, but still I sometimes felt I was lucky. I'm also scared of encountering the still active Sendero Luminoso somewhere across the lines.

3 minutes ago, Stan said:

Think about how many flights go around the world successfully every day. Millions of flights from place to place. 

Take your pills again? 

Go on 'fear of flying' courses. I don't know if they have any nearby you but I know easyjet and British Airways have events to help/workshops to help with passengers who are scared of flying. 

 

The first sentence is true, I sometimes think that to calm myself down. However, I actually wasn't afraid of planes until 2016, which is when the Chapecoense air crash happened. Since then, I've been terrified. To calm myself down, I think of obviously the first thing you've mentioned, and also that we can die at any given time and I don't think going on a bus or a plane will lower or increase my chances. The time will come to die whenever.

[nudge+]

Not really, although I'm not much of a fan of flying, especially when it comes to long-haul flights in economy class, haha. Helicopters and small/aerobatic aircraft are absolutely class though, would do it often if I had a chance.

I love bus rides if a bus is comfortable enough.

Generally prefer cars or trains over any other common types of transportation though.

[nudge+]

8 minutes ago, Blue said:

As for buses, its easy to say that its not scary in a first world country, but there are a lot of accidents here especially if you're going to the mountains where the bus could fall off a cliff. I've done it once and nothing happened, but still I sometimes felt I was lucky. I'm also scared of encountering the still active Sendero Luminoso somewhere across the lines.

That's a good point, buses can be pretty dangerous here too due to road and visibility conditions, chaotic traffic, local driving habits, poor vehicle maintenance, drunk/high drivers, etc. So I just avoid night buses and always use a reputable company for my trips.

[Guest]

Just now, nudge said:

That's a good point, buses can be pretty dangerous here too due to road and visibility conditions, chaotic traffic, local driving habits, poor vehicle maintenance, drunk/high drivers, etc. So I just avoid night buses and always use a reputable company for my trips.

Yeah, I do as well. My policy is to never bus at night and always use a reputable company.

The problem in Peru is often the terrain. Mountains can be scary to drive through. Especially in the south where you're at risk of falling off the cliff AND run into Sendero Luminoso, who you may be surprised to hear are still active. Barely, but they are still there.

[nudge+]

4 minutes ago, Blue said:

Yeah, I do as well. My policy is to never bus at night and always use a reputable company.

The problem in Peru is often the terrain. Mountains can be scary to drive through. Especially in the south where you're at risk of falling off the cliff AND run into Sendero Luminoso, who you may be surprised to hear are still active. Barely, but they are still there.

What are the odds of it happening though, haha... I mean a terrorist attack on a bus you're on. Pretty slim, I take it.

The terrain is a completely different thing altogether and the risks are definitely real, but just think about it, the driver has done that route and didn't crash how many times already? There's always a chance of something bad happening in any situation in life, there's no point in overthinking it... 

[Azeem]

Never and for me flying and traveling in a bus is the same expect in bus you can see your surrounding moving while in plane its the opposite and you feel like you are sitting in a box

[Azeem]

@Blue One of my uncle has this fear of being alone in any place with doors locked, he thinks what if something bad happens and no one can hear/see him thats why he always keeps the doors open while going in the bathroom 

Hope that helps 

[Bluewolf]

Took one of those cheap flights when I went to Poland... Didn't really know what to expect from it but it was fine, One of the people travelling with me hated flying though so consumed a fair amount of alcohol before the flight and slept right through it... Don't know how he managed it, the seats were not all that comfortable and it felt like I was sitting in some form of electric chair... Watching the wings shaking and the plane itself seeming like it was stuck together like lego didn't inspire me either to be honest but it was uneventful.. 

Can't stand Coach travel and will take the train at every opportunity, vastly more expensive but just like the comfort.. being on a coach you are squashed in and the seats don't adjust much making the whole journey a bit of an ordeal. Planes I could understand but never heard of anyone having problems with buses or coaches before.. There must be something you can take to help you relax and doze off through it.. at least that would take the sting out of it.. 

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, nudge said:

What are the odds of it happening though, haha... I mean a terrorist attack on a bus you're on. Pretty slim, I take it.

The terrain is a completely different thing altogether and the risks are definitely real, but just think about it, the driver has done that route and didn't crash how many times already? There's always a chance of something bad happening in any situation in life, there's no point in overthinking it... 

It's slim but there are a lot of issues in the Ayacucho area relating them. Thankfully that's not one of my 2 possible destinations.

And yeah I try to think that way sometimes. Thanks for the reassuring comment  

[nudge+]

1 minute ago, Bluewolf said:

Took one of those cheap flights when I went to Poland... Didn't really know what to expect from it but it was fine, One of the people travelling with me hated flying though so consumed a fair amount of alcohol before the flight and slept right through it... Don't know how he managed it, the seats were not all that comfortable and it felt like I was sitting in some form of electric chair... Watching the wings shaking and the plane itself seeming like it was stuck together like lego didn't inspire me either to be honest but it was uneventful.. 

Can't stand Coach travel and will take the train at every opportunity, vastly more expensive but just like the comfort.. being on a coach you are squashed in and the seats don't adjust much making the whole journey a bit of an ordeal. Planes I could understand but never heard of anyone having problems with buses or coaches before.. There must be something you can take to help you relax and doze off through it.. at least that would take the sting out of it.. 

My most horrible trip was around 50 hours straight and included a 5 hour bus ride, then a 10 hour flight with a 9 hour overlay, then another 7 hour flight, followed by a 16 hours bus ride and then a taxi home  Shortly after which I went to work  Never again.
 

[Bluewolf]

1 hour ago, nudge said:

My most horrible trip was around 50 hours straight and included a 5 hour bus ride, then a 10 hour flight with a 9 hour overlay, then another 7 hour flight, followed by a 16 hours bus ride and then a taxi home  Shortly after which I went to work  Never again.
 

Bet you felt like every part of you was made of lead after that lot... that must have wrecked every pattern of sleep you may have had for a while. 

Was that coming back from a holiday or all work related?? 

[Toinho]

In terms of flying - it's the safest mode of transportation. Stan has given some good advice I think. 

Fair comment on the buses, I've been to a fair few third world countries and avoided buses for the most part (minus Cambodia but I did the most reputable company I could find).

[nudge+]

1 minute ago, Bluewolf said:

Bet you felt like every part of you was made of lead after that lot... that must have wrecked every pattern of sleep you may have had for a while. 

Was that coming back from a holiday or all work related?? 

Coming back from holiday... Granted, I brought it all upon myself, as I took a three-week vacation from work, and then while I was in the middle of it, I also switched my future days off with one of my colleague, so that I could extend it to four weeks  Meaning that I had to go straight to work after returning, more or less. I was obviously incapable of doing any productive work though, so I left home early  Absolutely worth it though.

To be fair, I didn't feel THAT bad, just very tired and I pretty much operated on autopilot that day... Got a good night's sleep and was fine again, hehe. For some reason, I never suffer from jetlag... Well maybe that has something to do with my stupid patterns of sleep, in general  I was also working shifts at that time, so it was all over the place anyway.

[nudge+]

8 minutes ago, Toinho said:

In terms of flying - it's the safest mode of transportation. Stan has given some good advice I think. 

Fair comment on the buses, I've been to a fair few third world countries and avoided buses for the most part (minus Cambodia but I did the most reputable company I could find).

Giant Ibis?

[Toinho]

25 minutes ago, nudge said:

Giant Ibis?

Sounds right. Got some other company from Siem Reap to Bangkok though. Fuck me that took quite some time.

[nudge+]

1 minute ago, Toinho said:

Sounds right. Got some other company from Siem Reap to Bangkok though. Fuck me that took quite some time.

Yeah, flying to Bangkok is much better, only one hour and less than 100$  

[Bluebird Hewitt]

Happy to do both, though hate the take off and turbulence on planes.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Bluebird Hewitt said:

Happy to do both, though hate the take off and turbulence on planes.

I don't mind the take off, I find descending much worse.

[Bluewolf]

2 hours ago, nudge said:

Coming back from holiday... Granted, I brought it all upon myself, as I took a three-week vacation from work, and then while I was in the middle of it, I also switched my future days off with one of my colleague, so that I could extend it to four weeks  Meaning that I had to go straight to work after returning, more or less. I was obviously incapable of doing any productive work though, so I left home early  Absolutely worth it though.

To be fair, I didn't feel THAT bad, just very tired and I pretty much operated on autopilot that day... Got a good night's sleep and was fine again, hehe. For some reason, I never suffer from jetlag... Well maybe that has something to do with my stupid patterns of sleep, in general  I was also working shifts at that time, so it was all over the place anyway.

That must have been a great holiday.. Always hard to get back into the work groove after a decent break as it is without all that just traveling fresh behind you.. 

How much holiday time do you get a year then? that seems like a big chunk in one go? 

[nudge+]

2 minutes ago, Bluewolf said:

That must have been a great holiday.. Always hard to get back into the work groove after a decent break as it is without all that just traveling fresh behind you.. 

How much holiday time do you get a year then? that seems like a big chunk in one go? 

Back then it was 28 calendar days a year... We were normally "encouraged" to split them and go on a holiday twice a year, but two weeks is not really enough if I'm traveling over half the world, so I just took three weeks off and saved one week for the future. The bosses weren't very happy about it, haha. Nowadays I'm working on a sort of independent contractor basis, so there is no set holiday time as such. 

[Inverted]

I'm scared of buses purely because I have no fucking idea how they work and I'm always worried I'll take the wrong bus, or hold up the queue at the door, or miss my stop.