Before I discuss our flight to Japan, I wanted to discuss some of the stuff we packed including food (we are on a strictly Kosher diet). I realize I should have written it prior to the Detroit segment, nevertheless I will discuss it here.
Packing for this tripI am a firm believer in being organized as much as possible with packing as it makes things so much easier and less stressful. When planning for such a large trip with so many details, there are obvious things that may go wrong, so many things that are beyond our control, but one thing for sure- I can prepare and do many things in advance in order to make things easier, save time and most importantly reduce a whole lot of unnecessary stress. I will explain.
My best advice for travel is to get packing cubes. I like the large ones, personally I use the one from ebags which come in a set of 3 which is what we used on this trip.
https://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/large-packing-cubes-3pc-set/48438?productid=1234149Each family member has a different color and we each brought 3 bags on this trip. Initially when I was introduced to these bags, I thought they looked small and won’ t fit much but I was pleasantly surprised. We pack each bag with similar category belongings so you can easily find what you are looking for (socks, underclothes, pajamas etc. in one bag). Everything stays folded in those bags no matter how many times the suitcase is thrown around! When we arrive at a hotel (even if its just one night) I pull out each family member’s bags and make a pile near their bed. We literally can be unpacked and settled in a hotel room in under 15 minutes. The packing/unpacking process at home is also much easier as I pack straight from the drawers to these bags and unpack in a similar matter. We put our slides/flip flops in these bags too. For this trip we brought 9-10 days of clothing since I wasn’t sure exactly when and where we would be able to do laundry. Since we were staying only in hotels, I knew I wasn’t paying the hotel laundry service $10 to wash a t shirt, I had to find other alternatives, which we did and I will discuss later.
Some of the odds and ends I packed for this trip: A large Ziploc bag filled with laundry supplies (Tide pods, dryer sheets and gel stain remover stick). Sunscreen and Off spray. Small first aid bag (band aids, bacitracin, hydrocortisone, gauze pads/roll, medical tape, disinfectant, tweezers, nail clipper.) Medical bag with over the counter medicines. I bought small clear pill bags from a pharmacy and filled and labeled each bag with medicine (Motrin, Tylenol, Tums, Zantac, Melatonin, Benadryl, Claritin, etc.) We took chewable Motrin, liquid Advil, Epipens, variety of eye drops and ear drops, Mupirocin etc. (I know this seems crazy…but I am a nurse and especially going to foreign counties I feel more comfortable being prepared.)
For this trip we checked in 6 bags and took 4 small carry ons. The 6th bag we checked in was a soft duffle bag made by Samsonite
https://www.amazon.com/Samsonite-Tote-ton-Duffle-Black/dp/B003KR1K40/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2E6CIEI8JOEF7&keywords=samsonite+duffel+bag&qid=1565195528&s=gateway&sprefix=samsoni%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-3This contained a large cardboard egg box filled with lots of food, about 1 week into our trip we were able to discard the box and fold this duffle bag and put it into another suitcase. From then on, we checked in only 5 suitcases. All our suitcases are different colors and we try to pack certain ones with food/ cookware etc. and other ones with clothing so that we can easily find things when we need them. As far as our carry ones, I designate different ones for different things. One particular one is for electronics (laptop, tablets, headphones, camera, chargers, converters, luggage scale etc.) this way at any point in our travels we know exactly where to find things. One suitcase with have clothing for the flight (sweatshirts, sweatpants, leggings, pajamas, change of clothing for younger ones etc.). One suitcase will have tefillin (we were traveling with 3 pairs) & toiletry bags etc. The final one will have food for flight (and delicate items) as well as tradition soup cups (I find they get destroyed in a regular suitcase). The purpose of these soup cups is backup food at any point in our 3-week trip. For example, one child hated all the food on the flight to Tokyo so he had a soup. It really came handy during some occasions and as a parent you always want to have food available to a child that is hungry.
Food for this tripSince we keep a strictly kosher diet, I had to find out the different food options in the various countries we visited prior to the trip and plan accordingly.
Detroit – obviously no issue- we were one day into our trip and brought along breakfast and snacks and ate out for lunch and dinner.
Japan – Was by far the hardest country with food. I was getting conflicting reports regarding being in meats ( deli) and other frozen items that had no labels on them (like homemade meals) so I decided to totally avoid bringing those items in. If I would bring them in and rely on these foods as meals, should they take them away we would be stuck. I decided to take a medium size soft cooler with a number of packages of shredded cheese, potato knishes, blintzes etc. I avoided larger frozen dairy foods like frozen pizza b/c of the space it takes. This cooler was stored in the commercial freezer of each hotel we visited in this entire trip. My husband explained to them we are kosher and all hotels were very accommodating in storing the cooler. We were only staying in Tokyo for this trip so we ate at Chabad of Tokyo for dinner most nights and for Shabbos. Also, In Japan you cannot find any food with kosher labels. So, the only thing we can buy was fresh fruits and vegetables and eggs.
Thailand - Bangkok (Meat & Dairy restaurant), Koh Samui (Meat & Dairy Restaurant) Chiang Mai (Meat Restaurant). All Chabad houses in Thailand have their own bakery and will sell you pita, rolls, baguettes, pastries, cakes etc. Note that variety and quantity may be limited at times. Shabbos in Thailand we can eat with Chabad (if staying nearby) or order entire Shabbos meals from them as well. No stores sell any food with kosher labels; however, Chabad houses do sell a small variety of Israeli products like Bisli, pickles etc. Just like Japan we can only purchase fruits & vegetables and eggs.
Hong Kong – Has a couple of kosher restaurants (Dairy and Meat), you can find international stores with some foods labeled Kosher. Some Haagen Daaz ice cream bars in stores like 7 eleven were Kosher. There are options for Shabbos meals, although we weren’t there for Shabbos this trip.
I had to pack breakfast for the entire trip (excluding Conrad Koh Samui where we got free kosher breakfast from Chabad through the hotel as a HH Diamond member). We are not dairy milk drinkers so that solved some problems. I took along shelf stable soy milk and almond milk. I packed lots of cereal, granola, many boxes of oatmeal packets and pancake mix. I brought along an electric burner, frying pan, small pot, spatula, big spoon, peeler and a knife. We also brought along a sandwich maker and tons of loaves of bread which I froze prior to the trip. I knew the bread had to last us until Thailand so I planned accordingly. Some other foods I took: bottle of oil spray, variety of pasta (elbows, spaghetti, orzo), rice and rice pilaf and tuna fish cans. I brought along tons of snacks, snack bags, individually wrapped pastries, cookies, pretzels, granola bars etc. I packed along a large bag with mini condiments such as ketchup, mayo, salad dressing, pancake syrup, salt, pepper, etc. I took along disposable plates, bowls and cutlery. I packed precut foil, many Ziploc sandwich bags, large Ziploc bags, couple of disposable small storage containers (for tuna salad, cut up fruit etc.) You would be surprised how many things you can make if you have the right staples and cooking supplies, combined with eggs, fruits & vegetables that we purchased along the way.
The flight to JapanChecking in DTW for the NRT flight was easy and quick. A new hack I used that I had read somewhere was to label the back of the passports with a sticker with initial of each person. This way you can easily find the passport you need. I also keep them in a Zipper Ziploc bag so it’s easy to grab. During check in the agent wanted to know when we are returning to the US and on what flight. Since the entire trip was booked one way from A to B, B to C etc. I had to go though our general itinerary with her and eventually she said she needed the confirmation numbers only for the HKG-JFK leg. After check in and security we took the in-airport train (pretty cool and not underground) to the Delta Sky Club. There are 3 Delta Sky Clubs in Terminal A, we went to the one across gate A38 b/c that was the only lounge that had showers. Lounge was great overall and very spacious. We had some coffee, drinks and fruit. Some of the adults took showers with no waiting time at all. My children really appreciate the quiet time in a relaxing area prior to the flight. We boarded the flight about 45 before takeoff. As we walked onto the plane the young male flight attendant greets me and says “Welcome to you and your family, thank you so much for flying with us today”. he then whispered loudly in my ear “You know, your family alone is the revenue for this flight… so really thank you so much”. I smiled and was laughing inside. I guess it’s a great thing that the flight attendants don’t know how much you paid for the flight and we all get treated the same. We all love window seats and I try to reserve them as much as possible as long as we can remain in the same area. This flight was on an A350. We had seats 2A, 2B, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A. Row 1 has only seats B & C in the center of the plane. So, 5/6 of us had window seats which worked out well. The sliding doors is a cool feature, obviously anyone walking around can see straight into your cabin but when you are lying down you feel like you are in a little room. Doors must remain open during takeoff and landing. Delta gives out amenity kits by Tumi. The flight was 13 hours long. Not ideal for sleeping even if you have a lie flat bed. We all took melatonin and got between 4-6 hours of sleep overall. We got a lunch meat meal after takeoff and breakfast before landing. Food was decently OK.
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