torpors brought on by jet lag, you can try to
prolong it by reversing the above tips,
providing your internal clock with maximum
confusion. Or if you really want to go for
broke, take a vacation incorporating travel
across multiple time zones with a superfluous
stop or two. Seattle to Sidney, with a three-
day stopover in Sri Lanka (which sits rarely
and confusingly in a time zone 30 minutes
away from its nearest neighbor) should do the
trick.
SAMUEL JOSHUA BROWN
is the author of 13 Lonely Planet guides and two
books of short stories, including
HowNot to Avoid
Jet Lag
. Visit himonline at
i
time, and trips leaving early in the morning
and landing at nighttime in the destination.
The trick is to fool your internal clock into
accepting the time at the destination when
landing — and sleep (or lack thereof)
tends to be key.
For the first type, the long night journeys,
do whatever you can to sleep during the
flight. Melatonin is best, with a mild
pharmaceutical tranquilizer coming in
second. Resist the temptation to drink
alcohol, though, as this is generally
counterproductive. Ninety minutes before
the plane lands, drink plenty of coffee and
you’ll be ready to face the daylight bright-
eyed and bushy tailed. At least until mid-
day, at which point you’ll just need to
tough it out until sundown.
For long day's journey into night trips, stay
awake for the entire flight. Coffee is your
friend, at least until mid-day (destination
time). Busy yourself on the flight by reading,
watching movies, or consider the miracles of
modern technology that make ours an era in
which a person can, with a bit of planning,
experience a birthday lasting 46 hours (as
Sven Hagemeier of Germany did by flying
between time zones on his 26th, earning him
a place in the
Guinness Book of Records
and
presumably a lot of birthday cake). You’ll be
exhausted upon landing, but as long as you
resist falling asleep until after you check in at
your hotel, that’s a good thing. After a good
and much-needed night’s sleep (and another
melatonin, if needed) you should be ready to
go and in temporal sync the following day.
Of course, if you’re like me and actually
enjoy the late-night mania and midday
21
enVoyage
