You haven’t lived until…

[JohnM]

1. Experienced the deplorable deterioration in the QF J experience to the 'new normal'...
2. Been on the last AN flight out of MEL to PER on the night it went bust while we were in the air in September 2001, while sitting in 1A with no catering and staring at the staff who were going to lose their job the minute we hit the deck.
3. Slept in a swag on the ice in Antarctica listening to the cracking and rumbling (and hoping like hell not to have to get up during the night for a leak...).
4. Making the mistake of turning your rental 4WD off at 5000M in the middle of nowhere in the Atacama Desert with no comms and had the thing gasping like hell to start in the thin air (while gasping yourself).
5. Stepping out of a pool, all alone, at Desert Queen Baths in Karlamilyi/Rudall River National Park in the far NE extremities of WA to see an angry looking venomous snake in the water just where you were moments ago.

 

[Gerry H]

1. You’ve flown in a class that is NOT economy.
2. You’ve crossed a road in Hanoi, on foot.
3. You’ve stood amongst the pyramids on the Giza Plateau.
4. You’ve planted something and seen it grow to be taller than you.
5. You’ve watched a sunrise without having slept the night before.


What are yours?

(five only please and as this is AFF, at least one must be flying/travel related!)

All these and much more !
These are just the tip of the "iceberg".

 

[RooFlyer]

Welcome to AFF @Gerry H

 

[KezziB]

1. You’ve flown in a class that is NOT economy.
2. You’ve crossed a road in Hanoi, on foot.
3. You’ve stood amongst the pyramids on the Giza Plateau.
4. You’ve planted something and seen it grow to be taller than you.
5. You’ve watched a sunrise without having slept the night before.


What are yours?

(five only please and as this is AFF, at least one must be flying/travel related!)

1. Ridden a camel in Egypt
2. Swum with dolphins on the South Island ,of New Zealand
3. Swum with sharks in Tahiti
4. Flown through the Grand Canyon in a small plane
5. Experienced a strong earthquake in San Diego

 

[bashworth]

Only 4 for me

1. Flown into Paro on an Airbus A319
2. Had a meal at the Jules Verne Restaurant in Paris.
3. Renewal of Vows with 'Elvis' in Vegas.
4. Helped a community in a Developing Country

 

[drron]

Only 4 for me

1. Flown into Paro on an Airbus A319
2. Had a meal at the Jules Verne Restaurant in Paris.
3. Renewal of Vows with 'Elvis' in Vegas.
4. Helped a community in a Developing Country

I haven't done number 1 and won't Because Mrsdrron gets altitude sickness. But have done the other 3.

 

[Gerry H]

1. Been to the End of the World ... Ushuaia, Argentina.
2. Danced at Rio Mardi Gras
3. Jumped out of flying planes ... skydiving.
4. Sand sauna in Kagoshima, Japan
5. Caving at Blue Water Holes, Kosciusko

 

[AisleSeat]

1. You’ve watched a shark feed up close, 20 metres underwater in the Coral Sea
2. You’ve abseiled off the side of Table Mountain, Cape Town
3. You've visited a traditional onsen in Japan
4. You’ve dogsledded in the Arctic Circle
5. You've unknowingly ended up in a Michelin restaurant and decided screw it, let’s do the chefs tasting.

 

[Scarlett]

What a great thread

For me

1. Driven on the wrong side of the road
2. Stood on every continent
3. Travelled before a mobile phone or internet connection
4. Arrived in Moscow to find your tour company has gone bankrupt
5. You’ve had a shower at 35,000 feet

Oh as to the OP - gone are the days where I would get home at daylight and have a shower and go to work.
Loving some of the others and I guess you could always add survived a major health scare when I was only 22 and changed my outlook on life and one of the reasons I will always keep travelling

The shower at cruising altitude… maybe one day.

I wonder which is more exclusive:
- flown on Concorde
- had a shower at cruising level (but not anywhere near the Bay of Bengal )

 

[John in Melbourne]

1. Done a one-month intensive German language course in Berlin.
2. Flown QF1 in F to London using points.
3. Seen Uluru at sunset.
4. Been swimming at a nudist beach.
5. Lived with cats.

 

[bPeteb]

1. be served champagne while sitting in a hot spring in Greenland
2. get your first J upgrade
3. complete an Arctic and Antarctic polar plunge off the water sports platform of The World
4. walk the Inca Trail
5. view rock art in the Kimberley that is more than 25,000 years old

 

[LCC]

2. I have also driven around the Arc de Triomphe. Six times.

I think we drove around nearly 6 times, trouble was it was just the one visit and in friday peak hour traffic, trying to work out our exit, if only I had known the french words for "tunnel underpass".....

 

[Bundy Bear]

1. Flown to Sydney and back more than once to visit the Qantas First lounge.
2. Flown return across the Tasman on the same day
3. Flown to East coast from Perth and back in 24 hours, and did that more than once.
4. Flown jump seat on a Convair 580 into Napier Airport NZ.
5. Slept at an airport to save on accommodation costs. (Auckland NZ)
6. See below, and did that more than once.

1. Taken a flight only because you gotta go see about a girl (or boy)

I hope you were earning miles and or status credits.

 

[4lex]

Stood on the edge of the grand canyon
Played double or quits roulette on red for seven spins of black
Taken a shower in a 380
Jumped off a bridge with elastic around the ankles
Driven the nurburgring

 

[ellen10]

Great thread. I will add mine later

 

[Highway23]

1. Used points/status to get family/friends their first ever long haul J flight (and I maintain it still makes me the favourite son-in-law!)
2. Seen the sunrise on a continent’s highest peak
3. Walked across an international border (this might only apply to Australians, but seems so novel)
4. Been in a country when they’ve won the FIFA world cup
5. Made a snap decision while travelling that felt fine in the moment, turned out safe, but in hindsight was unnecessarily stupid and risky (“hey this guy is offering us a tour of his poppy fields, what could possibly go wrong?”)

 

[John in Melbourne]

Stood on the edge of the grand canyon
Played double or quits roulette on red for seven spins of black
Taken a shower in a 380
Jumped off a bridge with elastic around the ankles
Driven the nurburgring

Stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon????
Jumped off a bridge????
"Bring me the smelling salts Jeeves"

 

[Forg]

Lived somewhere that your entire life is walkable, and you don’t need to waste time driving to get to things you need or just want … ?

 

[2infinity]

1) Trekked to a volcano to see the lava flowing
2) Explored the ice caves at the tongue of a glacier
3) Swam with great white sharks
4) Flown supersonic
5) Travelled into space

Ok, so i'm still working on couple of these

 

[OATEK]

1. Stood in the hall of heroes of 1812 in the Hermitage in St Petersburg staring at the portrait of a family member of Mrsoatek
2. Sat in the restaurant at the Adlon staring out at the iconic Brandenburg Gate (such a feature of good/bad in Germany, and thinking of Bernie Gunther)
3. Attended the Christmas Carols for the Royal Household in the Queen's Chapel, St James Palace.
4. Attending the North London derby at the Emirates (and the Gunners winning 2-1)
5. Attending a sung Eucharist in Kings College Chapel, Cambridge