A long trip or a wait at the airport is no reason for boredom and idleness. What to do at the airport or in traffic, on the bus or train, if your journey lasts many hours and you don’t have access to the Internet to gamble at Cookie Casino or watch YouTube? Here’s what to play, what useful things to do, and how to train your powers of observation.
In the Car
If You Drive
If you are driving, you can only look carefully at the road. In order not to fall asleep and not to be distracted on a long trip, I personally find loud music and open windows in the cold season helpful – the frosty wind is invigorating. Or the passenger, if there is one, says something – most importantly, not in a quiet and lulling voice.
If You Are a Passenger
In the car, if bored, there are not many options for leisure – space is quite limited.
It’s better to take a special pillow under your neck. It’s small, but it will make you feel normal and not hurt your shoulders and neck.
Many people can’t read in the car – the road gets carsick and their eyes get tired. It helps me to read movies, previously downloaded to the phone, and a powerful power bank. Also, take headphones. They save you from everything – you can even sleep in them.
For fans of video: take the action camera or phone, take 5-10 minutes straight from the car road, and then speed up. It turns out nice. You can make an amateur reportage right from the cabin – it will be something to remember.
If You Are in a Traffic Jam
- Eat something healthy. If you suspect you’ll be stuck in traffic, take some healthy snacks with you: natural snacks, fruit, cereal breads. And never forget to take water with you.
- Take apart the contents of the glove compartment. Sometimes there are a lot of useful things that were thought to be long lost. And often it’s just trash that you need to get rid of.
- Stretch yourself. It sounds doubtful, but it’s realistic to do even sitting in the driver’s seat. You can use your hands to stretch your shoulders, neck, legs and even your buttocks. In any case, it’s more useful than doing nothing.
- Plan something for the weekend. Surely there will be something interesting going on in the city. And if not – you can meet up with friends or go somewhere with your family. And you just have time to think about it.
- Clean the steering wheel and the torpedo. The steering wheel is the dirtiest place in the car, so you need to disinfect it regularly. You can keep alcohol wipes or antiseptic in the car for this purpose.
On the Train
And if there’s no Internet? On long trips on trains, the Internet practically doesn’t work.
If you are traveling with a group, take with you board games – there will be something to play. Choose ones with no small parts, so that you won’t have to look for them under the shelves.
You can also play any game on paper: tic-tac-toe or doodles. This is when one draws a stroke, the other continues, the first draws a second line or a squiggle, and the result is some unusual creature that doesn’t even exist in nature.
What to Do on the Road When Alone
- Study. You can study a foreign language or read professional literature – works when you’re not too tired and are looking for something to occupy your head. That way you’ll have a good time. If you are going to study, you can flip through the lecture notes.
- Work. Writing business letters, responding to messages from clients, colleagues, and supervisors, preparing a work plan for the coming days, making a to-do list. It’s common practice for freelancers, they often work on the road – on the bus, plane, train, or even subway.
- Socialize with fellow travelers. You may well get to know some of the passengers. Many interesting acquaintances happen exactly in transport – there you meet friends, buddies, like-minded people and sometimes even loved ones. You can ask the person about the country to which you are going, if he has already been there, and thus save time on learning tips.
At the Airport and at the Train Station
A long wait is a great excuse to get your laptop or smartphone to sort out the things you’ve been putting off for a long time.
So, what can you do on your way to your destination or while waiting to travel?
- Go through the photos on your smartphone or laptop and delete unnecessary ones. There is usually no time for this, forever. But the thing is useful and addictive – you won’t notice how half an hour or even an hour flies by.
- Unpack the folders and files on your laptop (or phone). And if you’re prone to perfectionism – also to structure the contents of the gadget. It also takes a lot of time, but you will surely be happy with the result.
- Do what you never had time for. Processing photos, replying to messages that have been bugging your eyes for a week, filing a nail, arranging things neatly in a bag or backpack.