Ever since Jules Verne published “Around The World In Eighty Days” in 1873 the notion of hopping quickly from one continent to the next has had a hold on people. In the novel, Phileas Fogg of London wagers he can span the planet by riding trains and steamers from London to Suez, Suez to Bombay, Bombay to Calcutta (well,you get the idea) and arriving back to London eighty days later to claim his winnings.
Needless to say, the travel industry today could offer Phileas a much quicker way to nation-hop, as he could now get from Glasgow to Iowa City in seven hours and thirty-nine minutes or Paris, France to Paris, Texas in just nine hours and forty-two minutes. Eighty days? Manned missions to the moon have clocked in at three days, three hours and forty nine minutes! Today, old Phileas Fogg could clean up.
But while the travel industry today allows us to circumvent the globe in record times, we have to deal with realities Mr. Fogg never considered. From jet-lag to language barriers to having to remove your shoes and belt when asked, today’s international traveler must contend with a daunting array of challenges. Sure, you can buy an app for your iphone that translates any language and there are several remedies for jet-lag out there (melatonin, bright light therapy) there is even an excellent site called “The Guide To Sleeping In Airports” which I recommend. It has a cautionary list of, “The World’s Worst Airports”.
Apparently, one should not expect warm, fuzzy feeling when visiting the Da Gaulle airport in Paris (where the unpleasant attitudes of airport personnel have been duly noted) or the Sheremetyevo in Russia recently proclaimed by a traveler as, “The most disgusting airport I’ve ever been to after ten years of traveling.” Not exactly a rave review. Not to be outdone, the Abuja airport in Nigeria can apparently make one long for the good times found in either the De Gaulle or the Sheremetyevo.
But despite the well documented adversities of international travel, Phileas Fogg would be awed by the opportunities we enjoy today to see the world, be if for business or pleasure. Or, possibly, to win a bet.