Mason was the most excited of all by the long flight. He had great memories of our summer last year flying to Johannesburg--two flights of 8 hours each separated by an hour or two trapped on board while the crew cleaned the plane and checked for contraband in our seatback pockets. He loved it. Movies all night long on his personal TV screen, a chance to change into pajamas in a tiny bathroom, unlimited sodas from kind flight attendants, and the socks they give you in a plastic bag with a tiny toothbrush and tube of paste. He loved every minute of it. So he was dying to get the same experience on the way to Asia. Score. Except for the socks and toothpaste. And the edible in-flight meals.
But oh that little TV on the seat back in front of him. Kept the kids happy for 14 straight hours. I was seated a couple of places away. I literally almost never spoke to them (I was too busy trying to find a comfortable spot in my skinny little chair. I had Sam on one side of me and some girl on the other.) But the highlight of the trip, for me, was the fish floss.
The stewardness came by with breakfast: eggs or porridge? So all the kids opt for porridge. What they didn't know is that it was, psych, congee! Japanese breakfast staple of a thick rice gruel served with seaweed, pork and...fish floss. A small packet of condiments atop the porridge with the name Fish Floss. Sam opened his, sniffed it, and pronounced it the exact same thing as what you fed the goldfish you won at the fair when you were little. Fish food! (Who knew fish were cannibals.) Flakes of dried fish to sprinkle atop your gruel. The kids went hungry. But still they loved the flight and even got a little shut eye. We woke up in Taiwan where we caught another plane (31/2 hours never felt so easy) to Bangkok.
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