General advice is that you should avoid alcohol and spicy food before embarking on a long-haul flight, which is advice I have given myself many times before.

But.

The old adage of do as I say and not as I do springs to mind as I think back on our latest flight from Christchurch to South Africa, Kenya and finally Tanzania.

You would think that we would know better? Wrong. After checking out several eateries near Christchurch airport we decided that we couldn’t leave without one last curry and a few tiger beers. Ironic really considering we were heading for Zanzibar which is one of the spice capitals of the world where you can’t swing a cat without finding a decent curry. And for those of you that have been to Zanzibar you will also know there are plenty of cats to swing f you felt so inclined.

Anyway, as I said do as I say and not as I do.

Avoid spicy food, limit your alcohol intake , drink plenty of water, allow loads of time for airport security, get up and walk around every hour or so once on the plane. If flying Qantas be extra nice to the air crew and you may even be allowed a second wine with dinner, maybe?