to go to Australia for the weekend?!

[HufflepuffHarpy]

My best friend (male if relevant) is getting married in the autumn. I'm in the UK (where we both grew up) he now lives in Australia.

I desperately want to go to the wedding.

It will cost £1000 for the flight plus accomodation etc over there which is in no way small money.

I have 4DC so would be asking my parents (very hands on babysitters, have had them for me and DH to go on holiday etc) to have the DC (all under 10) while DH is at work.

I would leave on a thursday AM flight and get back tuesday pm. SO literally fly in for the wedding, the day after and then back home.

Am I being totally crazy to consider this?! (Haven't actually asked DH yet!!)

I'm Australian and went home once for three days for a wedding and have friends who've done the same.

It will knock you around for a while when you get back but totally doable!

Important advice: book AISLE SEAT - so you can easily get up and go to the toilet.

Have fun!

ffs aisle seat requested!

Woop woop! I am so glad you are doing this! Live while you are alive!!

Sarralim you have hit the nail on the head. And OP still seems oblivious to the environmental reasons not to do this. How can people bury their heads in the sand so successfully? OP why does your immediate gratification come before the needs of this planet and the future of every one of us living on it?

It also does seem a bit desperate to me. Are you sure you didn’t want to be the one marrying him?

If you can and you can afford it then do it!
I think you'll regret it if you don't!

One of my friends went to Barbados for a weekend once (it was a surprise she thought she was going camping! Flew out Saturday morning came home Sunday evening) She loved it but was shattered the following week at work!

@islamann
Yes, I actually do realise that the flights run anyway, fancy that. I didn't need to give my head a wobble either. But it's completely irrelevant. I don't think you realise what the issue is. It comes down to changing our attitudes and we all carry a moral responsibility to do so. Business also need to urgently review how much flying is actually needed, but this, to quote someone else's good point, is highly frivolous travel. It's about being able to look our own children in the eye, when the world becomes inhabitable (which it will be, soon, if this doesn't stop) and they're asking us what we did to stop this happening. OP, no, having four kids I couldn't do this. Not on. It would sit much worse with me than either the expense or the "stress" to your DH (pretty sure he'd be able to manage anyway).

@Outsomnia it doesn’t even whisper “it should’ve been me” 🙄

OP you are a wonderful friend and I congratulate you on your commitment to this relationship. I hope you have a fantastic time. Pack everything into hand luggage and bring loads of wet wipes lol!!

Enjoy 😉

not oblivious but the flight will go whether or not i am on it. is me going on one return flight in 5 years worse than the people that fly every year on holiday? worse than those who fly when the could drive? (for what its worth we train to our europe holidays, always have done). If i went for a month, or 6 months is that better? the actual flight is still the same. if i moved there for 5 years and then came back? again the flight is the same. Plus i did say much earlier in the thread that i was not going to get into a discussion on this aspect as the two sides will not agree as there is no compromise.

@ClaireScot

Interesting that no-one is mentioning the environmental impact.

If you'd bothered to read the thread you would have seen that this has already been raised several times.

Indeed feelingquitewarm. It's strange that it hasn't even been mentioned once.

Actually OP. I think it’s very irresponsible. My DH and I gave up flying many years ago.

Good for you. Thanks for the virtue signalling.

Apologies. It has been mentioned, but not by the OP I thought. Sorry if I missed that, OP.

Go for it! Jet lag - schmet lag. You will be too excited and having to much fun to notice it, and your friend will never forget that you went to all that trouble to share his big day.

I don't think it sounds crazy at all. But if your parents are willing I would try to eke out another day or two there.

Glad you’re doing it, I think you’d regret it if you didn’t!
Not the same length of travel but dh and I flew to LA last year to watch a concert. We arrived, went straight to the concert and then flew back the next day. Amazing!! And in fact because the trip was over such a short period of time our bodies hadn’t switched to the new time anyway and while we were knackered we didn’t actually get jet lagged. Hopefully you might find the same!

This thread is turning my stomach

All most of you care about is money and jet lag

I would not do it but this is obviously a very good friend and you can afford it and your DH is on board with it. No one else is affected so have a great time. Re the environmental claim, as you say the flight will be going regardless so considering you don't fly all the time I would have no issue with that.

Sounds brilliant OP. Your OH sounds like a legend. Your mate in oz will really appreciate your effort. My sister went to Oz for a week for our cousin's wedding, she could not get any more leave as she was a midwife and requested it fairly late. We all stayed for a month. As soon as you get on the plane, on the way and back, set your watch to the destination's time and do what you do at that time. Drink water.
Have a ball

Apart from a rare few, no-one on this thread cares at all about the impact

It would take 146,720 trees a full year to deal with the carbon from a return flight like that

And that's only one of millions more flights

This sort of totally selfish, destructive behaviour is why we're seeing the planet and animals dying already

Most of you have children....

Is nothing that's going on in the world actually entering your consciousness?

Now I know we're all totally fucked....

Interesting that the people who've been to Oz or NZ once, think they're the experts, and that the OP shouldn't do it (note: it's already booked!). They're horrified at the very notion, categorically saying it's 'impossible'.

Whereas the people who've done the trip many times, say 'go for it!!'

The jetlag isn't that big a deal when you've done it many times, and know there are quite a few mitigating factors. The main ones:

• arriving in the evening, so that you can pretty much go straight to bed
• direction of travel - I think it's with the setting sun, so east to west
• melatonin
• excitement and adrenaline - when you're buzzed and psyched to be somewhere, the jetlag doesn't have so much of an impact. On the other hand, it's a lot worse returning home after the holiday's over, for example.

Delighted you're going OK - it will be amazing!

Catwaving, you are the only one that gives a shit and makes any sense! And before anyone has a go, I haven't read every single comment but enough to agree with catwaving that the vast majority of posters are only concerned about money and jetlag. No wonder the planet is doomed.

All most of you care about is money and jet lag

Actually, I think you'll find the motivation for the trip is a 25-year friendship.

The carriers will be making those flights whether the OP is on them, or not.

@Feelingquitewarm

This:

It also does seem a bit desperate to me. Are you sure you didn’t want to be the one marrying him?

is a really unpleasant thing to say. I get you're pissed off about the environmental aspects of this, but to start having a go at the OP's intentions is just not on.

BIWI - luckily the OP is batting those comments away as the daft, irrelevant utterances they are!