What to take on the flight

[Fieldsofsausages]

I am travelling to Adelaide via Singapore in a couple of weeks with my mum and 12 year old son. I've never been on a long haul flight before and have no idea what to take on the plane! Any tips gratefully received on things I could take to make the journey easier/more pleasant!

[funnyfoursome]

You don't need a to buy an overpriced plastic water bottle after security. Airports have free water fluintains and they'll refill for you on boarding as well as throughout the flight. Helps to keep hydrated on sucha long haul. I always take slippers and warm socks for me, moisturiser including lips and a few snacks for the kids. The films help the hours to pass!

[NavyBerry]

Decongestant. Nose gets so dry and blocked. Eye drops would be nice as well. Especially if any of you have contacts.

[winterisstillcoming]

A couple of night nurse!

[Nononononono33]

Have spent quite a long time in Singapore Airlines economy (again travelling to and from NZ) - you’ll definitely have a screen each and movies/TV on demand. More than you can possibly have time to watch!

[MrsTerryPratchett]

No flip flops!!. These are so bad for walking about in and would suggest you wear flat shoes and or trainers instead.

I love them so it's all personal preference. However Australia and Asia they can be seen as a little déclassé so maybe not that trip.

[Fieldsofsausages]

The stopover on the way there isn't too bad, but we have just over 8 hours between flights on the way back

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

No flip flops!!. These are so bad for walking about in and would suggest you wear flat shoes and or trainers instead.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

You likely will not spend much time at all at Changi; such stopovers tend to be very short in duration. On our last time there we had 30 minutes from disembarking before having to line up to get back on the plane for the second leg.

[Movinghouseatlast]

Wear flat slip on shoes, like ballerinas. Flip flops if you can bear it!

It makes security easier as you wont have to take your shoes off.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Why do people bother buying water? I take a large, refillable bottle and refill it. I've never been unable to and I fly a LOT. And it's vastly easier, doesn't crumple like cheap water bottles and I can clip it on to my bag.

Plus chargers, headphones, pillow and comfy shoes. My feet swell so I use sheepskin boots or flip flops if it's hot.

[BiddyPop]

Wear:
Compression socks
Comfortable clothes that you can sleep in, in layers (like a vest top, a long sleeved top, a cardigan and a scarf wrapped around your neck that can double as a head cover or a blanket as necessary, or just as a throw around your shoulders).

Buy a bottle of water after security.
Most airports have water fountains somewhere to fill your own bottles if you bring them through security empty. (I now take my reusable coffee cup also, as it keeps much warmer than the takeaway cups do, mine doesn't leak so that helps).

Have some chewy or boiled sweets. If you want, bring a few snacks, but not loads - you can kill time in the airports roaming for them, and they will feed you on those long flights.

Bring a lip balm in your "liquids for carry on" clear plastic bag. I usually have my toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, cleanser, moisturiser, comb or small hairbrush, emery board (nail file) in there too and sometimes makeup if I feel I will want it.

Decent book that you are enjoying, and probably buy a magazine at the airport.
I often buy the books of sudoku puzzles, but rather than bringing the whole book, I rip out a few from each section (easy, medium, hard) and bring those, along with a notepad, pencil, pen. (I don't care if I mess them up and don't look at the solutions anyway - but once I've tried the ones each side of a page, I can throw away the page, and it's much easier to have a couple of pieces of paper and a pencil tucked into a pocket than the whole book).

Headphones, phone, spare power bank and charging cables for phone and powerbank.
Ipad or similar is very useful - games, podcasts, downloaded tv or movies, downloaded books etc.

And I usually bring spare socks and spare underwear - it's nice to freshen up with clean ones at the end of an overnight flight, and also its ALWAYS useful to have a spare pair in case luggage doesn't arrive to get you through until you can find shops etc. (A little washbag pouch is sufficient for those latter 2).

But my carryon bag is quite small - 25l backpack is plenty and has room for any shopping as well.

[Fieldsofsausages]

He does, but it's an iPhone 5 and very few apps are compatible with it these days! They're the sort of games we'd play together, so not a big deal having them on my phone.

[Fieldsofsausages]

Singapore Airlines

[Double3xposure]

Doesn’t your 12 year old son have his own phone / tablet etc ? If not I’d invest £40 in one.

[Double3xposure]

Almost certainly yes. Which airline ?

[Fieldsofsausages]

Phew! Mum and I will be ok, but keeping my 12 year old son 'entertained' could be a challenge! Fortunately he loves trivia games so I've downloaded as many of those onto my phone as I could find!

[Bringringbring12]

Good

[Bringringbring12]

God lord yes
And they will be gods

[Fieldsofsausages]

Am I right in thinking that the plane will have the facility to watch movies? We're flying Economy

[Bringringbring12]

Change of clothing. Seriously.

[notimagain]

I’ll fess up....after posting earlier I realised that it is really is kind of hard to find any “non international gates” at Changi.....

[Desperatelyseekingreason]

Last time I flew through Changi there was a water fountain in the departure lounge. I emptied my refillable bottle before security and refilled it in the lounge.
The airport had a nice indoor butterfly garden too.

[Reginabambina]

I would strongly reccomend getting a hotel room/lounge on your lay over. My go to list for a very similar trip I frequently do are:
Silk eye mask
Little bottle of moisturiser
Face cleansing wipes
A change of clothes (ideally two sets of socks/pants as well)
A tiny tin of Vaseline (put it on your lips and inside your nose regularly to prevent bleeding).
Protein bar/similar in case the food they give you is inedible.
An oversized scarf which you can use as a blanket and fuzzy socks.
Neck pillow.
I pack all of this into a backpack to keep hands free.

[Elouera]

Everyone else has mainly covered my suggestions. I'm not sure what you get in the welcome pack on board nowadays, but I always take a pair of those small, white, cheap slip on slippers. They fold up to nothing and you can get them from poundshop, asda etc I think.

Once onboard, I always take my shoes off and put on a pair of warm, woolly socks because my feet get cold. I use the slippers though when walking around, because many times the toilet floors are wet with who-knows-what??? I'd prefer the bottom of the slippers get wet rather than it soaking into my socks. Wear shoes that are slightly loose beforehand, because my ankles and feet always swell, despite regular walks around the cabin.

Changi airport if amazing,with the most beautiful orchid displays. They have an outdoor, cactus garden/ lounge which has a bar in it. Its nice to actually get outside and feel the humidity and heat. Its free to just wander around in it, and its within the airside of the terminal.

[Fieldsofsausages]

Thanks so much everyone for the really useful advice!