Many people in my life love to travel. Some of them go to incredible places, and are far more adventurous than I. One of these friends is headed to Iceland next year. While we were discussing his upcoming trip (of which I am super jealous) he told me a story that happened on another of his international jaunts.
He felt lucky that his upgrade had cleared, and enjoyed his meal and watched several movies from his comfortable chair. After a while he decided to rest for a bit. He woke up and, still a bit groggy, headed to the lav. It wasn’t until he was in there that he realized he hadn’t put his shoes on, and was in there in socks. Everything seemed to be fine, but then the plane started turning and he saw liquid rolling across the floor. He quickly realized what was happening and tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. The flight attendant felt very sorry for him and found him a new pair of socks to wear. Even as I’m typing this story, it gives me the shudders to think about what was on that floor. So freaking gross!!
Apparently it doesn’t matter what cabin you’re sitting in—bathroom floors are still gross. So please, please, please wear slippers in the lav. The best kind are ones with an impermeable, rubber bottom (like these) so that nothing soaks into your shoe. Honestly, it’s so gross I can hardly think about it. Wear slippers!!
Readers, do you wear slippers on international flights?
I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but I learned the hard way not to take my shoes off on a long flight. I just wear really comfortable ones instead. I don’t travel a lot internationally, but one time when I did, I took my shoes off for the overnight portion of the flight. When I tried to put my shoes back on, I realized that my feet had swollen so much that i could barely get them back on. And frankly, I cannot see wearing “slippers” in public, even if it is on an overnight flight.
When provided, I wear the slippers (and the socks too, if available). Otherwise I just put my shoes back on. If they have laces I tuck them in so they don’t dangle.
I wear hard sole moccasins when I travel. They look enough like shoes that I am comfortable wearing them in public. Yet I’m comfortable wearing them in a nasty lab on a plane. I throw them in a load of clothes when I get home to sanitize them.
I take my shoes off and put them back on if I need to go to the bathroom. I don’t see the point in packing slippers – just more stuff to be bogged down with. There’s urine on the floor of every airplane bathroom and the people who walk around in socks or bare feet gross me out.
With all that jostling someone is bound to “miss”. I like slipper socks with a plastic sole. They roll up small and can be stuffed into a ziplock Baggie to keep them separate from everything else.