With the UK summer seeming to fall short in fulfilling our hopes and dreams of hot and sunny weather, plenty of Brits are taking to the skies to fly off on holiday.
Except some are seeking out a new way of embracing being on a plane with the viral trend of ‘rawdogging’. And no, it’s not about that kind of rawdogging.
This bizarre travel trend sees people heading off on longer journeys in the skies with absolutely nothing to occupy their time. No headphones, no films, no water, no chatting and no snacks.
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Sounds like hell to be honest. But while experts say men are more likely to be the ones enjoying the trend, this woman decided to break her rawdogging virginity – suffering some worrying side effects.
When Alabama Jackson flew back from Mykonos to Gatwick earlier this month, she decided to take on the challenge in the mindset she would be ‘able to flaunt her status as a legend for years to come’.
She told Tyla that she was ‘almost’ excited to take on the challenge before quickly losing that optimism. “I felt my mind begin to crack, my mood begin to shift and my dignity begin to evaporate,” she said.
Jackson even had some rather existential thoughts ranging from the existence of God to the beginning of the universe. By her second rawdogging hour it was ‘excruciating’.
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And it kept getting worse.
“Tinnitus still raging through my brain, other symptoms began to afflict me. I developed a major stomach ache - though this could have just been a combination of thirst or hunger seeing as both water and food were off limits,” she said.
“The worst symptom, however, was pure inexplicable rage. I was furious at every single person who had the audacity to catch my eye, to walk past me, or even to simply exist.”
By the time the flight was due to land, Jackson was ‘tired, hungry and angry’. And yet, the plane hitting tarmac and the rawdogging ending didn’t solve all her problems.
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While the ringing in her ears eventually stopped and her stomach ache faded, ‘nothing could be done to fix her mood’.
Jackson explained: “I couldn’t put my anger into words, which made it worse. Why on EARTH did I just do that? The fury was by far the worst part of the entire experience, and the hardest symptom to shake off.”
So, having not ‘been the same’ since, it’s fair to say the rawdogging wasn’t a particularly positive experience for her and she still has no idea why people do it out of choice.
“I think the most probable explanation is that it’s for attention - though, as a newly-inducted raw-dogger,” she added “I can tell you that no attention for completing the task made it worth it.
Jess Battison