At 28,000 feet, no one can hear you scream

Josh Roberts believes the best trips involve long hikes and muddy boots. His life goals haven't changed much since he was a kid: He still wants to be Indiana Jones when he grows up.

Follow him on Twitter (@joshwhowrites) and Instagram (@joshwhowrites), and visit his website (joshrobertsbooks.com) or Goodreads page to learn more about his forthcoming novel.

Josh joined SmarterTravel in 2001, and is an active member in both the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

In addition to SmarterTravel, he has written for USA Today, The Boston Globe, Yahoo! Travel, The Huffington Post, Airfarewatchdog, TripAdvisor, Jetsetter, ABC News, Oyster, and Business Insider. His travel photography can be seen in Britain and Ireland's Best Wild Places, published by Penguin UK.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "A lacrosse ball. It's small, lightweight, and works wonders on loosening up tight muscles."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "Being the first to discover an ancient lost city. Failing that, visiting as many of the already-discovered ancient ruins as possible."

Travel Motto: "Not all those who wander are lost." -J.R.R. Tolkien

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Aisle."

See recent posts by Josh Roberts

In the spirit of keeping things fresh around here, I’m going to eschew the daily round-up of airline merger rumors and take a walk on the lighter side today.

In case you missed it over the weekend, a passenger on a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight somehow managed to sneak 80 mice onto the plane and stowed them in the overhead compartment. This brilliant plan backfired, however, when the mice escaped and “started falling on the heads and scurrying between the feet of panic-stricken passengers,” according to a Reuters report picked up by MSNBC.com.

Where do I even start with this one? Let’s see: a) Remind me never to trust the baggage screeners at Riyadh’s King Khaled airport, b) I can only assume that someone is going to lose their job over this, and c) Why mice?

Some days this blog just writes itself.

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