Instead, we stare at Instagram, answer WhatsApp messages we could perfectly reply to after landing, and convince ourselves that being “reachable” at 35,000 feet somehow means we are winning at life. Always one step ahead. But perhaps, occasionally, it’s not such a bad thing to be one step behind.

Which is exactly why Going Places, the in-flight magazine by Malaysia Airlines, deserves a little more credit.

Because surprisingly, it’s actually a really nice magazine.

Not the kind you politely flip through during turbulence before returning to your phone. Properly nice. The design is beautiful, the photography is thoughtful, and the articles are genuinely interesting. Someone clearly cared while making it, which already makes it slightly revolutionary these days.

And yet hardly anyone opens it.
It just sits there quietly in the seat pocket while we continue watching strangers reorganise their kitchens on TikTok or typing messages that can almost certainly wait another two hours. Which is a shame, really. Because Going Places is full of the sort of things that make travel exciting in the first place. Beautiful resorts. Great restaurants. Places you suddenly want to visit. Small discoveries you probably would never have searched for yourself because the algorithm was too busy feeding you things you never asked for.

There is also something strangely comforting about reading a physical magazine on a flight. You slow down a little. You turn pages. You pause. You accidentally discover something interesting instead of being told what to look at next.

So the next time you fly, maybe look up from your phone for a moment.

You don’t necessarily have to talk to your neighbour. Let’s not get too ambitious.

But at least open the magazine.
It’s actually worth your time.

And as a small side note, we are especially proud this month, because Nala Designs happens to have an ad featured in this bi-monthly issue as well.