I read a book some years ago by an Army General (name long forgotten) who quite obviously really was a very important person, because he got to fly as a pax on the Colombo-Perth Catalina service. (I think it could carry eight pax, but SLF were relatively rare, as other more important cargo, usually 'safe hand' high security mail and crypto gear, took preference.)
The General said it was without doubt the most uncomfortable experience he had ever endured in his life.
The crews who did the trip two or three times a month had balls of stainless steel (and eardrums made of the same stuff after a few trips). The same trip takes a little over six hours in a modern airliner - and doesn't have Zeke floatplanes patrolling the air route hoping to shoot you down. When I operated that sector, I sometimes used to include the double sunrise story and how long the original service took in a Catalina in my PA. I suspect it would have meant absolutely nothing to 99% of the pax.