Lovely Layovers

Japanese courtesy shines through in Narita International Airport (Tokyo). I was super stressed about only having 55 minutes for a connection, reading that I head to go through security. When the baby demon flight was ~15 min late, I got even more nervous. I've totally done the airport run before ... everyone has, so I got psyched for it, but upon arrival they announced my Singapore flight was delayed 2 hours. Whew, ok.

When I got off the plane, I had to chuckle...#1, agents met us at the gate, profusely apologizing for the 2 hour delay and offering meal vouchers worth ~$20. #2, security was literally around the corner from our gate. #3, there was no off-with-the-shoes or jacket. And oops, I still had water in my bottle. An agent says, "is it OK we pour out for you?" "Um, sure, of course!" #4, My connecting gate was down a single escalator and literally right in front of me. The whole thing took 10 minutes or less, and I'd totally slowed down because of the delay. It was almost as if the airport thought about the close connection and tried to accommodate as best as possible. Imagine that!?

For my $20 meal, despite not being hungry at all, I cashed it in for a plate of very fresh, made in front of me sushi. How could I say no!?

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Changi Airport

The Changi airport in Singapore is rated the best in the world. I'm here to tell you it is every bit as outstanding as reported. It should not be called an airport. Rather it is a mall, collection of bars, restaurants, hotels, entertainment, botanical gardens, etc. that just so happens to have planes that come and go. If all airports were like this, travellers would actually be happy instead of frazzled bitchy stressballs. "We are sorry, madam, you must go downstairs and clear security again." Me : "OK, no problem!" (disclosure: I already knew I had to). But I received this news after sleeping 4 or 5 hours in an actual bed in a dark room, after a delicious hot shower, with the chance to put on makeup and blow dry my hair, followed by a complimentary breakfast which was quite satisfying, and checking my email. All this and it wasn't even the actual Transit Hotel, which was full. This was the Transit Lounge, which charged me ~$30 for the privileges described above. And, I had passed on the movie theatre and swimming pool, in favor of horizontal rest.

Private Shower Facilities

It's a very green airport - with real plants everywhere, natural light streaming in, and get this: escalators that go into "sleep mode". I got on thinking, "wow, this is the slowest escalator ever", but then it sped up to a normal speed - Brilliant!

I felt totally on local time which was a feat unto itself. Then I sat enjoying a coffee and thinking about meeting James at the airport in Cambodia. He was flying in 1.5 hours after me.