Good Day Everyone,
I have probably spent more than my fair share of time at
airports. Travelling overseas was pretty much part of every job I had during my
career and as a result I have travelled through a lot of airports. Nowadays my
time at airports is of a more relaxing nature :o) Instead of dealing with work emails,
writing presentations and interview questions, I can actually peruse the duty
free shops, stop of at the makeup counters (big grin) and just generally relax
before boarding the plane.
Out of all the airports I have travelled through, one in particular stands
out more than any others, so much so that it warrants its own blog post and
that is Singapore Changi Airport (website). This airport is a-mazing! I love love love
spending time here. This is one airport where I do not mind arriving three hours
before my flight!
Now I can appreciate that many of you may not ‘get’ my level
of excitement relating to, of all things, an airport. But let me tell you, when
you have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of airports, like I have, you will
just know when you come across one that is as amazing as this one!
So you’re probably wandering what is the deal with this
particular airport? Why all the fuss? Why a whole blog post dedicated to it?
Well let me fill you in. First of all if you’re a Singapore resident then the automated
systems (which by the way actually work unlike the UK eye scanner things!) at immigration means you never have to queue (not that the immigration
queues ever tend to be that long when compared to those back home at Heathrow and Manchester!). You simply scan your passport and thumb print and
the barriers open with a cute little message appearing on the computer screen
wishing you ‘bon voyage’ or ‘welcome back’ (I know I know, little things please me).
The airport itself is very large, welcoming, spacious and
best of all carpeted once you pass through immigration. This means there’s no
screech trolley noises and the sound of people’s heels clicking constantly (a
sound I absolutely detest... nothing to do with the fact that I can no longer
where high heels of course ;o)). In addition, the airport plays the most relaxing
chill out music I've ever heard at an airport. There are seats a plenty and I’m
not talking the uncomfortable bench style but more coffee shop style. There are
even sun lounger type seats in dedicated napping areas where you can get some
shut eye. There are free foot massaging machines dotted around the airport as well
as free internet terminals and little seating areas where you can watch various
shows. The airport even has a real movie theatre in two of its terminals – how cool
is that!
If you’re travelling with children then there’s plenty to
keep them entertained with a kid’s playground, the tallest indoor slide in
Singapore, an integrated multimedia entertainment centre, arcade games at Zone
X, 3D and 4D motion simulators and a forest themed indoor playground are just a
few of the offerings.
The airport has several outdoor gardens including a
butterfly garden, access to swimming pool and other relaxation facilities as
well as beauty salon services. If you’re transiting through Singapore and have
at least five hours between flights then you can even take advantage of a free two
hour Singapore sightseeing tour!
The airport is probably one of the greenest airports I've
ever been two, with trees lining escalators, flower gardens and various cultural
and artistic installations. One of my favourites is The Social Tree (video) located at Terminal 1. This is an
interactive installation that has several touch screen booths located around it
where passengers can upload photos and/or videos of themselves in various
artistic forms e.g. black and white, sketch format, sepia, with animated
features such as glasses and against various backdrops such as the butterfly
garden.
The Social Tree |
Touch screen booth |
The Social Tree with an underwater backdrop |
These photos/videos are then uploaded on to the screens at the crown of
the tree where they float around on the screens against various backdrops. My
hubby and I had a great time uploading our photo which appeared in a bubble at
the sea bed, in a hot air balloon floating across various backdrops of
Singapore such as a sunset, night sky and even a rain storm. Other backdrops
that we saw included a butterfly garden and a dark mystical forest. You can
even post your photos/videos to various social networking sites like Facebook
and email them to yourself. We can even retrieve our photo next time we are at
the airport – how great is that?
Singapore night sky backdrop |
Singapore with the Formula 1 race track |
Singapore rain storm |
Singapore sunset backdrop |
I love how innovative, creative and relaxing Changi airport
is and can completely understand why it has been crowned the world’s best
airport. I think airports back home could certainly take some inspiration and
ideas for improvements especially Manchester airport.
Have you ever had the pleasure of visiting Singapore’s
Changi airport? What were your experiences/impressions? Which is your favourite
airport and why?
Love Sheen xxx
P.S. As I said I've experienced the good, the bad and the
ugly of airports and my worst experience has got to be the airport in Bali.
There were more cockroaches than people at that airport and it’s one that I
will never transit through again!!! You've been warned!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to leave a comment and you don't have to be a blogger to do so. I love reading each and every one :o)