Thursday, June 05, 2008

Seven Airports in Three Weeks


Seven Airports in 3 weeks is definitely a rare personal feat. I doubt if I can repeat that in my lifetime. It was not done by design and it’s not something that an average Joe (or Juan de la Cruz) can do. I’m not saying I’m an extraordinary person but more like the events in the life the past 2 month qualifies for beyond the usual daily event in our life and not something that you pray for. Here’s the list of airports that I’ve experienced from April 18 to May 10, 2008:

1. Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Manila, Philippines) - MNL
2. Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Jakarta, Indonesia) - CGK
3. Low Cost Carrier Terminal (Selangor, Malaysia) - LCCT
4. Changi International Airport (Singapore) - SIN
5. Central Japan International Airport - Nagoya, Japan - NGO
6. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport - (Detriot, Michigan, USA) - DTW
7. Orlando International Airport - (Orlando, Florida, USA) - MCO

I can’t really judge what’s the best or what’s the worst airport as I really did not have time to assess. The short assessment of the airports that I’ll write in this entry is purely based on perception and no scientific basis.

1. MNL – “Pwede na rin” compared to our Asia counterparts. It is better than CGK and LCCT but not even close to SIN. Let’s not even attempt to compare it to USA or Japan airports.
2. CGK – Of the seven airports, I’d say this is one of the “not so okay” because of its cleanliness. But on the other hand, it is organized and has a cultural theme to its airport design.
3. LCCT – This is Malaysia’s budget airport. Their REAL airport is located 20 kilometers away. Though it’s a budget airport with clearly budget facilities, the place is clean. I’d say even cleaner than MNL.
4. SIN – This is voted as the best airport in the world. I didn’t get the chance to explore it though because of unforeseen circumstance but it is spanking clean, very organized and security is comparable to US airports.
5. NGO – Here’s another clean airport, probably the cleanest among the bunch. It has a wide selection of duty free products but like most duty free shops, they are a bit pricey.
6. DTW – My vote goes to this airport as the best of the seven airports. It’s like a shopping mall masquerading as an airport. The message in that airport is “Shop till you drop and by the way, please don’t forget your flight.”
7. MCO – My father used to tell me that MCO airport is this and that. They’re actually true, saw them with my own eyes however the place needs sprucing up.

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