SIN (Singapore Changi Airport)

Singapore Changi airport is widely considered the best airport in the world. I got to spend eight hours there, and while I haven't spent eight hours in every airport on the planet, there's a lot to like about this one.

Pictured: a very real sign in the Singapore airport.  Slightly less whimsical: armed guards.  But we'll get to that.

For starters, Singapore had all the basic needs covered well. The seating was comfortable by airport standards, and very clean. The staff at the desks were helpful, even the ones who worked for other airlines. There was food available (for purchase, of course) twenty-four hours a day. And bathrooms? Wow. Typically, airport bathrooms come in two varieties. There are the ones people don't mind using, and the ones they really wish they didn't have to use. Singapore's were much closer to the first category than the second, but they really belong in a third category for bathrooms I wish I could use

all the time. They were very clean, aesthetically pleasing, and very functional. The stalls had plenty of room in which to manuver baggage, and they even had little shelves on which to set passports and boarding passes, or whatever it is you need to get out of your hands in an airport. I know that for me, it's always something.

Beyond that, the thing I liked about Singapore Changi was the fact that I spent eight hours there, but I didn't sleep and I wasn't bored.

After I got my connecting flight semi-figured out and had something to eat,

If you pay with a 20 at a McDonald's in Singapore, this is what you'll get back in change.

This was the first place I visited:

Yes, this is a garden.

The plants are real, and very well maintained (or whatever the equivalent of maintaining is that people do with plants).

If it looks like the path through the garden is sparkling,

That's because there are a bunch of tiny little lights in it,

And if it looks like Singapore has a pond in its airport,

That's because Singapore has a pond in its airport.

If it weren't for my carry-on luggage, I would have forgotten that I was in an airport at all.

There was also some very interesting shopping at the Singapore airport. Most of the stores were not open at one in the morning when I got there. Almost all of them were open by 8:30 AM when I went to my gate. Here, for instance, is the most interesting candy store I've ever seen in my life:

The Singapore airport, or at least Terminal 2 where I spent most of the night, seemed to have a thing for candy.

There were two other similar (though smaller and less visually interesting) 24-hour candy stores in the terminal. I also saw this:

But that couldn't be a real place, right?

Actually, Wrong

In US airports, they have stands and kiosks. In Singapore, they have giant open-air M&M stores. With statues in them.

Or does she prefer stewardess? I asked, but she didn't say anything.

What I learned today: The blue M&M is Homer Simpson, and the green M&M is a flight attendant.

There was also this,

Which seemed a little incongruous. Teddy Ballgame, the Babe, and Doug Flutie? Then again, Babe Ruth is extremely popular in Japan. Maybe Singapore has an additional affinity for amazingly skilled pure hitters and...obscure, moderately-skilled quarterbacks?

Eventually, I left Singapore via SilkAir, which was worthy of mention in its own right. Any airline that serves a full meal on a two-hour 9:30 AM flight is alright by me. This airline served its meal on acual dishes with real flatware. They also had the cutest and best-smelling flight attendants I've ever seen in one place, which I'm sure I'm a terrible person for noticing. Their nametags identified them as "stewardess" rather than flight attendant, which leads me to believe that I was supposed to be a bad person and notice.

"Quaint!"

It's worth noting that as a team, most of SilkAir's talent is at the chef and flight attendant positions. The pilots didn't impress me. They say you can tell a good pilot from a bad pilot by the takeoff and landing. These pilots didn't impress me.

"Not a happy landing."

There was one thing about the Singapore airport that was only amusing in hindsight. To put a name to it, I was confronted by a paramilitary police force. It happened like this:

There were a bunch of people hanging out on the 3rd floor of the airport, I assume waiting for morning flights, when two uniformed officers walked up to me. They were skinny little things, and they only carried skinny little clubs. I heard them speak a bunch of different languages over the course of the incident, so I assume they were hired for those skills rather than for their prowess in dangerous situations. Behind them, though, were two short, squatty type guys with berets, bulletproof vests, and very big guns. Soon, a third arrived. They looked built for trouble, and they definitely knew how to set up a perimeter. As a group, they approached me first. I flatter myself to think that they were a well-trained force trained to neutralize the biggest threat first, but in reality a 100 kilo American wearing shorts and a bright orange shirt at 1AM just looks jarringly out of place. Anyway, the two skinny little uniforms asked me some questions and moved on. Eventually, they ended up taking a couple of other people away.

Fortunately, I remained (and remain) free to live (and travel) another day, which I will post about as soon as I have something written.