Airports I've Landed On

there are those who look at airports as just airports, just a passageway from one place to another... but i look at airport as a microcosm of community. gone are the days when airports are just "stopovers"... it now has a life of its own, bustling with many people from different countries passing by the airport for different purposes, and some can be really life-changing!

my first international flight was to HK in 1998, so we landed at hongkong international airport. it was so huge for a first timer, and i thought, airports can be sooooo intimidating. your first time will always be memorable ;)

Now, let me trace back all the airports i've been to:
- Changi airport, Singapore
- Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, going to singapore
- Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, going to Jakarta, Indonesia
- Dubai International Airport which felt like second home-airport to me, following our NAIA
- Carthage International Airport, Tunis, Tunisia
- Doha International Airport, Qatar
- Mohammed V International Airport, Casablanca, Morocco
- Frankfurt Airport, Germany
- Amsterdam Airport Schipol, Netherlands
- Suvarnhabumi International Airport, Bangkok, Thailand
- JFK International Airport, New York, US
- Port Columbus International Airport, Ohio, US
- Detroit Internationa Airport, US
- O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, US
- Orlando International Airport, Florida, US
- Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International Airport, US
- MSP International Airport, Minnesota, US

Not all landings have registed in my very capable memory, nor in my handy digicams. But there are some details that are etched in my mind, either because it is so nice, or so infamously terrible!

1. I was unpleasantly suprised at the JFK airport. very chaotic! Line was so loong at immigration, of course, I missed my flight to Cincinnati! And there was a typhoon that evening so all flights were cancelled for the next day! Good thing, I have Malou, Lex and Gabby (churchmates) in NY and they adopted me for that evening and even chauffered me to the airport the next day! ;)

2. I liked the 'econolighting' of the Frankfurt airport. LCD lights were beamed unto steel ceilings so the lights are effectively scattered even with just few lights on. talk about efficiency eh? Yes, I noticed that because I stayed there for 6 hours! what to do yani!

3. I liked the serenity and calmness of Cincinnati and Columbus Aiport. And here is where all the really 'white people' are in! Most of them sport simple running shoes and simple clothes.

4. I like the customer-friendly signs at HK, Dubai at Changi airports. And it's ok for me to have a stopover there for more than 3 hours coz there is just so much to do... and see... and buy! I am also amused by the fashion parade in these places.

5. I do not like the $3 per cart in most US airports... and we hated NAIA when they started charging?
6. I liked the view from the top when landing at Amsterdam Airport-- super picturesque! Plains draped with nicely lined and uniformly colored crops.
7. I liked the view from the top going to MSP because it is the first time i saw a place all covered with snow! ;)

8. Mohammed V really reminds me so much of NAIA! and hey, that was were i had been infamously left by the plane... uh huh! and that was because i do not speak arabic nor french, huhu!

9. Oh, I was so surprised i was intervied by a Filipino passport control officer at... Orlando Airport! Very welcoming!
10. I cannot forget how for all the entries and exits i did in US, i was always "the chosen" one ... SSS... that is, more disriminate screening. hmm, must be my passport?

11. I will not forget too how i kinda lost my composure at Detroit International Airport, when I realized I did not pass thru any immigration and I am already going out of US! I spoke with Immigration Officer asking for stamp, but he said not needed, and I spoke with KLM boarding officer, and I spoke with other people! Hmm, now i realized, when you go out of US, there is no immigration! Just give the white piece of paper to the airline guy when you are boarding the plane! plain and simple. saves manpower.

Did you know that when I was planning my recent trip to US, included in the factor were the stopovers ;) next time, i wanna have a stopover in London, France and Italy... hmmm

Despite all these landings into the differently-charaterized airports, the NAIA airport has its own enigma to me--- of course, that's where my home is! ;)