San Francisco International Airport was pretty bland, and most shops were closed by the time I arrived... blah:
Here's some public art I found during my layover:
The international terminal was quiet, and a bit dim. Getting to it from the domestic terminals was pretty ez-pz, but it required a bit of walking.
As previously stated, most shops were closed, except for a duty free shop or two. I did get to whip out my Chinese skills and help a lady pay for her stuff.
Hong Kong International Airport:
Great natural light and good architecture.
It also has a spectacular backdrop (the 777-300ER I was on).
A Cathay Pacific 777-300ER; which I'll be on in 1.5 months!!!
Qantas 747-400, which I hope to be on later this year.
Arrival at Changi International Airport (Singapore)
The smaller terminals were nice. Each gate has its own security checkpoint, which I liked. Access to public transit was very easy and the staff was very knowledgeable and helpful
Changi is consistently named the best airport in the world... On the way back, I went through Terminal 3, and everything made sense.
More interior architecture...
The ridiculousness that is Terminal 3... they also had a free movie theater, butterfly garden, free massage chairs, free TV-stations where you could watch anything on a big screen, mini-hotel for long layovers, massages, public showers, and other stuff I can't remember...
Oh ya know, just chillin' by the koi pond...
My plane...
booooo!
Air Asia A320 to Kuala Lumpur.
Concord Hotel Singapore - It was OK, kind of old, and they screwed up my reservation... The location was nice though.
The Concord Hotel in Kuala Lumpur was a bit better (and it close to two train stations).
Kuala Lumpur's LCC-Terminal (Low Cost Carrier). We all got thermal scanned for H1N1 on arrival. You had to walk to and from your plane here. Public transport was a bit iffy, no one seemed to want to help. I managed to find some westerners who helped out. Trying to catch the right bus before it left felt like a scene out of the Amazing Race...
Remember what I said about walking to and from your plane? It was sweeeeeet!
Phuket International Airport was generic. Although it has a Thai Airways Restaurant which was cheap and good. ANNND a Dunkin Donuts, which has moochi donuts!!! (they were omg).
As for transport, the only way to get to and from this place was via Taxi... boo.
Alpina Phuket Nalina Resort & Spa... want to go back...
Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok, Thailand). Access to public transit was a bit confusing. A bus will take you to a central airport bus station, then you transfer to regional buses. I was lucky to find a local who told me where to get off. Then another who pointed me in the direction of the SkyTrain.
The interior was pretty nice:
Park Plaza in Bangkok - Highly recommend for approx $60USD a night. Great location to the SkyTrain, shopping, etc...
On the way home...
Sterile, bland, blah... I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express Airport... they ran shuttles to and from the airport very frequently... and from there you could use the rail system to get downtown. The cost of a one-way ticket was multiple times more than anything else I used on this trip... and the slowest... but it goes more places than Seattle's Light Rail, sigh.
On the way back to Seattle...
