Terra Incognita Australis – Post IV: Two Hours in “Singapore”

Terra Incognita Australis – Post IV: Two Hours in “Singapore”

Picking up where Post III left off, allow me to continue expounding the virtues of the Airbus A380. In Singapore Airlines configuration, the A380-800 (that is 800 passengers) actually seats only 470. Hence, there is more room available. Granted, on the 2205 Heathrow-Singapore route (which I will forever dub the “Breeder Line” because of the unexpected proliferation of infants. Thanks Mom and Dad for not taking me on a 22-hour plane ride when I was that young. Either they breed them differently Down Under or the parents really are just that crazy), the plane is hardly at capacity. Thanks to my luxury lie-flat Economy seating, the four-hours of kip I got was easily the most restful sleep I have ever had on an airplane. I am not kidding when I say that the 7186 miles between London and Singapore felt nowhere near as long as the 9-hour London to Washington journey of 2008, all thanks to having a row to myself.

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Flying into Singapore Changi was—without hyperbole—one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had the pleasure to enjoy. This is putting it into the same spine-tingling realm as the first football game I attended at Scott Stadium, the first time I raced track and field, and the first time I kissed my wife. Seriously, it is simply that cool. You descend through the clouds with the Malay Peninsula off to the East and the sea is literally full of ships. I grew up going to my grandparents’ house in South Florida and I always would watch ships coming into Fort Lauderdale and Miami harbours, but I’ve not seen a thing like this. The closer one gets to Singapore, the more ships appear. They dot the surface like water bugs.

Despite the fact that I know not all international airports are created equally, the contrast between Heathrow and Changi is stark. The contrast is brought into even greater relief when you consider that both airports act as the major hubs for their respective regions. Yet, Heathrow seems to bumble along, barely able to function, while Changi runs with a breathless efficiency that is downright tranquil. You know that there are thousands of travellers passing through to go off to all corners of Asia, yet the hallways are wide, quiet, and above all else, clean. The airport even has a butterfly garden and Koi Ponds. Seriously? It’s like driving an American car all your life and then getting behind the wheel of a BMW. You immediately wonder why they aren’t all made this way. Heathrow, for all its girth and notoriety, is no BMW.