I have left the building!

I am transiting in Singapore right now after leaving Japan early this morning. There were some tears (actually, it was like a water sprinkler had gone off) and plenty of hugs all around. It felt like an end of an era for me because I doubt I will ever have the same experience again. Sad, really.

Anyway on a happier note, flying with Singapore Airlines and transiting at Changi Airport is one of the best things ever. Everything (but the food) about SIA really recommends to itself and the airport is first-class. SIA let me through with 37 kilos of checked baggage, a lap top bag, a cabin luggage and a handbag. How great was that! Of course I had to apply for special consideration in regards to the extra weight allowance but they are very understanding to students. Thank goodness, I don’t know how I could have reduced my baggage weight anymore.

At the airport they even have a small butterfly park within the building, for goodness sakes! Besides that, I managed to have a great shower, use their free wi-fi access while eating at one of the local restaurants. Food was pretty decent too. It definitely makes the four hour transit move a lot faster!

However I can’t really say I got a good impression of the people. It is not that they weren’t extremely polite, but I sort of got a sense of arrogance when they spoke – from the lady at the information desk to the transit lounge person to the cleaning lady who manned the shower rooms. Now this just might be that I’m Malaysian and we have a long-standing friendly rivalry against Singapore and they might sense my “Malaysian-ness”, but I felt that they could be more approachable. This is just my own feelings though.