20 things to do at the airport

My friend Heather kindly sent me this in an email…

Time to kill between flights? Not every airport can be Singapore (free movies, a butterfly garden, celebrity meet-and-greets!) or Seoul (crafts centre, free showers and wi-fi!). But even in the most humdrum of air hubs, there’s more to do than just try on expensive sunglasses and eat McDonalds – and often you can get a surprising sample of the culture beyond the terminal. Some distractions, in no particular order:

1. Get a shoeshine. Especially if it’s not normally the kind of thing you do. Why not arrive at your destination looking sharp?
2. Admire the art. It’s hard to beat Amsterdam’s Schiphol and its old Dutch masters. But even mid-tier airports have surprising artwork in odd corners.
3. Try out all the perfumes in duty-free. But for the sake of your fellow passengers do wash them off before you get on board.
4. Read the local paper. If it’s in a language you can’t understand, just look at the photos – you’ll appear to the rest of the world like a savvy local. Or just buy the local celebrity rag – spray-on tans transcend language barriers!
5. Get a massage. In Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi, you can get a deluxe treatment, but even one of those quickie back-and-neck rubs hits the spot after a long plane journey.
6. Crank your soundtrack. With headphones and an eclectic mix, the terminal is your music video set. But no dancing on the moving walkway, please.
7. Fantasise at the departures board. And try to pick out the cities you’ve never heard of.
8. Enjoy the local food. U.S. airports especially have secret regional goodies, from breakfast tacos in Austin, Texas, to celeb chef Rick Bayless’s haute Mexican in Chicago.
9. Sip a local libation. Same idea, but faster: impeccable lager in Prague, flawless espresso in Rome, craft beers in Portland, Oregon.
10. Watch the world outside. Decode the ground crew’s hand gestures; see how the baggage handlers treat the odd-size packages.
11. Let fish nibble your toes. Only an option in some airports in Asia, but we figure this spa treatment counts as a cultural experience.
12. Write your postcards early. Pick out the silliest ones you can find, and confuse your friends.
13. Write a letter, longhand. Really confuse your friends.
14. Compose haikus. Conveniently, “waiting for a plane” is five syllables. Extra points if you work in the airport name.
15. Give yourself a makeover. We’re not saying you need one. Just splurge on a travel-size hairspray, and cruise the makeup in duty-free. Brand-new you!
16. Do your dullest shopping. That practical stuff that’s no fun to buy at home – mobile phone cases, new socks – become cool souvenirs if you buy them in transit.
17. Do your trashiest shopping. No one’s around to see you buy that Simon Cowell autobiography!
18. Ride the train. Or the bus. Or whatever takes you to a different terminal – and possibly a whole different world of entertainment.
19. Go on a scavenger hunt. Two teams, two cameras – who can take pics of all the letters of the alphabet first?
20. Get some fresh air. Actually, we know of only one airport where this is possible: Kuala Lumpur, where you can walk around a “rain forest” that’s actually outside.