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:
- Get a shoeshine. Especially if it’s not normally the kind of thing you do. Why not arrive at your destination looking sharp?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- Crank your soundtrack. With headphones and an eclectic mix, the terminal is your music video set. But no dancing on the moving walkway, please.
- Fantasise at the departures board. And try to pick out the cities you’ve never heard of.
- 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.
- Sip a local libation. Same idea, but faster: impeccable lager in Prague, flawless espresso in Rome, craft beers in Portland, Oregon.
- Watch the world outside. Decode the ground crew’s hand gestures; see how the baggage handlers treat the odd-size packages.
- Let fish nibble your toes. Only an option in some airports in Asia, but we figure this spa treatment counts as a cultural experience.
- Write your postcards early. Pick out the silliest ones you can find, and confuse your friends.
- Write a letter, longhand. Really confuse your friends.
- Compose haikus. Conveniently, “waiting for a plane” is five syllables. Extra points if you work in the airport name.
- 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!
- 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.
- Do your trashiest shopping. No one’s around to see you buy that Simon Cowell autobiography!
- Ride the train. Or the bus. Or whatever takes you to a different terminal – and possibly a whole different world of entertainment.
- Go on a scavenger hunt. Two teams, two cameras – who can take pics of all the letters of the alphabet first?
- 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.
One of the fascinating techniques I found myself indulging in to make the time go faster was to pick a friendly looking person, sit by them and just start talking. I met some interesting people that way – some of them doing amazing things.