Arrival to Singapore

I wanted to briefly memorialize my traveling experience, which, as expected, had its share of adventures along the way.

My itinerary consisted of a layover stop in Tokyo:

May 2, 2009: ORD --> Narita (ANA flight # NH011) = 13 hours
May 3, 2009: Narita --> Singapore (Changi) (ANA flight #NH901) = 7 hours

While I brought plenty of things to do on my flight, somehow the entire trip was dedicated to either watching the movies, eating the delicious FREE food or sleeping. On my first flight I was lucky enough to not have an immediate neighbor, which allowed for plenty of stretching and not having to fight over the elbow rest space. NICE. On my second flight, I wasn't so lucky and had to settle for 3/4 of my own seat. NOT so nice.

Upon our arrival to Narita, an interesting chain of events took place. The very second we parked at the gate, a number of health inspectors boarded the plane. They were all dressed in masks and other protective gear. Starting at the nose of the plane, the health crew proceeded to check every single person for any possible symptoms of swine flu. Simultaneously, every passenger on the plane was given a face mask and the flight crew insisted that we put them on for the duration of our stay on board. This process took about an hour, so needless to say many of us grew restless and were extremely relieved to get off that vessel.

Narita airport was a lot different from what I remember. Perhaps it was the terminal I was in, but I didn't feel like I was in a sea of tourists, surrounded by souvenier shops, food stalls and crazy samples of Japanese culture. My favorite part of the terminal was the nearly isolated walkway between where I arrived and where I had to depart from. It was very simple, very long and very empty.


Most of my layover time was spent walking back and forth in this walkway, trying to exchange currency, looking at different souveniers and just killing time. I was also on the lookout for one of my fellow classmates - Noah - who turned out to be one of my roommates. Noah was nowhere in sight, but he did end up on my flight to Singapore. Apparently we were both looking for each other but never did find one another.

The second leg of the flight was deceivingly longer than it seemed on paper. Despite watching a few movies and even starting on the first season of 24, I grew very inpatient towards the end of the flight and wanted to get off that plane asap. My patience and self-control were rewarded upon arrival to Changi airport, which, according to a number of publications, is considered to be the world's best. It certainly didn't disappoint. Even though it was well past midnight, everything was illuminated, many stores were open, a number of smiling faces greeted us throughout the terminal and we practically sailed past the security. Unfortunately I was too tired to enjoy the airport and all its free amenities (swimming pool, fitness centers, sleeping areas, movie theater, massage chairs, etc.), but I promised myself to dedicate a solid afternoon prior to my departure to exploring this wonderland. June 24th cannot come soon enough. :)