My Brother-in-law & Other Stories By Johnny P. Novera

NAIA & Changi Airport

(Travel Notes): - We took off on July 14 th   at NAIA or Ninoy Aquino International Airport for Rome via Singapore.    We were very pleased with  the fast processing  of passengers by airport personnel at  NAIA. They have  learned to trust the x'ray machines and they did not  open  our luggage  for physical inspection of the contents.

Our flight to Rome via Singapore was scheduled at 6:00 p.m.    We guess we came rather early that we have made a couple of trips to the rest room before our flight was called.   Every time we cross the lobby to the hall leading to the rest room,  there are two girls there who would ask if  we would like a massage!

We have a very smooth flight on  the giant bird of Singapore Airlines. The plane has a very  wide cabin body  with  9 seats across and arranged in three rows at 3 seats each,  separated by two service alleys.

At 9:00 p.m., after a sumptuous dinner on board, we landed at Singapore's Changi Airport. Transit  passengers like us dispersed to various pre-departure areas in the sprawling but fully-carpeted airport terminal building, using the walkalators. In our case, since our connecting flight was still at 1:00 a.m.,  we decided to wait at the lounge, pleasantly  bedecked in center areas  with blooming flowers. There are clean restrooms beside  the long corridors, maybe just about  every 50 meters interval.   

As we browsed over a brochure with a floor map of the terminal building issued by airport authorities, we find that there is a rest area at the second floor where one can also enjoy a massage or spa, or take a hot bath while waiting for the next flight. Unlike in Manila,  the service is discreet as there are no girls on the lobby who would ask you whether or not you like a massage. However, with the low value of our peso as against the Singapore dollar, I wish I had accepted the invitation for the service by the two girls at the airport in Manila!