Free interweb - hooray!
Here at Singapore Airport, there are some funny little booths - no chairs - with laptops encased in heavy clear perspex. Only the keys are touchable. It makes typing difficult, but it's free! Free interweb, hooray!
It's five o'clock in the morning here; seven in Melbourne, I think. I've gone back in time. I nearly kissed the ground when I arrived at Singapore, although the flight wasn't too bad. I even managed to twist into a yoga position and sleep for an hour, which was both refreshing and an excellent stretch.
There's something surreal about flying that I always forget to anticipate. The airports are artificially lit and the air is artificially cooled and recirculated. It's as though you've suddenly been cut off from the natural world. The aeroplane itself is the same, but exaggerated - a long metal tube with fiddly climate-control knobs and meals served out of synch with your body clock.
On the plane, non-denominational, seasonally appropriate plastic flowers and leaves tied with red and gold ribbons are placed strategically between portals. Synthetic holiday cheer. Outside, dusty concrete is bathed in orange light; the forklift operators and luggage-train drivers skid around like Lego men in Lego golfcarts. At some point the plane whirs and screams and the city becomes an ocean of fairy-lights. Then, suspended in the clouds, you're as cut-off as it gets.
Still, when the plane took off from Melbourne, (and left my stomach behind), it was exhilirating. Nauseating, but exhilirating. I sat on the aisle next to two little red-headed kids named Brianna and Adam. When I introduced myself to them they looked startled and had trouble remembering and stuttering out their names. They regarded me warily after that. So I watched a crappy movie (which was uncut! Nudity and swearing on the way to Singapore?!!) and settled in for the long haul.
And so I hauled. And now I'm at Singapore Airport for another nine hours. I think I'll go and sit by the Koi pond and compose a haiku. Or wander around the perfume counters and try on different smells. Or take a nap. Mmmm... nap.
It's five o'clock in the morning here; seven in Melbourne, I think. I've gone back in time. I nearly kissed the ground when I arrived at Singapore, although the flight wasn't too bad. I even managed to twist into a yoga position and sleep for an hour, which was both refreshing and an excellent stretch.
There's something surreal about flying that I always forget to anticipate. The airports are artificially lit and the air is artificially cooled and recirculated. It's as though you've suddenly been cut off from the natural world. The aeroplane itself is the same, but exaggerated - a long metal tube with fiddly climate-control knobs and meals served out of synch with your body clock.
On the plane, non-denominational, seasonally appropriate plastic flowers and leaves tied with red and gold ribbons are placed strategically between portals. Synthetic holiday cheer. Outside, dusty concrete is bathed in orange light; the forklift operators and luggage-train drivers skid around like Lego men in Lego golfcarts. At some point the plane whirs and screams and the city becomes an ocean of fairy-lights. Then, suspended in the clouds, you're as cut-off as it gets.
Still, when the plane took off from Melbourne, (and left my stomach behind), it was exhilirating. Nauseating, but exhilirating. I sat on the aisle next to two little red-headed kids named Brianna and Adam. When I introduced myself to them they looked startled and had trouble remembering and stuttering out their names. They regarded me warily after that. So I watched a crappy movie (which was uncut! Nudity and swearing on the way to Singapore?!!) and settled in for the long haul.
And so I hauled. And now I'm at Singapore Airport for another nine hours. I think I'll go and sit by the Koi pond and compose a haiku. Or wander around the perfume counters and try on different smells. Or take a nap. Mmmm... nap.
posted by Jess at 1:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home