The Singapore Narrative
I was naturally intrigued when the GM travel agent suggest I use AirAsia to fly to Singapore because they are always cheaper. “How can Thai Airways, Singapore Airways and Malaysia Air stay in business if AsiaAir is always undercutting their prices? Still left to wonder, I bought my AsiaAir ticket (which was 20% cheaper than the alternatives) and got on the flight the next afternoon.
As I stepped into the aircraft after a very long wait (there is no assigned seating with AirAsia so everyone stands in line for half an hour until they let people board the plane) and was initially impressed with the seemingly comfortable black leather chairs and red seatbelts—going nicely with their red and black color theme. Unfortunately, my good impressions ended there. The leather seats, were made of fake leather—as was expected—but when I wanted a drink for the flight they said it cost 50 baht. I asked which of the drinks were free. The answer? None of them. Not a single glass of water or bag of peanuts was free on that plane! While I was rather surprised at the money saving techniques, I figured I would rather pay less money for my ticket than be wined and dined on a nice airline.
The Singapore airport is incredible. Not only it is extremely modern and cozy, but it is extremely international. Rather than the gargantuan and articifical feel of some airports like O”Hare and Bangkok, the Singapore Changi Airport is well furnished, completely carpeted, has green plants everywhere and makes you feel as if you were in a mansion rather than in an sterile airplane hanger. The international feel was apparent as well as everything was labeled with a minimum of three languages: English, Tamil (an Indian language) and Chinese. Some objects, like the drinking fountain were labeled with no less than seven languages! (Quite a waste of money if you think about it. When you see a drinking fountain do you really need a label to identify it?)
If there were a reward for the most user-friendly city in Asia, Singapore would win the prize. The Airport has numerous signs to direct you to your location; and everyone is very helpful and speaks very good English. I was most amazed by the free internet stations set up around the airport. While I have seen pay-as-you-go internet machines in the States, I have never seen a place where internet and computers are free to use!
The user-friendliness doesn’t stop at the airport either. I made a free local call from the public phones in the airport terminal (who has heard of free phones in an airport?) and arranged to meet brother Sampson at the Newton subway station. I simply took the mini-train connecting to the two terminals, then hopped on the subway to my destination. Did I mentioned that buying my ticket was completed using an English-speaking touch screen monitor?
While in Singapore some other tourists said that Singaporeans aren’t very friendly. My experience, however was the exact opposite. I had scarcely looked at the metro map one minute when five Singaporean ladies asked me if they could halp. In their perfect English with a Singaporean accent (sort of like a mix between an Indian and British accent) they explained to me where to go, what food to eat and what places to visit while in Singapore. They also discovered I speak Chinese and proceeded to speak to me in Chinese for the next several minutes. I was naturally delighted.
I was naturally intrigued when the GM travel agent suggest I use AirAsia to fly to Singapore because they are always cheaper. “How can Thai Airways, Singapore Airways and Malaysia Air stay in business if AsiaAir is always undercutting their prices? Still left to wonder, I bought my AsiaAir ticket (which was 20% cheaper than the alternatives) and got on the flight the next afternoon.
As I stepped into the aircraft after a very long wait (there is no assigned seating with AirAsia so everyone stands in line for half an hour until they let people board the plane) and was initially impressed with the seemingly comfortable black leather chairs and red seatbelts—going nicely with their red and black color theme. Unfortunately, my good impressions ended there. The leather seats, were made of fake leather—as was expected—but when I wanted a drink for the flight they said it cost 50 baht. I asked which of the drinks were free. The answer? None of them. Not a single glass of water or bag of peanuts was free on that plane! While I was rather surprised at the money saving techniques, I figured I would rather pay less money for my ticket than be wined and dined on a nice airline.
The Singapore airport is incredible. Not only it is extremely modern and cozy, but it is extremely international. Rather than the gargantuan and articifical feel of some airports like O”Hare and Bangkok, the Singapore Changi Airport is well furnished, completely carpeted, has green plants everywhere and makes you feel as if you were in a mansion rather than in an sterile airplane hanger. The international feel was apparent as well as everything was labeled with a minimum of three languages: English, Tamil (an Indian language) and Chinese. Some objects, like the drinking fountain were labeled with no less than seven languages! (Quite a waste of money if you think about it. When you see a drinking fountain do you really need a label to identify it?)If there were a reward for the most user-friendly city in Asia, Singapore would win the prize. The Airport has numerous signs to direct you to your location; and everyone is very helpful and speaks very good English. I was most amazed by the free internet stations set up around the airport. While I have seen pay-as-you-go internet machines in the States, I have never seen a place where internet and computers are free to use!
The user-friendliness doesn’t stop at the airport either. I made a free local call from the public phones in the airport terminal (who has heard of free phones in an airport?) and arranged to meet brother Sampson at the Newton subway station. I simply took the mini-train connecting to the two terminals, then hopped on the subway to my destination. Did I mentioned that buying my ticket was completed using an English-speaking touch screen monitor?
While in Singapore some other tourists said that Singaporeans aren’t very friendly. My experience, however was the exact opposite. I had scarcely looked at the metro map one minute when five Singaporean ladies asked me if they could halp. In their perfect English with a Singaporean accent (sort of like a mix between an Indian and British accent) they explained to me where to go, what food to eat and what places to visit while in Singapore. They also discovered I speak Chinese and proceeded to speak to me in Chinese for the next several minutes. I was naturally delighted.
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