By Kristy Charleson.
With all my travelling I have spent a good part of my life trapped in airports in the style of Tom Hanks in his hit film Terminal. The bulk of them are rows of plastic seats with florescent lighting beaming directly into your eyeballs and although I don’t usually resort to eating packets of ketchup it does get old fast. Thankfully there are the rare few that break the mould.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia: Have you come to Malaysia to trek the dense tropical rainforest? KLIA has one of those enclosed in glass with a board walk path. How about to enjoy a luxurious massage? KLIA has a reflexology and massage center. Here to indulge in some retail therapy? KLIA is home to boutiques from design houses like Hermes, Christian Dior and Bvlgari. What ever your reason for travel, your journey starts here.
Beijing International Airport, China: This airport starts getting exciting as soon as your plane begins it’s decent. Its glowig red exterior is remenicient of a chinese dragon. So beautiful! Renovations and the addition of the world renowned terminal 3 in preparation for the 2009 olympic games makes this airport a force to be reconed with. Not to mention the availability of big names such as Ferragamo and Bally as well as an aray of local cuisine, it’s easy to get a little carried away with luxury.
Madrid-Barajas International Airport, Spain: Terminal 4 designed by Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers was inagiated in 2005. The use of windows instead of walls along with domes in the roof allows sunshine to bellow into this airport in a sea of natural light. That’s right limited fluorescent lighting! joy envoking colours like yellows and oranges fade into trenquil blues and greens (looks like the beach to me!) You will feel like you’re on holidays as soon as you pull up to the airport.
Hong Kong International Airport: Ever found yourself sitting at an airport wishing you could be playing golf instead? It seems someone in Hong Kong was. Check out the sky city nine eagles Golf course situated on airport grounds. To outdoorsy? Try your hand in one of the sports simulators at I sports or the aviation discovery center. Perhaps you could treat yourself to a relaxing sit down dinner of local cusine at Pac Loh Chlu Chow restaurant in terminal 1. Or is fashion the only thing satisfys your hunger? Burberry, Valentino, prada, Jimmy choo! What more could you want?
Abu Dhabi International Airport, United Arab Emirates: Dubai international might be the biggest but Abu Dhabi has an enchanting combination of new and old world Arabic charm that really stays with you. The mosaic fountain dome in the center of terminal 1 conjures up an Arabian nights fantasy and makes you wonder why Aladin’s genie ever wanted to get out of the bottle. Then again, there wasnt a Cartier, chloe and rolex boutique inside his lamp. While your at it, go check out the world of cigars on the ground floor. Even if you don’t smoke it’s just worth the look.
O’Hare international airport, Chicago: Walking through the light tunnel of O’hare international airport you will feel as though you have been sucked into Disney’s remake of Tron. This airport is modern, mesmerizing and beautiful, just like the city that contains it. As well as pleasing to the eye O’hare is a hot spot for gluttony! Many of Chicagos favorite food outlets have concession stands within the airport terminal, so you can lap up the taste of Chicago without setting foot out the door!
With such amazing airports around the wold, a long break between connecting flight as become a temptation rather than a burden.