About Me

I ramble about a number of things - but travel experiences, movies and music feature prominently. See my label cloud for a better idea. All comnments and opinions on this blog are my own, and do not in any way reflect the opinions/position of my employer (past/current/future).

16 July 2007

Welcome to my office

"Good evening sir, welcome to my office". This was the greeting by a toilet cleaner at O.R. Tambo International Airport (previously known as Johannesburg International Airport, which was previously known as Jan Smuts International Airport). While the airport has been improved considerably inside (after check in) at the international terminal, I think the domestic terminal is miles ahead with the other related infrastructure of shops, and commuting between different levels of the terminal before check in. I know it is the older terminal, but hopefully, once the new terminal is built the rest of the older terminal is remodeled.

Munich airport is all steel and glass - a far cry from Frankfurt. And for the first time, at any security check, I felt that the security staff actually knew what they were doing, and most importantly why they were doing it. So much so, that the lady behind me commented: "you are so much stricter than the US". I did not have any time to actually look around the airport: I had a very tight connecting flight.

Berlin Tegel is a much smaller airport, arranged in concentric circles, with the planes docking on the outside, the airport terminal building in the middle ring and the cars picking up people on the inside. My only complaint was the lack of clear signs to indicate where the information desk was (can't get into any city without a map!) - but people were courteous, and I was pointed in the right direction. For the record, there is an information desk by exit/entrance 12.

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