So many airports look exactly the same that it can become difficult to differentiate one from the other.
Well, at least Taoyuan is better than Manila… which is something 
The 8th level of hell is better than Manila. (BTW -the one clean public toilet in Manila is to the left of the luggage carousel) I should put Mumabi’s Shivaji behind Manila, but it gets style points.
Even the new terminal in Manila is crap, hardly any shops at all and barely any food. It’s also mostly empty, or at least was earlier this year, as only Cebu Pacific was using it at the time…
Although outside of this corner of the world, parts of Heathrow is quite horrendous as well, there are places there where I can’t walk straight, yet I’m expected to pass through there…
What do you mean parts? The whole thing is awful.
LHR Terminal 5 is quite nice unless you have to board an aircraft. New, has its own Heathrow Express station, too bad you have to deal with BAA to actually get to a gate. Very Orwellian. I avoid LHR at all costs. I connect into Norwich from AMS. Fuck Heathrow.
Singapore has a real bar where you can smoke and drink. Other than that, they are just shopping centres designed to irritate and inconvenience travellers by routing them around shopfronts instead of to where they’re trying to go.
CKS is the worst major airport I’ve ever been to having no bar and no smoking area and having the gall to charge NT$100 for a tin of Heineken in a little cafe.
On the other hand, I like the duty free prices and the fact that you can buy as much as you like on arrival as well as departure.
Uh, bear, any google search will show you are wrong. There is lots of money being put into renovation. The plans for the new airport were approved back in 2004 though work didn’t start until more recently. Things just take a long time to get down in Taiwan and so much was held up in the last term of CSB because of legislative inaction and lack of cooperation.
I agree it is a disgrace as it stands but in a few years it will be all shiny metal and glittering glass and we will have an MRT line out there with check in in the city.[/quote]
from Wiki “Terminal 1 is also currently undergoing a $42 million dollar renovation that is expected to be completed by 2010. The renovation includes a new facelift, designed by Japanese architect Norihiko Dan, and a new modern and stylish interior. The renovation will be completed during late hours to avoid congestion during peak hours.”
nice one…funny that you can’t see much evidence of this renovation…maybe they are channelling us away from the areas being worked on. Finished next year? Sounds too good to be true…[/quote]
Cabinet also just approved budget for Ma’s i-Taiwan 12 big infrastructure projects, one of which is the taoyuan air city. Lots more money is going to soon pour in, which means we will see a lot of improvement in the coming years.
I agree though that at the moment I don’t see much evidence of the “improved” terminal 1.
And Terminal 3 is not slated to open till 2018. :roflmao:
Interesting. Though I think like a lot of infrastructure projects it seems that the volumes haven’t grown in line with projections.
I love HK and am very familiar with it. There is free wireless everywhere, loads of shopping and eateries, drug stores to replace all the toileteries they confiscate, cash machines, book stores and the Cathay lounges are awesome. You can also get a mani-pedi or a haircut
Singapore is great and makes a change from HK, as one poster pointed out there is a bar, and you can smoke but there is also a pool and a gym if you have your stuff and a layover its brilliant.
Malaysia isn’t bad its in a kind of star shaped hub and quite a long way out of town but again some good eateries and shops are ok but choice is a bit more restricted
Thailands new one has less character than the old one but you can still get laid at the hairdressers apparently. Never tried this but heard plenty of stories over the years. One friend innocently went in for a haircut and the girl jumped in his lap before offering her services
Narita is pooh but I haven’t done the suggested tour in this thread I would think the Japanese would be embarrased with all their Southern neighbours having better airports. maybe they’ll upgrade if Britain ever sorts out LHR.
The New Beijing airport is beautiful but they haven’t got the facilities of HK or Singapore and I don’t like it. Shanghai’s terminal 2 is the model of a souless new efficient hub apart from immigration which is an unmitigated disaster.
Yes, but a large rationale for the i-12 is simply to increase employment in the coming years. Closer ties with China have not miraculously achieved this overnight and ECFA is almost certainly going to worsen unemployment among blue collar workers. It looks like the Ma admin is taking a serious look at plan 1 again: make up a lot of temporary jobs through government spending.
Mind you, I actually like a lot of these projects and look forward to living in a Taiwan that has achieved them.
HK is the ultimate coolest airport of these four. The worst one that is quite obvious, but I won’t say it.
This must be new. How long has it been there? It wasn’t there in 2006.
This must be new. How long has it been there? It wasn’t there in 2006.[/quote]
It was certainly there in 2007, and was still there as of last May.
Went through Terminal 1 today…major construction on the roads outside and on the MRT link parallel to airport road, new Novotel opened nearby and other offices but the terminal itself is as grotty as ever, no sign of reconstruction work on that at present. I was being picked up and it took me ages to tell the driver which terminal I was arriving at because there were no clear signs in the terminal actually stating ‘Terminal 1’!