Arrived at the airport at about 7 pm and the sky was dark already. It was a long ride, partly because of the heavy traffic in the city area. It was a pleasant one, afterall. It cost me RMB150. Anyway, it's still very much early! The airport was big but it didn't come with lots of choices, from a shopper's perspective.
Walked into a bookshop - there, I bought 2 books. Couldn't resist buying as it's what-you-see-is-what-you-pay, and it's in RMB! Well, my luggage could afford it - not only the space, but also the load.
There wasn't any option - in terms of food. One's upstairs, but the escalator was not in operation. Climbing up the steps with that luggage (and can't imagine having to manage it when coming down)? I dismissed the restaurant at level 2 and went into the cafeteria beside the bookshop, settled with RMB100 (78 for the buffet while 22 for a drink). For sure, the range and quality of food it offered didn't worth the amount it charged. I guess, what I needed more was actually the space which I could sit down and work with the computer.
By the time I finished crafting the old grandmother story, it was amost 9.30 pm. I guess, the checkin counter should be opened. In Nanjing airport, the checkin counters for the domestic flights were all 'outside' - just like any airports that we were; whereas for international flights, we had to walk through a gate to enter another section.
To my surprise, there was already a long queue... as I scanned - ha! there's this counter for Internet Checkin! Glad that I did the checkin the day before, including confirming my seat! Well, joined the shorter queue. Unfortunately, it didn't move as quickly as it should have! There was a long delay - guess there's problem with the checkin of this local. Anyway, the time took to process hers was almost twice of those in the general checkin counter! Well, well... So I learnt that going through internet checkin did not necessary imply shorter processing (hence waiting) time... and to be more specific, depending on which airport we were at! Count myself lucky (or it's expected), it took me less than 5 minutes to get everything cleared, with my check-in luggage weighed slightly over 18kg. (What a low record!).
More queues as I went through the immigration checkpoint, then the scan, etc. but everything's smooth. As I walked towards the gate, notice that all the shops were already closed!!! So early??? It's slightly past 10 pm! Fortunately, I'm not a compulsive shopper (haha!) else I'll be extremely disappointed! I guess it's not worth the manpower and effort to open so many shops for that one-and-only-one international flight at night??? Luckily I bought what's necessary before departing Changi Airport on 18 Sep! else I'll be home empty-handed!
The wait was long... Especially when a local tour group settled at the bench where I had comfortably parked myself. The noise level was something I really couldn't tolerate! It really reinforced the fact that many locals had no sensitivities towards personal space! They just raise their voice when talking, worse still, criticising!!! Some of the things that tour leader told the people in her group about Singapore:
- There wasn't much to see in Singapore - very small.
- (It happened that there were a few Muslim Chinese in the group) It's very hard to find muslim food in Singapore, so please bear with it. It will be totally different when we proceed to Malaysia.
- Imported goods in Singapore's cheap! But you'll need to check out the brand.
- In Singapore, if you want to buy fruits, it goes by kg. They couldn't do the mathematics when you want to buy other amounts.
- and of course, there were more...
For goodness sake! If there's so much things you feel that Singapore could not offer, why come??? Take with some sensitivities in your head! The basic principle, when you visit a place is to discover and enjoy what the country could best offer. Stop painting such an unfair picture! This is poisoning and undesireable! Do the necessary homework and demonstrate the desireable professional etiquette!
It's just the same when I have to bear with the stunning behaviour and etiquette I encounter with you locals! So, is this the problem with the Chinese or it's just my luck that those I met or encounter belong to the same kind???
The entire experience did not end until the very just moment - the queues to the plane. At least, there's some order, when I saw 2 queues leading to the departure gate. To my horror, as the line began to move, the 2 lines became a large mass of people!!! 2 of the officials had a hard time to plea the crowd to queue and remain in an orderly manner. Some thoughts came immediately:
- What a hell these people are rushing for? Don't you know that you are already allocated a seat? By pushing and rushing doesn't mean that you will get a better seat! For goodness sake, can't you behave in a more socially acceptable manner? The flight will wait for all to board before it departs!
- Is this what's meant by moving towards a gracious society with gracious mannerism? I applaud the amount of effort the government had put in to promote social graciousness, but how successful it is? It's really measured by the kind of behaviour its people exhibit.
- I also pity the officials who were trying hard to keep their cool. I guess, that's the standard that the SIA has set for its ground crew - being polite and patient. But I really take my hat off for those who served in this airport.
Really, impression counts... Apart from the rich history and culture I learnt in the past few days, another thing that will not be forgotten is really - its People - how those I crossed paths had portrayed themselves as the people of the country.
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