Originally published: 5/3/2016 | 1:30pm
🏆Most popular post
If you have been keeping up with my blog (or read my bio), then you probably know that I love to travel. I've taken many forms of transportation over the years, and my favorite way to travel is flying. While I did discuss my love of road trips in an earlier post (click here to view that post), there is no doubt that flying is my preferred method of transportation. Many of you are probably wonder why I love flying so much. Why does she enjoy being on a plane with a bunch of people she doesn't know? Does she like the fact that there is very little legroom? To be honest, the planes are not my favorite part of flying. I enjoy flying because I LOVE airports!
When I was little, my mom worked for a very popular airline. This allowed us to fly frequently, and that's exactly what we did. My family would catch flights for everything at nearly any time of the day. Early morning, mid-day, red eye flights. It seemed like we were always flying somewhere; there were even a few day trips involving flights. I practically lived in airports the first 5 years of my life! I spent so much time in airports growing up that it was like having gigantic homes everywhere I traveled. I could navigate airports very well by the time I was 3. I had been to many major U.S. airports before the age of 12, and from that point on I began to explore airports in other countries.
So, besides spending a large amount of time in airports, what makes them so incredibly fascinating? This is always hard for me to explain to people, but I think it has quite a bit to do with the overall layout of each airport. I love seeing how each airport similarities and differences. For example, all major airports have shops and several options for food. Each airport is different from the other in terms of what shops are available and how they may or may not be grouped together (some airports have malls!), and food may be scattered about the airport (a feature in Houston) or there may be one or more food courts (like in Denver) to keep all of the food centralized.
I also love the upgrades in design and technology of airports. International airports generally have amazing upgrades in architecture and available. Heathrow Airport has a large amount of glass for a clean, modern look. In Paris, the airport has video games and lockable cell phone charging lockers available to the public for free! Another important feature of airports is the overall aesthetic that allows you to see where you are before you even leave the airport. I'm talking about decorations. There's amazing artwork in Denver to show off what is important to that location. In San Francisco, you get a lovely view of the Bay Area from nearly every window. Houston's big airport is perfect for people who want to stare out the window and watch planes take-off and land all of the time (this is something I like to do). My favorite airport of all time (so far) is in Vancouver, BC, Canada. There are amazing artificial nature scenes constructed in the airport! It's a very pleasant view with some wonderful meaning. Nature is clearly important to Vancouver, and as soon as you get off the plane, they make sure you are aware of this. Perfect for a nature lover like me! Ah yes, these are the types of things that further my appreciation of airports.
Flying isn't for everyone, I understand that. Perhaps, finding things to appreciate about airports can ease your mind when it comes to flying. There are so many cool features in airports that makes each one different from the other. The most fascinating part of all of this is how airports generally have similar amenities, stores, and basic food options, but can still somehow find a way to stand out from the others. I am not really a fan of architecture, but there's just something about airports that makes me interested. It's amazing to see how each airport reflects the city, state/province, or country that it primarily represents. Whether it be through art or nature scenes, shopping, or food, find something that gets you excited about airports. Besides, when you have a long layover or cancelled flight, you'll need something to make you feel somewhat at peace with spending extra hours in a busy airport! Happy travels my friends!
Feel free to leave comments below, tweet (@KimiThoughts), or leave a post/message on Facebook (@KimisTravelThoughts) and share what you love about airports!
