Singapore Airport

Dedicated to the Understated Elegance of Travellators

In five minutes I must summarise the magic and mysteries of Singapore Airport.

The long, green corridors have electronic muzak pumped from the ceiling, sourced from a variety of world cultures. It is loaded with pep, gusto, sound effects and a hint of tinnitus. I'm currently finding it amusing, but I doubt this relationship will last another half hour.

It also has travellators. Travellators are brilliant. They are, on paper, instruments for the obliviation of general fitness levels in the western world, but check them out if you get the chance sometime. There's a sense of the world whooshing past as you walk along them, as if you're on some kind of incredibly important business. Perhaps their novelty for me is based in the fact that I really haven't had a chance to stretch my legs for a few hours, and remember playing on them as a kid.

Finally, there is a TV screen behind me which is odd. It's showing an old episode of Charmed, but all the actors are moving distinctly faster than their backgrounds. Also, the special effects are way more pixellated than usual, and you can see the subtleties of their facial makeup as if they were on a theatrical stage. I think it's a high-definition TV, which I haven't yet seen in Australia, but it's an odd experience considering how years of television viewing train us to expect a distinct visual distortion through the screen.

Anyhow, I must be off to explore the rest of this haven for the transitory traveller.

And escape the muzak.