I was quite impressed with the airport in Singapore! Free Internet access stations inside and outside the gate areas and in lounge areas. There was an abundance of cool and comfortable seating with specific areas set up with a plasma on a designated channel – so there was cartoon channel area, a ESPN channel area, a BBC channel area, etc. Not to mention the restuarants, bars, multi-lingual information booths, and laptop drop stations with power and ethernet drops for easy access to the Internet. The whole experience was quite positive and if I was going to get stuck in an airport – this would be my preferred choice. Amsterdam’s airport isn’t bad either and is pretty straightforward to get through. I made my way through customs and caught a train to the city center easily and got back with no issues in time to catch my connecting flight.
The people in Malaysia seemed pretty nice towards me and I had some laughs with locals and other guests of Malaysia along the way. I didn’t really get to experience much of Singapore outside of the airport but what I did see I liked. I’m thinking a return trip to this area will likely happen somewhere down the road. My experience in Austria however is generally speaking, quite different. It could be the language barrier but I’m more prone to say that it’s not. And after sitting in conversation with a Thailand citizen in Graz, I’ve gained just that much more insight into impressions of Black people generally in Austria. I think it’s going to be topic of my first book if it isn’t an all-inclusive autobiography.
The drive from Vienna to Graz is always fun with the winding turns and fast pace of the Autobahn through the mountains. Even in a Peaugot 206 diesel, I enjoyed the drive and was impressed with the car. I’d love to have one back home considering it had a great sound system, 6 airbags, seated 5, and had some basic trunk space.