All my bags are packed I'm ready to go

Airports are ugly. Some are very ugly. Some attain a degree of ugliness that can only be the result of a special effort. This ugliness arises because airports are full of people who are tired, cross, and have just discovered that their luggage has landed in Murmansk (Murmansk airport is the only exception of this otherwise infallible rule), and architects have on the whole tried to reflect this in their designs.

-- Douglas Adams

I'm at the beginning of yet another business trip.  I don't complain about trips because they satisfy the explorer in my soul.  However, airports are a different matter.  Airports are, by their nature, way stations where thousands of people pass through every day.  They can be the starting point to an adventure and the final destination after a grueling journey.  I'm going to list a few of the more memorable airports I've visited.

JFK

John F. Kennedy International Airport used to be my least favorite airport.  It is difficult to get to and often traffic can become do bottle necked that a short 45 drive can become a two plus hour nightmare.  More than once I have had to call while stuck in traffic to reschedule a flight that I thought I had plenty of time to get, but missed.

It's also massive and spread out over several acres of land.  There are EIGHT separate terminals connected by a monorail.  Again, if you have connections and need to take the train, give yourself plenty of time.

I said used to be my least favorite.  But they rebuilt the American Airline Terminal (terminal 8) and very nice.  That, combined with the fact that Heathrow has fallen to crap has raised JFK to a tolerable airport.

Heathrow

I hate this place.  It never fails to bring new standards to bad service and horrible layout.  I could spend an entire blog on Heathrow but I just focus on a couple of egregious ones.  They just opened Terminal 5 that they are very proud about.  I don't who designed it, but they obviously didn't think it all the way through.  It is a half hour bus ride from Terminal 1.  You could literally take the express train into downtown London (15 min.) quicker than from Terminal to Terminal.

BAA, who runs the airport does all kinds of crap in the guise of security, but are really cost savings (or income producing) activities.  For a long time, they only allowed one ITEM.  So if you had a purse and a roll-on, you had better fit the purse in the roll-on or you had to check a bag.  They also have the smallest carry-on allocation in the world.  Want to watch frustrated travellers some time?  Watch them miss the size limitation by 1/4 inch.  Too bad, so sad.  Check it.  Finally (not really finally, but it depresses me to even think about it), customer service is atrocious.  They simply don't shiv a git.  Instead of helping you, counter people will gossip with their friends and when you finally get some response, it is generally unhelpful and nasty.  Who needs these guys?

Suvarnabhumi International Airport 

The gateway to the Land of Smiles.  I actually like this airport a lo.  It's huge, but pretty easy to navigate.  The shops are nice, but I understand that there has been a problem with the King Power Duty Free shops.  Some sort of scam where tourists are accused of shop lifting and extorted by the police.  I've never understood the attraction of the duty free shops.  Probably because I don't drink or smoke, but the rest of the stuff does not seem like it's on deal.  There has also been a problem with unauthorized taxis.  But I've seen that in every airport in the world.

The immigration area in ENORMOUS and makes it so much easier to get through than in Don Mueang International (the old airport).  There are two spas (one at each end of the terminal) where you can get a message for a moderate price.  When you're about to begin  20+ hour journey, it's a nice way to start.

One big complaint -- the security area is right before you board the plane, so it is impossible to take any water on to the plane.  This is VERY annoying a little short sighted.  There is one trick however.  If you buy water at the duty free shop, they'll seal it in their plastic and you can get that on the plane.  Make sense?  No, not at all.  Welcome to Thailand.

Hong Kong Airport

The airport in Hong Kong is exactly what you would expect: large clean efficiently laid out.  You can walk the entire length of the terminal in 20 minutes, yet they still have an underground train that will take from end to end.  Immigration is painfully slow, but you still generally beat the bags to the carousel.  They have a decent assortment of restaurants and eateries, from Burger King to noodle joints and sit down dining.  

The only problem with the airport is that is sooooo far from the Island.  That means you have to plan for a long car ride out to the airport (with possible traffic) when leaving.