A Classic Column By The Late British Writer And Critic, AA Gill (1954–2016)
I get on with airports. I like the way they look. I appreciate their ergonomics, their thousands of moving parts, the ant-hill logistics of getting everything in and out. You couldn’t have come up with something more complicated, thousands of people separated from thousands of pieces of luggage, having to be in a certain seat at a precise time to go up to hundreds of destinations. Add thousands of bits of separated luggage and their people coming the other way, all speaking different languages, some travelling for the first time, some for the umpteenth. And just to make it all more exciting, you have to assume that any one of them might be a self-martyring mass murderer and that they will all want to spend 10 pounds on something they didn’t know they needed, and a penny, which they probably suspected they would need.
My love of airports is based on going somewhere, or coming back from somewhere. I’m rarely in airports for any other reason. But last week, I went to Gatwick to meet my daughter. I can’t remember the last time I met someone at an airport or indeed was met by anyone who wasn’t a driver. But part of the drama of an airport is walking through the exit at the arrivals lounge, the anxiety of luggage and passports and customs behind you, and that audience expectant and attentive. You move through the door, humping your rucksack, rumpled from the flight, still smelling of air freshener and with bits of exploding bread rolls collected in the folds of your sticky shirt and suddenly you’re on stage. For a fleeting moment, you think that maybe, just perhaps, there will be someone here for you.
Denne historien er fra January 2018-utgaven av Lonely Planet Traveller.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January 2018-utgaven av Lonely Planet Traveller.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Focus on the moment...
Focus on the moment...
Once Upon A Time In the West
Iceland’s wild western coast has bred a long line of storytellers, who share tales of super-human Vikings and meddlesome spirits across the millennia. We meet the people keeping the tradition alive and the landscapes that inspire them.
Lose Yourself In Nature's Grandeur...
1. Phoenix and ScottsdaleDiscover why Frank Lloyd Wright found inspiration in these twin cities – and see the architect’s influence writ large.
Valley Of The Roses
Travel into a secret valley deep in the Atlas Mountains for a floral festival unlike any other.
la france profonde
deep in rural burgundy, a journey by canal boat reveals a landscape of medieval churches and vineyards, where traditional french life still flows at a gentler pace.
peak practice
head to snowdonia in the footsteps of heroic mountaineers, for whom welsh hills were the training ground for the ultimate adventure.
What To See On The Great Barrier Reef
Tropical North Queensland’s Cape Tribulation is the setting for a dramatic meeting of two World Heritage-listed sites: the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforest.The name Cape Tribulation originates from the problems Captain Cook’s HMS Endeavour encountered on the reefs in 1770. You’ll have no such trouble though, as you gaze at this truly unique part of the world. Nowhere else on Earth can claim to house two such vital and famous natural environments side by side. Read all about the dramatic sights in these two wildly contrasting landscapes.
Coming Of Age
In the year Valletta becomes European Capital of Culture, its rich past and even richer present make it an irresistible city break destination
The Rookery
The Rookery is spread across three Georgian townhouses in the neighbourhood of Clerkenwell.
Voyage to South Georgia
A spur-of-the-moment plan made at a wedding reception leads to a journey by sail through iceberg-flled seas, to an Antarctic island rich in wildlife