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Skytrax Best Airport 2025

Adrian909 — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 23:56:19 +0800

This is the world’s best airport for 2025, according to Skytrax

CNN
—
Killing time in the airport is ordinarily such a drag that there’s a whole TikTok trend devoted to people making it through the terminal in as little time as possible.

Not so in Singapore Changi, which has just been crowned the World’s Best Airport for the 13th time by air transport rating organization Skytrax.

Changi is a destination in itself, where early check-in has been introduced to allow passengers to drop their bags off up to 48 hours before their flight so they can make their time at the airport part of the vacation.

Most will hit the mammoth 10-story Jewel shopping mall, with its footfall of 80 million people in 2024. Then there are the multiple indoor gardens (including a butterfly center) and the 40-meter high Rain Vortex, the world’s largest indoor waterfall (around 130 feet).

There are spas, hotels, art exhibitions, a museum, a cinema; there’s even a dinosaur theme park.

Skytrax has also recognized the airport as a gastronomic wonderland. It scooped up the award for World’s Best Airport Dining, as well as those for World’s Best Airport Washrooms and Best Airport in Asia, at the World Airport Awards held in Madrid on April 9.

It’s unlikely to be the last accolade earned by this exemplary airport.

Changi is investing more than $2 billion in the next six years on the improvement of services and facilities, CNN Business reported last month.

It’s also set to get even bigger. Work is underway on a fifth terminal to add to the existing four, which will open in the 2030s.

The world’s no. 2 airport, according to Skytrax’s global survey of customers at 565 airports around the world, is the artwork-filled and architecturally splendid Hamad International in Qatar, easily one of the most luxurious aviation hubs in the world. It also won awards for Best Airport Shopping and Best Airport in the Middle East.

Asian airports nabbed spots three through six on the list, proving once again that the region is leaving North America and Europe to play catch-up when it comes to air transport excellence.

Tokyo Haneda (also named the World’s Cleanest Airport) was at No. 3, followed by Seoul’s Incheon International (also awarded World’s Best Airport Staff), Narita International (serving Tokyo) and Hong Kong International.

Nine European airports made it into the top 20. At No. 7, Paris Charles de Gaulle was named Best Airport in Europe for the third year in a row. Rome Fiumicino, having a busy year thanks to the Catholic Church’s Jubilee celebrations, was at No. 8.

Munich, Zurich and Helsinki-Vantaa were in 9th, 10th and 12th place respectively and Istanbul Airport, on the European side of the continent-straddling city, was at No. 14. Istanbul was also named the World’s Most Family-Friendly Airport.

Vienna (No. 15), Copenhagen (No. 18) and Amsterdam Schiphol (No. 19) all made the cut, but London Heathrow, the busiest airport in Europe, didn’t pick up any gongs.

The only airport from the Americas to make the list was Vancouver International at No. 13. Cape Town Airport didn’t make the top 20, but was named Best Airport in Africa and Best Airport Staff Service in Africa.

The rest of the top 20 was made up of Dubai International at No. 11, Melbourne at No. 16, Japan’s Chubu Centrair at No. 17 (also named World’s Best Regional Airport) and Bahrain international at No.20.

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport won the award for World’s Best Airport Baggage Delivery, Copenhagen was acclaimed for the World’s Best Airport Security Processing and Hong Kong International scooped the gong for World’s Best Airport Immigration.

The world’s top airports for 2025
1. Singapore Changi Airport

2. Hamad International Airport

3. Tokyo Haneda Airport

4. Incheon International Airport

5. Narita International Airport

6. Hong Kong International Airport

7. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

8. Rome Fiumicino Airport

9. Munich Airport

10. Zurich Airport

11. Dubai International Airport

12. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport

13. Vancouver International Airport

14. Istanbul Airport

15. Vienna International Airport

16. Melbourne Airport

17. Chubu Centrair International Airport

18. Copenhagen Airport

19. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

20. Bahrain International Airport

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is the 65th best airport in the world

Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024. Malaysia rank...

Adrian909 — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 23:01:30 +0800

Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 full list: Sézanne in Tokyo takes No 1, Singapore takes 8 spots, 2 awards for Hong Kong

The 12th edition of the annual restaurant rankings saw a new No 1, a highest climber award for Hong Kong’s Wing, and host South Korea take four spots
Singapore has the most restaurants ranked in the top 50, with Hong Kong and Tokyo in a tie for second place. A Beijing restaurant wins the One to Watch Award

The full list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024
Asterix denotes a new entry

50. Meet the Bund, Shanghai

49. Chef Tam’s Seasons, Macau (Best Restaurant in Macau)
48. Anan Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City

47. Cenci, Kyoto

46. August, Indonesia * (Best Restaurant in Indonesia)

45. Goh, Fukuoka *

44. Avartana, Chennai

43. Lolla, Singapore *

42. Baan Tepa, Bangkok *

41. Mosu, Seoul (Chef’s Choice Award)

40. 102 House, Shanghai

39. Sazenka, Tokyo

38. Les Amis, Singapore

37. Ando, Hong Kong *

36. Ling Long, Shanghai

35. Villa Aida, Wakayama

34. Mume, Taipei

33. JL Studio, Taichung (re-entry)
32. Caprice, Hong Kong
31. Seroja, Singapore (Highest New Entry)

30. Labyrinth, Singapore

29. Samrub Samrub Thai, Bangkok

28. Meta, Singapore

27. Mono, Hong Kong
26. Indian Accent, New Delhi

25. Born, Singapore

24. Toyo Eatery, Philippines (Best Restaurant in Philippines)
23. Masque, Mumbai (Best Restaurant in India)

22. Logy, Taipei (Best Restaurant in Taiwan)

21. Onjium, Seoul

20. Euphoria, Singapore

19. Fu He Hui, Shanghai (Best Restaurant in mainland China)

18. 7th Door, Seoul (re-entry)

17. Potong, Bangkok

16. Neighborhood, Hong Kong

15. Burnt Ends, Singapore

14. Narisawa, Tokyo
13. Mingles, Seoul (Best Restaurant in Korea)
12. Le Du, Bangkok

11. Sorn, Bangkok

10. Odette, Singapore (Best Restaurant in Singapore)

9. La Cime, Osaka

8. Den, Tokyo
7. Suhring, Bangkok

6. Nusara, Bangkok (Art of Hospitality Award)
5. Wing, Hong Kong (Highest Climber Award)

4. The Chairman, Hong Kong

3. Gaggan Anand, Bangkok

2. Florilège, Tokyo

1. Sézanne, Tokyo

Malaysia is not in the list.

SCMP

Malaysia, a nation with no shame?

Adrian909 — Sat, 03 Feb 2024 15:04:27 +0800

As a nation, we have no shame.

We are a nation that celebrates convicted criminals, turning them into cause célèbres.

We are a nation where convicted felons get five-star preferential treatment, and are invited to speak at business forums after being charged with criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering.

We are a nation where politicians facing a mountain of charges can still hold office, are escorted by police outriders – not to prison – but to attend state functions and to shamelessly welcome visiting heads of state.

We are a nation that shamelessly expects, and doles out handouts, creating a culture of unfettered entitlement that spans every facet of Malaysian life – from business, to education, to illegal street racing.

We are a nation that rewards bad behaviour, and embraces slogans extolling the virtues of shamelessness. We celebrate thieves and thievery. One slogan that for a while became the national mantra of sorts loosely translated to “What Is There To Be Ashamed of, My Dear Boss?”

We are a nation that rewards mediocrity. We excel at coming up with excuses, justifying the unjustifiable, sugar-coating the harsh realities of the outcome (football, hockey, badminton, take your pick), and propping up the losers with hollow “Attaboys” and “Kita sudah buat yang terbaik demi bangsa dan negara”.

It doesn’t detract from the fact that we can’t seem to do anything right.

Malaysia’s disastrous outings in both the men’s and women’s Olympic hockey qualifiers recently were hard to stomach, but the results were not unexpected. Once a hockey powerhouse, Malaysia’s national teams have now been reduced to a shadow of their former self, instilling paralysing fear and abject terror only in an opponent’s girls’ Under-12 team.

Our national football team, carrying the fierce moniker of ‘Harimau Malaya’ came home to a heroes’ welcome – and an additional funding of RM5 million of taxpayers’ hard-earned money, on top of the RM10 million given by the government in 2022 – this, after being mauled and torn apart 4-0 by Jordan, and losing 1-0 to Bahrain in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 group matches. Go figure.

When it drew 3-3 with South Korea and was sent home packing, one would think that Harimau Malaya had qualified for the World Cup, going by the euphoria that swept the nation, and the headlines in the local press, which had the audacity to put Malaysia on a par with football juggernauts Brazil and Ghana.

Badminton ‘legend’ Lee Zii Jia has turned crashing out early from tournaments into a precise and exact science. His consistency in this regard is simply mind-blowingly astonishing. As a nation, and as a people, I believe that we need to be consistent in everything we do. But to consistently lose ... Perhaps a career change is in order. Perhaps, badminton just isn’t his thing.

We are a nation that takes pride in circumventing and beating the system, in cutting corners, and using back doors, loopholes, and technicalities, to get what we want. Some even go to the extent of poking holes through the roof. All, while screaming about the sanctity of the rule of law. Shameless.

A system that rewards incompetence and mediocrity will do nothing to spur us as a nation, to greater heights. It only reinforces the belief that there’s no need to excel, since even those placing dead last will be hailed as heroes. You get the medals, cash rewards, and all the accolades simply for showing up.

This only breeds a culture of entitlement, evident by the number of financial aid handouts the government has had to dish out under a litany of creative and catchy-sounding names over the years. A rose by any other name is still a cash handout. The end result is the social engineering of a people who just sit and wait – no need to work – for the next round of disbursements. Malaysia’s ‘subsidy mentality’ shows no sign of being consigned to the scrapheap of history anytime soon.

What have we become? What used to be right is now wrong, and what is wrong, “kita boleh ejas”. When motorists refuse to yield to ambulances and emergency services vehicles with the regularity with which it occurs in this country, you know that Malaysia’s ‘collective conscience’ is dead and buried, its epitaph a sad indictment of the true state of the nation.

Facts and evidence no longer matter. What matters is the tensile strength of your ‘cable’. As a nation, we are hopelessly rudderless, our moral compass completely askew. And that, is a crying shame.

https://twentytwo13.my/opinion/malaysia-a-n...-with-no-shame/