Airports are designed to make you do one thing - spend lots and lots of money. As part of this mission, they also make the eating area as attractive as possible. It's overwhelming - brightly and/or atmospherically lit with a seemingly endless display of amazing and different foods. It's constructed to put a human into a state of sensory overload. Even though I've read 'The End of Overeating' and know what they are up to, I'm still.. suggestible.
What else, except clever airport psychology could have inspired me to spend $7 on a bag of kumara chips? I mean, apart from the fact that I'd never seen them before, and they were additive free... (would have to be a robot to say no..):
Then I got sidetracked by the free samples at the 1Above counter and had to buy a bottle.
It is spring water with added vitamins, minerals, cider vinegar, apple juice, something called 'polyphenol extract' and claims to keep you hydrated in flight. Anyone that invents a cure for that feeling of grossness that one gets after 10 hours in recycled air has to be on to a winner. I shall report presently on if it helped at all. Certainly the bottle looks like it contains a fluid that should do something. Placebo Effect? Sure. Even that would be fine.
I escaped the danger zone by seeking out the wi-fi spot, where getting connected involved another $10 magically vanishing into the airport coffers, just. like. that. Now it's almost boarding time, just got to make a bathroom stop and start chugging that magic placebo water. I wonder what the movies will be?
Huh. I would have bought the kumara chips too. How could you not?
ReplyDeleteI found Christchurch airport pretty reasonable in terms of food/shopping prices. But perhaps that's just the current buying power of the Aussie $. London might be a whole other story.
Have an AWESOME trip! Mwah!