PARIS
I hadn’t organised anything for my 5 hour transit, leaving it to a decision on arrival whether I would stay at the airport or head into the city. As I was tired and the weather fairly horrid – cold, damp and gloomy – I decided to stay at the airport and not have a rushed visit outside.
Instead of proceeding through immigration I turned and explored the corridors airside in the terminal. After making my way through a labyrinth of corridors over multiple levels I found myself in front of the opening United Red Carpet Club. I headed in and convinced the bouncer I didn’t need to have a boarding pass to have access. Since I was the only one here at this hour (other than lounge staff) I made the most of the privacy by freshening up in the bathroom. I had already checked there were no shower facilities within the terminal. I always carry a towel and some smaller cloths, and there was soap in the bathroom so I made do without making too much of a mess.
That done and feeling a bit better I settled in a corner watching the airport come alive and relaxing over a book that I’d been trying to read for months without success. The lounge is okay for a Red Carpet Club
but not that flash. There is some fresh fruit and coffee, several different types of snack/junk food and a modest selection of alcoholic drink (self serve). There is no tv, no computers, no shower, just one newspaper and magazine. The view out the window is fairly limited despite being on a high floor of the terminal. After a while I left the lounge to get some exercise, explore some more and make my way to the BMI lounge which is actually the designated lounge for SQ.
The BMI lounge entrance is easy enough to find (well sign-posted) but then have to take the lift down to the lounge itself. The lounge agent advised he could not issue boarding passes but would let me know when SQ’s desk opens up before the flight. The lounge is a typical BMI lounge – red and blue chairs, a couple of tvs, no computers, no shower, rubbish food and limited drink options. There is plenty of space, especially today – the one BD flight had no passengers use the lounge and only a small proportion of SQ’s first and business class passengers made their way into the lounge. After a while some bakery items were brought out onto a table with a card reading for Singapore Airlines passengers only. I don’t know why they bothered as the food was rubbish.
I managed to avoid falling into a deep sleep. I don’t know how.