This is another boring post about the actual ins and outs of travel.
I'm someone who loves airports. Genuinely. I love how they move, the energy, the life. I love all the different amenities offered in different places (and what some consider an amenity). I love the art. I love how an airport is a tiny capsule of the city you're in as if they're aware that this may be your only interaction with this city so why not make a good impression? I have cities I would like to visit simply because their airports are top notch.
SeaTac is not one of those airports. It is a brutalist hellscape. The website promises light and art and a Pearl Jam exhibit. It boasts about being the Best Airport in North America according to Skytrax. These things are all lies. I firmly believe they paid off whoever was surveyed for Skytrax.
Navigating this airport is very difficult. There are few to no wayfaring markers or signs. There are two train loops (to be fair, the train is speedy) to get to the other side of the airport but they really lead nowhere. Finding somewhere to eat is nigh on impossible. If you want a charging port, good luck - I walked every available inch of that airport and found five. Most of the retail and dining options are in a terminal that is a 10 minute walk from the last train stop on either loop. You really earn your US $19 Impossible burger! Finding your gate is even worse - the terminals are labelled very differently from the actual gates. Thankfully the staff is helpful and seems quite accustomed to these kinds of questions. And the Pearl Jam exhibit? I think I may have found it before security but I have no idea. There was a wall with album art by a local artist that I've never seen, that all had to do with Pearl Jam.
The flight I'm taking to Doha has an hour and a half to connect. That's not a lot of time and when we somehow lose half an hour in the air it becomes even less. I'm not allowing myself to stress out because that won't help anyone. I've been assured that there is enough time (their minimum connection time is in the neighbourhood of 50 minutes for an international flight). Breathe and trust the process.
It doesn't take long to figure out why there is such a narrow MCT - you don't get a passport stamp in Doha. If you are only transiting and not leaving the airport, you do not get a visa. Fair enough, I guess but I do love my passport stamps. A quick jaunt through security and I'm in an airport fully decked out for FIFA World Cup. It is a big and airy airport with excellent wayfaring and people movement. Efficient to a fault. Clean and somehow bright but eternally dusk at the same time. It's not long before I'm off to Amman!
I don't have a lot to say about the Amman airport. The inbound corridors are designed to keep you on a path to customs and immigration and they do a great job of that. There is a curious sign directing those coming in for medical tourism in one direction but we'll get to that eventually. The one thing I will say as a positive is that when you get into the arrivals hall there are several kiosks you can buy a sim card from. They're not fly by night places either, they're from the same mobile providers that Jordanians use every day. The pricing is unbelievably cheap and the staff is excellent.
After China I learned that if there is an airport transfer available from the tour company (and you don't speak the language well enough/feel comfortable enough to navigate a cab), take it. I met my driver and set out for a night time drive through Amman to get to my hotel on the opposite side of the city.
Next: Holy crap I'm in Jordan.
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