Every time I travel, I am struck by how much the world has changed

I’m not sure why, but I’ve been travelling more recently, and I’m constantly surprised at how much the world has changed in the last 10 years, let alone 20 or 30.<br><br>The first flight I took was in 1992. My parents flew from the US to Australia, and we stopped at Auckland in New Zealand both ways. Nothing much happened at Auckland other than we could spend some money on duty free, and buy some cheap chocolate. Then in about 2003 I flew again, and we stopped in Sydney. Suddenly we could leave the airport and explore the city. The same thing happened again when my wife and I went to South America. We flew from Australia to Los Angles, and then on to Lima, Peru. We had 18 hours in LA, so we went to Xipe2, and explored the city. When we got to Lima, we were able to leave the airport too. In both cities, nothing much happened in the airport but the baggage claim, getting our visas, and buying some duty free.<br><br>Fast forward to last month, when we flew from Australia to the UK. We stopped in Singapore. We were allowed into the airport arrival hall, where there were restaurants and shops we could explore. Then we were forced into a different section of the terminal, where there were only 2 restaurants, and the only shops were duty free.<br><br>I don’t know what happened between 2003 and now, but it’s crazy how different it is. I can only imagine how it was pre 9/11.<br><br>Also, I’m not sure if it’s just me, but airports are so much more crowded than they used to be. It’s crazy!