Changi International Airport, Singapore

I left Vietnam on Sunday the 22nd around noon-ish and arrived at Changi International Airport in Singapore around 4:30p. Changi is major aviation hub (seventh busiest international airport) in Southeast Asia and also yearly ranks as one of the best airports in the world and boy, was I impressed.

There's a lot of pics below but I’m going to spend a few minutes talking about this airport as I have never been to an airport like this one. This airport is like a self-contained city with 4 terminals. Pretty much anything you need to get done – you can get it done there. Do you like free stuff? How many airports have the following complimentary services in the transit areas in the U.S.?

- surf the internet with over 500 internet stations/computers

- Wi-Fi; airport-wide

- watch movies at movie theaters

- enjoy xBox 360, PlayStation 3, MTV booths, and LAN gaming at Entertainment Decks

- watch news & sports at TV & Entertainment Lounges

- foot and calf massage stations

- various themed (butterfly, sunflower, etc.) gardens

- make your own art pieces at the Art Interactive Zones

- local telephone calls

- children play areas

- enjoy a 2-hr Singapore Tour (if u have at least 5 hrs to your next flight)

Does it sound like your typical La Guardia or LAX? I don’t think so. There is so much to see here and so many eateries. I stayed for a couple hours before leaving. The first place I stopped was to get a quick bite to eat at Kaveri Indian Vegetarian Restaurant. An Indian vegetarian at an airport? Now I was in heaven. I bought an order of samosas. This was more of a fast-food Indian restaurant but the airport also had full Indian restaurants too. The two samosas were delicious. The seating area near this place was on a second floor overlooking a plant/pond area. See pics below:

In addition to Indian restaurants, the airport has coffee bars & sandwich bars; fast food; noodles places; Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Italian, & Western cuisines; and sushi as well as probably others. The airport obviously had bars too. One of them was a small Hard Rock Cafe outlet. I went there and had a beer. Look at the immediate two pics below. In the second pic, taken from my table, you can see the free stand-up computer terminals to go online and surf the web. Free – cannot beat it.

Scattered throughout the airport behind little nook-and-crannies are lounge-type chairs where you can sleep. See pic below.

Or if you don't feel like sleeping, you can go to a movie theater and catch the latest blockbusters for free in a cinematic experience. See pic below. The theater was made with travelers in mind with wide aisles and legroom for your luggage.

Or if you don't want to eat, drink or watch a movie, you can play free games or watch sports. And if you watch TV and sports, you can enjoy the benefit of built-in speaker seats. See pics below.

Or perhaps get a free foot massage. I did – that's why my sandals are on the floor...

But maybe the coolest thing was the free Butterfly Garden; the world's first in an airport where you can get a close encounter with nature where you stroll in a garden amongst these amazing winged creatures. The garden is outside, but within a cage/screen, so the butterflies cannot get out but is open to the elements. There are plants, flowers, and a waterfall. When I was there, it was slightly drizzling so I got a little wet. In one pic below, a butterfly is eating/drinking off sliced pineapples. See pics below.

If you're not into butterflies, you can go to a Koi pond, Cactus Garden, Orchid Garden, Fern Garden or the Sunflower Garden pictured below.

This airport also has a lounge where you can enjoy showers, fitness, massages, naps, and hair and beauty services waiting for your flight. There's a rooftop swimming pool and jacuzzi. This is one amazing airport and I have been to quite a few of them. It may be one of the few airports where the locals come as one of their favorite destinations.

 

After I explored the airport (I did so now knowing that I had an early morning flight on the return trip), I headed for immigration which was very smooth and took a train to downtown Singapore as the airport is on the far eastern part of the island and downtown is the southern-central part of the island; about 40 min. I was staying at the Tresor Tavern Hostel located near Singapore's Bugis and Little India neighborhoods which is slightly north of the city core. The neighborhood around the hostel was not anything special but the hostel was within a 10 min walk of the Lavender subway stop which was convenient. The hostel room was a single, extremely small but I knew that in advance and stayed there to try to save money as Singapore is a very expensive city. The hostel had free Wi-Fi and coffee which was good. I didn't arrive until very late (and it was raining – wasn't pleasant) and would start my sightseeing the next day...