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152 wanderlust.co.uk April 2020POCKET GUIDES FIRST 24 HOURS
Startwiththemainattraction:the
Rain Vortex. This thundering
indoor waterfall, the largest in the
world, is surrounded by more than
100,000 leafy plants, ig trees and
palms at the heart of Jewel.
For the best views, embark on the
Shisheido Forest Valley ‘hike’ up tothe ifth loor. There you can
enter Canopy Park (S$5/£3) –
a whimsical garden full of colourful
topiary animals from a pink
elephant to a red and yellow
crocodile. Look out over Jewel as
you walk across the glass-
bottomed Canopy Bridge(S$8/£4.50), spouting mist to make
it feel like you’re in the clouds.
After time exploring (and
perhaps a quick haircut at Sultans
of Shave on L4?), stop for a bite to
eat at Violet Oon (violetoon.com)- a Singaporean institution serving
up well-loved dishes like Hainanese
chicken rice. Then head out of
Jewel into T1 to admire the iconic
Kinetic Rain art installation,
created from 1,216 bronze droplets.
Once you’re through security,
make a detour to T1’s rooftop
Cactus Garden, where you can
grab a drink from the Cactus Bar
as you watch planes take o. Ride
the travelator to T2, home to the
pretty Orchid Garden wrapped
around a koi carp pond. Pop
into Straits Food Village –
a nostalgic ‘Hawker Centre-style’
food court – for a bowl of peppery
bak kut teh (pork rib broth), before
pushing onto T3 to visit the
Butterly Garden, home to 1,000
luttering butterlies.
If your ticket allows, inish up in
the Heritage Zone in T4, where
you can stroll around colourful
1930s shophouses. Then sink into
one of the free massage chairs for
some well-deserved rest.
Quicknap:Headtooneofthe
free-to-use Snooze Lounges found
within each terminal. They’re full
of comfy reclining seats, which are
thoughtfully accompanied by
a charging socket.
Longer snooze: Located inside
Jewel, YotelAir (yotel.com) has
luxury ‘cabins’ that can be booked
for as little as four hours. These
futuristic rooms feature rain
showers and cozy sofa beds, with
super-fast WiFi in case the jetlagkeeps you up. It costs S$100/£56
for four hours and S$10/£5.60
per extra hour.
Full night: Bookable day and night,
Crowne Plaza (changiairport.
crowneplaza.com) in Terminal 3
has been named the ‘World’s Best
Airport Hotel’ by award body
Skytrax ive years in a row. With
a pool, gym, sun terrace and spa,
you’d want to stay here even if
you weren’t lying. Doubles
from S$280/£157.Naturally,Changihasthoughtof
everything. If you’ve got at least
5.5 hours to spend in transit, you
don’t have to be conined to the
airport: take one of their
complimentary tours of the city,
departing from T2 and T3.
The 2.5-hour City Sights tour
(6pm, 7.30pm) whisks you on
a night ride past some of
Singapore’s best sights, including
the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel
and the futuristic Gardens by the
Bay. There’s also the 2.5-hourHeritage Tour (9am, 10am, 12.30pm,
2.30pm, 4pm), showcasing the
city’s architectural brilliance- passing through the colourful
colonial district, Chinatown, Little
India and Malay quarter.
For something a little closer to
the airport, they also oer free
walking tours of Jewel Changi
(10.30am, 6pm). Only at Changi
could you can stretch your legs
between lights in a rainforest–the
spray of the world’s tallestindoor
waterfall cooling your face.
Transiting through?
Where to sleep?
A day at the airport
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JFMAMJJASOND30025020015050Rainfall (average) Temperature (average high)̊C MMBag storage: You can go
hands-free by stowing
any bags at their Baggage
Storage, found inside
every terminal. Loose items
cost S$5/£3 per 24 hours,
while extra-large items
cost S$18/£10.
Charging points: There are
over 3,400 free USB ports
and universal power sockets
across the airport. You’ll ind
dedicated charging points
beside every seating area in
all four terminals.
Entertainment: Feeling
bored? Head to the 24-hour
movie theatres (T2, T3);
Xbox gaming station (T2),
arcade machines (T2) and
sports screenings in the
‘Xperience Zone’ (T2) – all
free. There’s also a rooftop
pool (T1; S$17/£9.50) with
a jacuzzi, poolside bar
and showers.
Pharmacies: If you’re
feeling ill, look out for
a Guardian, Watson’s or
Airport Pharmacy – there’s
one inside every terminal.
Plane spotting: There are
dedicated ‘Viewing Malls’
in T1 (level 3), T2 (level 3)
and T3 (level 4) where you
can watch lights take
o and land.
WiFi: You can access three
hours free in the airport by
connecting to #WiFi@
Changi. Or head to one of
the 100 Internet stations
across the airport for
unlimited access.Need to know
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