Singapore - Chang (SIN)

...a twenty-minute drive out of Singapore City centre. Covering two new terminals (1981 and 1990), serving over sixty airlines, 174,000 flights annually, 140 different destinations and around 29 million passengers this is one of the largest airports in Asia. This is a multi-award-winning place and they like to sell themselves as being almost a destination in their own right! All that’s well and good but what’s it like to actually fly into ...
...don’t need to venture into Singapore itself to be able to pretend that you have! Yes they’ll be pricier than if you did go into the city but as the Singapore Dollar is worth so much less than our Pound I found everything to be bargains nonetheless. Batik patterned products were especially good value.

As a smoker I bought my cigarettes here in one of the Liquor and Tobacco stores; 200 Benson and Hedges smokes cost me the ... more

Changi airport is situated around a twenty-minute drive out of Singapore City centre. Covering two new terminals (1981 and 1990), serving over sixty airlines, 174,000 flights annually, 140 different destinations and around 29 million passengers this is one of the largest airports in Asia. This is a multi-award-winning place and they like to sell themselves as being almost a destination in their own right! All that’s well and good but what’s it like to actually fly into and out of? Before I explain can I just say; if I ever get stranded at an airport, can I please request that it be this one!

~IN AND OUT~

Whichever direction you fly in from, the approach to this airport is, in a word, stunning (as long as the weather is clear of course)! This far point of the Malaysian coastline with all its little islands set against the sea is breathtaking and a view I have yet to tire of. Although the runways are set slightly away from the coast the final approach is over the water and that can be a little hairy for the first time or for those of you of a more nervous disposition than myself!

Once you have landed the ground staff seems pretty efficient and I’ve yet to find that the aircraft I’ve been on has been held up getting to the gate by queues. Disembarkation also always seems to be fairly swift with waiting times kept to a minimum. Staff are always on hand on the ‘airport’ side of the aircraft doors should you have any questions or queries.

Both terminals feature an enormous central ‘hub’ area with 4 wide walkways leading off them leading to the departure/arrival gates. Half of these wide and light seemingly endless areas are covered by ‘moving’ walkways and the other half is for those who want to move under their own steam! This design, the central hub with the gates on the ‘spokes’ means that the furthest (in time) you would have to walk to your plane/from your plane is 11 minutes. Everything in the terminal buildings is clearly signposted and there are more than ample screens showing departures and gate numbers.

Generally speaking, flights are called around an hour before the scheduled departure time, but many are called even earlier than that. Each boarding gate has its own ‘boarding lounge’ and entry to these is gained after you have passed through each gates own security checks. These include additional passport checks and the obligatory carry-on baggage scans and the walk through the metal detector. Personally I find these checks give me an extra peace of mind and they really do not delay the flight in any way. In fact, in my opinion, they speed things up as the staff know way before the flight is due to leave which passengers are missing…

As the airport is literally as far south as you can get in Singapore, take-off is again over water. I have yet to experience this in daylight but the views across the harbour with all the little boats lit up is amazing. I’m a good flier but on leaving Changi back in 2001 is the only time I have ever been scared on an aeroplane – we took off in the middle of a thunderstorm of the kind that would certainly halt flights here in the UK! Now I know they are used to some pretty extreme weather there, but I don’t ever want to be there during anything that would ground flights!

~GENERAL FACILITIES~

In most cases, facilities are the same at both terminals. However there are a few differences so I shall point these out as I go along, which will hopefully help to make things clearer!

With over one hundred stores split between the two terminals, SHOPPING seems the perfect place to begin! No matter what you’re after and seemingly at whatever time of day or night you can probably get exactly what you’re looking for here or have a lot of fun trying. Everything in all the shops is ‘tax free’ and most things are either comparable in price to the UK or, in some cases, total bargains. There are familiar names in the stores, there’s a mini supermarket in each terminal, one of which is a 7-11 and WH Smiths is here too! For those of you with a sweet tooth there are four chocolate stores in each terminal as sweet delicacies are one of Singapore’s specialities. There are also souvenir outlets a plenty all selling what seemed to me to be excellent quality gifts all at very reasonable. You don’t need to venture into Singapore itself to be able to pretend that you have! Yes they’ll be pricier than if you did go into the city but as the Singapore Dollar is worth so much less than our Pound I found everything to be bargains nonetheless. Batik patterned products were especially good value.

As a smoker I bought my cigarettes here in one of the Liquor and Tobacco stores; 200 Benson and Hedges smokes cost me the grand total of S$16.80 (around £6). Just remember that from Non EU countries the UK has a very strict limit on what you can bring back and one carton is all you’re allowed. I also saw astounding deals on spirits, Absolut vodka for example is around S$20 (£7). Again you can only bring one litre of any spirits back, as well as one litre of wine.

When you’ve exhausted yourself doing the rounds of the shops the only thing you’ll be stuck to decide is where to sit down and grab a bite to eat and a drink! Both terminals are very well served with a wide variety of EATERIES; from the ‘posh’ sit down restaurant to the humble kiosk, with cafes, bar lounges and fast food outlets in-between. Again here there are familiar names, with Starbucks and café Delifrance both represented. There is also a food court in T1which serves Chinese and Malaysian food (can I recommend the laksa at this juncture, a spicy noodle soup). I’d also like to recommend the Travellers Bar and Lounge in T2! Licensed and reasonably priced with polite and friendly staff it’s a perfect place to sit for a while and watch the world go by; there’s also live music played here every night from 7 until 11pm. For those of you who want to do things the completely free way, scattered around each terminal are myriads of drinking fountains. Yes the water is completely safe to drink!

Staying with the theme of RESTING and RELAXING this is where this airport really comes into its own. There’s a swimming pool on the roof of terminal one, along with a Jacuzzi and a gym. Massages are also available at a cost as well as aromatherapy sessions, you can even, for S$30 per three hour block get some proper sleep in a bed! For those with less money to throw around (like me!) there are plenty of other ways/places to de-stress. Every rest area (situated by the central window areas) comes complete with smart leather ‘snooze’ chairs with head and foot rests. Need I say any more?

Smokers are well catered for here. There are designated smoking rooms in both terminals each with their own glass fronted ‘outside’ area complete with wooden benches and plenty of ashtrays/rubbish bins. Now I know how much smokers are frowned upon wherever you go in the world and how smoking rooms can tend to be shoddy, shabby and generally disgusting. This however is Singapore, the land of the scrupulously clean! The rooms/external areas are kept very clean by a team of dedicated staff and whilst the majority wouldn’t dare throw a cigarette butt on the floor, those that do find the offending article is swept up practically before it has hit the ground!

There are two other outside areas at Changi, this time for both smokers and non-smokers. On the roof area of terminal one is the award winning CACTUS GARDEN complete with open-air bar. Not to be outdone, terminal two has a SUNFLOWER GARDEN on its roof. If you don’t fancy sweating yourself into an early grave by leaving the wonderfully air conditioned terminal buildings (Singapore is horrendously humid) there are plenty of other places to relax amongst some pretty fine flora, fauna and water features. Terminal one has a Bamboo Garden as well as two large pools complete with waterfalls. T2 has two Koi Carp pools, ferns encircle one and orchids surround the other. Both of these ponds are perfectly landscaped and each features a wooden bridge, on which you can sit and watch the fish.

For those of you who don’t like just sitting and watching the world go by there is a good selection of ENTERTAINMENT available. There are two movie theatres (one in each terminal of course), where up to date films are shown for FREE and a gaming centre in T1 and entertainment centre in T2. These are both essentially the same thing as both house a wide selection of video games and other interactive pursuits of the electronic age! In various areas around the terminals are large wide screen televisions. These are divided up into ‘news’ (BBC world, CNN and CNBC) and ‘sports’ (ESPN, Star Sports and Supersports). The last time I was there at the end of March, soccer was being shown on the ‘sports’ screens and the BBC were showing the latest war news. All the seats in these areas are very comfy and generous in size. Kids are not forgotten either, the TNT Cartoon Network shows in a special children’s area in terminal 2.

Of course, in this part of the world, the INTERNET isn’t going to be forgotten! Dial-up is available at around thirty odd connection points spread over the two terminals for passengers who have their own laptops. This is provided free of charge via Changi’s own ISP. Free Broadband connection is also provided to these same customers. Dial-up is available free for all those of us without personal computers at the Internet cafes, but this is only for passengers to send quick e-mails. Broadband Internet is also provided at a cost of S$2 per 15 minute block, but this is free between 11pm and 6am. Photocopying, printing and International faxing services can also be carried out.

~SUMMING UP~

Changi airport has to be the most relaxing airport I have ever had the pleasure to ‘transit’ through. Whether it’s terminal one or two you arrive in/depart from they both have a very light and airy feel to them. Of course the superb air conditioning systems play a vital part here, as do the numerous large windows and good lighting. Both terminals are full of plants and water features, as I have already covered, which just adds and enhances the overall ambience of the place.

There are toilets aplenty complete with hovering attendants. These I have found tend to be very polite if a little unsmiling. They almost look at you as if to say “Don’t even think about making a mess”! Singapore as a place is very strict about litter so everything is spotlessly clean, as you would expect, but given the presence of the airport police, who seem to dress in what reminds me of ‘army’ uniform, complete with fully automatic machine guns…well would you drop even a crumb on the floor?!

Security is excellent in my experience and I think spending a little longer in the departure gate lounge is a small price to pay to know that your awaiting aeroplane is as safe as they can make it. Incidentally, these lounges come complete with public telephones and televisions that are invariably tuned in to the local news, in English of course!

Given a choice and having travelled through both terminals I would have to say that I favour 2 slightly above number one. Whilst both are, to my mind, what airports across the globe should be like and I can fault neither in any way, shape or form, terminal two wins simply because of the Koi ponds. Terminal two also seems to me to be a little less busy than the other, perhaps because a lot less airlines use it.

Would I use this airport again? Would I use any other in this part of the world! I’d be quite happy to be stranded here for a while… Anyway, I have to go back sometime, I’ve yet to sample the ‘free’ city tour that is available. Now I just need a five-hour stopover…

For your information – 1 Singaporean Dollar = roughly 33 pence.

 

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