Day 2 - An airport, butterflies and Jewel

Our flight left late for Singapore due to the inbound plane arriving late.  After the drama of non-entry into Singapore it was nice to get on board and finally be off for our European adventure.  

I managed a good six hour sleep on the plane so hardly got to read anything or to watch much as before I knew it we were touching down in Singapore.  The weather looked great and at that point I thought that it was a pity we were going to be stuck inside for the day. 

Prior to leaving we had booked a transit hotel for the day.  A rather expensive exercise as they charge in six hourly blocks.  That took a bit of anxiety away from how we might accommodate ourselves. In hindsight we could have just booked for twelve hours and saved a heap of money but we figured that out long after we had paid our money and checked in. 

Our hotel

We had a couple of hours to fill in prior to occupying our room and we found a place to have a coffee and work out how to use the free WiFi that was available courtesy of Changi.  I discovered that you could have it in three hour blocks but that meant getting a code each time but you could download an app onto the phone and you had it for 24 hours which was great. Unfortunately, there was no app for the laptop.

Spot the butterflies

I was  wondering whether I’d manage to get some exercise whilst there, but I did not need to worry.  Changi is huge and consists of three terminals and a separate fourth terminal.  There are many food places and as it turned out plenty of things to see and do.  Next door to our hotel was the Butterfly Garden which was full of  beautiful butterflies. Not only that it, was one of the few places we could go outside for a of breath warm, humid, kerosene laden air. This small area was full of plants that were flowering plus flowers that had been previously picked and slices of pineapple.  The latter two to supplement feeding. 

There was a pond with Koi carp in it and a number of other different gardens.  We walked through the three terminals on our rambles, seeing all the brand shops full of people browsing for stuff that was very expensive that most did not need.  Consumerism at its finest. 

One of several species of butterfly

We had been told about a major new attraction called Jewel and it was suggested by a very friendly volunteer that we should go and have a look at it. Unfortunately, as Bev could not leave the transit area, it was not a viable idea.  However he did say that the little trains that transport people from one terminal to the other went through it.  So we got on one and it took us through a very large dome,  apparently  a bit like the Eden project in the UK. It had an amazing waterfall and was full of tropical plants that I presume that were representative of the forests in this part of the world.  But it was more than that.  Linked to it is an urban mall and hotel. The garden under the dome is very impressive.

Eating places abound and we found food that was OK but as you might imagine it was all very expensive. 

Remarkably we did not do much reading as the time went very quickly with our walks and people watching but did enjoy having a pre- dinner beer and short read prior to having some dinner. Then it was a wonderful sleep ready for the nearly 14 hour flight to London.  

Terminal 3 - our home for 24 hours