Week 107 · Singapore · One Long Day
Singapore,
Singapore was selected as the transition place — somewhere I could get Sharon to with a business class ticket using minimal frequent flyer miles, with a direct connection to Bali. I have been several times but I still like going there and wanted Sharon to see it. Just one long day but Sharon was a trooper with the jet lag.
Once the Singapore flight was booked for Sharon, I worked backward for the details of the rest of the trip. I have been to Singapore several times but I still like going there — it is a great place and I wanted Sharon to see it in case I ever get an opportunity to consider working there. Unfortunately our friends there were out of town and we did not get to see them, but we will be back. Just had one long day and Sharon was a trooper with jet lag as we hit the central business district tourist sites of Gardens by the Bay, Clarke Quay, and Marina Bay Sands.
Gardens by the Bay opened in 2012 on 101 hectares of reclaimed land in the heart of Singapore. The signature Supertrees — vertical gardens rising 25 to 50 metres — house over 162,900 plants from over 200 species and serve as environmental engineering systems, collecting rainwater and generating solar power. The two cooled conservatories (Flower Dome and Cloud Forest) are the largest glass greenhouses in the world. The project cost approximately SGD $1 billion and was designed to establish Singapore's reputation as a "City in a Garden."
"I booked a hotel in the airport — makes life easier. With the exception that I confused Sharon's flight and thought she wasn't on the plane for about 30 minutes."
Changi Airport has been ranked the world's best airport by Skytrax for twelve consecutive years. Beyond transit facilities, it features a butterfly garden, rooftop pool, movie theatres, and the Jewel Changi retail complex. Singapore sits at the confluence of major Southeast Asian air routes, making it one of the busiest aviation hubs in the world, with direct connections from most major Asian cities to European, Australian, and North American destinations. Booking a hotel inside the airport — as done on this trip — eliminates ground transportation entirely and is a genuinely practical strategy for a one-day stop.
The logistics worked well here — but then again I booked a hotel in the airport, which makes life easier. With the exception that I confused Sharon's flight (ANA801 from NRT vs. ANA805 from NRT, which was 50 minutes later) — so I thought she wasn't on the plane for about 30 minutes and was discussing with immigration whether she had come through yet. False alarm.