Last day in Singapore

Last Day in Singapore

Today is my last full day in Singapore and I wanted to spend half of it at the airport. In a previous trip through Singapore Changi Airport I was amazed at how much there was to do there. I wanted to ensure I had enough time to explore it all. So for my last night, I booked a hotel at the airport itself so I didn’t have to transit back and fourth just to visit the airport.

More Chicken Rice

There is still half a day in Singapore. My first stop is back to the Maxwell Hawker centre. I enjoyed the Chicken rice from Tian Tian so much yesterday that I wanted it again. At the same time, I’d read that two stalls down is another place called Ah Tai. Its supposed to also be spectacular since the owner is a former chef of Tian Tian.

Since both were open today I decided to do a side by side comparison and see for myself.

Both are really really good. And it’s really hard to declare a winner. I’m left a little conflicted. I feel that the rice is far better and flavourful at Ah Tai but the chicken itself is more moist and tasty from Tian Tian. Its a bit of a cop out but I think it’s too close to call. Given that Tian Tian gets most of the traffic. I’d probably suggest that you go to the one with the smaller wait since no one loves waiting in line for food!

National Museum of Singapore

After stuffing my face with chicken rice, I returned to my hotel for one last shower before checking out. I left my luggage at the hotel and went out to visit the National Museum of Singapore. It primarily details the history of Singapore from it’s tribal beginnings, European discovery, through the World Wars and it’s ongoing development. I’m a bit of a history geek so getting to walk through the history of a nation I’m not very familiar with is fascinating.

The museum is laid out into several exhibition halls and each hall details different parts of Singapore’s history. I spent a few hours going through all the exhibits, retrieved my bags from the hotel to catch a bus to the airport. The ride takes about an hour but is much cheaper than using Grab or another car service.

On arriving at the airport, I thankfully got to check in a little early and freshened up before heading out to explore. The hotel itself is the only hotel located within the Singapore Changi Jewel complex called YotelAir. There are one or two neat things with the hotel itself, but more on that later.

Singapore Changi Jewel

The Changi Jewel is a huge mall at Singapore Changi airport that connects to all three terminals. It offers tons of shops and eateries for travellers and locals. There is also an amazing vortex waterfall in the middle of the complex and an upper deck with cool activities and restaurants. On a previous visit I only briefly walked around the complex. But this time I intend to check it all out.

There are several activities that can be experienced on the top floor of the jewel and I purchased a bundle pass to most of them. 

Mirror and Hedge Maze

I think the idea of having a Mirror Maze and a Hedge maze inside a mall is pretty novel and even though its done very well and is pretty. I felt that the whole experience felt a bit gimmicky to me. The mirror maze is exactly that a mirror maze. And if you’ve been to an amusement park one then this is no different, only with the Changi Jewel as the back drop. It’s quick to walk through and I had to try and “stretch” it out longer to maximize the value.

Similarly, the hedge maze is also what it sounds like. There are some windy paths with hedge walls and a few small points of interest inside. There are motorized flowers that pop out when you walk along the path and also a higher level observation deck which let’s you see the maze from above. But the maze is located away from the vortex waterfall so your view of Changi’s main attraction is obscured.

Overall in the future I’ll probably give these two attractions a miss.

Canopy Park

After the two mazes I visited the Canopy Park. This is a majority of the upper level of the Jewel and contains several attractions (included in the park admission and extra as well). Included in the Canopy Park admission are some free activities and areas. These include the Topiary Walk, the Petal Gardens. These are cool areas in the park that have interesting displays of art and also is a very pretty park space in the middle of a huge airport and mall. And in several locations there are some great views looking into the Rain Vortex.

Foggy Bowls

Also included in the Canopy Park admission are two more unique attractions. The first is the Foggy Bowls. This is a small “field” with little dips in it where perodically mist comes from the bottom and fills the holes. Its mainly meant for children to play in but I still found my own misty dip to check out.

Discovery Slides

The other attraction is the Discovery Slides. These are a set of oddly shaped metallic slides within the Canopy Park. While the slides themselves are ok, the view from the top of the slide is probably the best seat in the house when it comes to seeing all of the Jewel. But more on that later. I did try one of the slides, but it wasn’t anything to write home about. Again probably more for the kiddies. 

Sky Nets

Within Canopy Park are two Sky net courses. One is meant for bouncing and the other is meant for walking. My bundle ticket included the walking so I gave it a shot. Its pretty cool in that the course is quite expansive and you get some interesting looks down through escalator shafts all the way to the first floor. So if you’re slightly claustrophobic you might not want to look down. It doesn’t take too long and can be quite fun. However, I only had flip flops on and they required me to put on some of their own slip on shoes before attempting the nets. There isn’t much of a sole so  you end up feeling all of the rope and some of the metal rings that hold everything together. By the end of it my feet were a bit sore. So if you do plan to do this, make sure you have a pair of runners on.

Light and Sound Show on the Canopy Bridge

One of the cool evening things that happens in the Jewel is a Light and Sound Show that occurs in and around the Rain Vortex hourly between 7:30 pm and 11:30 pm everyday. The last thing on my bundle ticket is also access to the Canopy Bridge, which promises to be one of the best “seats” in the house for this show. It is suspended from the fifth floor and also has a glass bottom. So you’re able to see everyone below you and also get a great view of the light show in the evenings. I waited for the first show and got onto the bridge to watch. It is certainly a fantastic view of not just the vortex but the whole “forest valley” around the vortex as well. However, I don’t think its the “best” seat in the house. More on that later.

Tsuta Ramen

With the first show over, my thoughts turned to dinner. Thankfully, the Jewel offers a huge number of eateries and are represented by all types of cuisines. I was craving noodles and more specifically noodles in soup. So when I walked by Tsuta Ramen, thoughts of my past trip to Japan and visiting the actual restaurant flooded back into my mind. I got a table and ordered a ramen combo. While not as good as the original restaurant, it really hit the spot since I was craving something like this!

Light and Sound Show Part 2

After dinner I strolled through the mall portion of the Jewel for a little while before heading back up to the top for one of the hourly Light shows. While the view from the Canopy Bridge is great, I did find that the view is partially obstructed by the tram that runs through the Jewel from time to time. In addition to this, it does get a bit crowded on the bridge so it may not lead to the most pleasant experience. I found that earlier on in my explorations that the view from the top of the Discovery slide is directly opposite that of the Canopy Bridge. Because of this, the view is unobstructed by anything. In fact the vantage point is much higher (because you’re on the top of the slide on the same fifth floor that the Canopy bridge is). So you actually see a bit more looking down into the vortex as well. 

Because of this, I watched one of the light shows from here. And I’m convinced that from the top of the discovery slide is the true “best seat” in the house. The bonus here is that entrance to the Canopy Park is unlimited on the day. So you’re able to go in and out as often as you like, where as the bridge is a one time thing. So after my initial exploration, I was able to get some dinner before coming back to watch the show. There’s also the added bonus of seeing the Canopy park at night!

Admission to the Jewel Attractions

I wanted to dedicate a section to speak to the value of the Jewel attractions.  I pulled the admission prices for each of the individual attractions:

Because I wanted to try most things I got Bundle #1 which includes all of the above except the Bouncing Sky Net for 38 SGD. Its already a savings from the total 55 it would cost me to purchase each attraction individually. However, having done most of these now, I don’t think there’s much value in either maze. Also, I think you can get away without the Canopy Bridge if you have access to the Canopy Park. So, if I were to offer some advice, I’d suggest purchasing a ticket to the Park (which includes the slides, foggy bowl, the gardens and the walk) and one of the sky nets if you want. You would be saving a lot of money and I think you still get a top Changi Jewel Experience.

Changi Airport Terminal 3 Slide

As it’s starting to get late, there is one last thing on my list. There is a slide in terminal 3 of the airport. This isn’t in the Jewel but the actual airport itself, which I think is pretty unique. So I set out to search for it and after a bit of wandering found it. The kid in me gave it a shot. The adult in me realized that friction really slows down a person. Nonetheless, Its not something I’ve see at other airports and I’m glad I did it.

YotelAir & Robot

Sadly it was time to get back to my hotel and prepare for my flight the next morning. Thankfully I didn’t have to walk far and before I knew it I was back in my hotel room. Now YotelAir itself is pretty neat because its the only hotel in the Jewel and while its more of transit hotel, it offers a cool “airplane” style cabin albeit a little small. 

The other cool thing about this hotel are the robots! Yes you heard me right, there are robots that can delivery amenities to your door. I suspect this cuts down on labour costs, but I think its just cool! I had to give it a shot, so I called the front desk and asked for a bottle of water (I’m sure the staff are used to this by now).  Within minutes I could hear the motor of the robot coming down the hallway to deliver my water. 

When it arrived it called my in room phone to let me know it was outside.

Soon after, I quickly showered and drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow I’ll be leaving Singapore and flying to Australia where I’ll get to attend my friend Physio’s wedding on the weekend.