On this trip, I flew on
Singapore Airlines to Indonesia. Since I had to layover in Singapore for eight hours, I thought it would be a good time to stretch my legs and see the town for a bit. After the long flight from the States, I quickly jumped into the Krisflyer Lounge and took a shower. Luckily, I had split my itinerary. One was the transpacific flight with cash and one with miles on the intra-asia flight. Why that was important was that I had opted to book business class on the award ticket which allows you access to the Krisflyer Lounge instead of the Krisflyer Gold Lounge. As courter intuitive as it sounds, the "gold" lounge is their basic lounge for the Star Alliance folks which means no showers and smaller space. You can only access the Krisflyer Lounge if your continuing flight is in the appropriate class.
I've only "heard" of international premium economy but haven't actually flown an airline with the class. Singapore Airlines led the category definition and I was curious if it was better than economy and/or economy plus on United. In the end, for a 17 hour flight, it was worth the extra to get more leg room and less people on the plane. My flight was only business class and premium economy seats so the total number of people on the plane was about 300 for the Airbus 350. It makes a difference in terms of speed of boarding and the availability of bathrooms during the trip. Mental note, most people don't preorder their food. If you do, you get to eat first because they serve the pre-orders first during every meal service.
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| Singapore Airlines Business Class - folds to a twin size bed |
After getting a quick bite and feeling a bit more refreshed, headed out to the
Botanic Gardens. Before getting into a taxi, I grabbed a wifi hotspot from the local tourist kiosk. For 10 Singaporean dollars, I was able to hotspot wi-fi throughout the day and was able to share the internet with companions. It was helpful while going out and about the city for such a brief time. I opted to take a taxi because the MRT would take about 90 minutes versus a 30 minute drive. Time was short and I didn't want to spend it on a subway.
I was pleasantly surprised to find the Gardens more activity driven. Most of the gardens I've visited were essentially a large area of grass and plants sectioned with signs. The Gardens is free to enter but there are specific areas where you do have to pay an entry fee such as the Orchid Garden. There are also a number of restaurants and small eateries scattered throughout. I saw plenty of people walking their dogs or having brunch in the restaurant patios. If you could commercialize a free public space, Singapore did it well.
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| Singapore Botanic Garden |
Enjoyed a Singapore Sling at
The Halia and the Villa restaurant before heading back to the airport. I wanted to stop at Crystal Jade and the restaurant is in Terminal 1. Even though I needed to fly out of Terminal 2, I entered the airport in Terminal 1 and saw the Jewel Garden with the waterfall and was able to return the hotspot at the same time.
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| Changi Airport Jewel Garden |
While in airport, I discovered seasonal drinks at Starbucks and I had to try it....
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| Starbucks Mixed Berry Pomegranate Pearls Frappucino |
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