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Changi Airport
10 FREE THINGS TO DO AT SINGAPORE’S CHANGI AIRPORT |
I know, I know, airports aren’t exactly destinations you choose to visit or to hang out. But you might want to make an exception.. There are really good reasons why Singapore’s Changi International Airport is repeatedly voted the best airport in the world. Some of those reasons include Changi’s amazing free activities.
I personally always allow extra time to hang out at this airport whenever I have the pleasure to pass through. In fact, believe it or not, I once actually re-scheduled a flight for 2 hours later so that I could take advantage of a free 2-hour city tour!
If you’ll be passing through Singapore en route to your final destination, chances are good you’ll have an overnight lay-over at Changi. Common booking procedures include an evening arrival with an early morning onward departure.
You’ll be delighted to have these amazing activities to indulge in while there. In addition to international airports’ usual free activities like watching planes take off, trying on designer perfumes and sunglasses or reading books and magazines, at Changi you’ll also get to…
1. Pamper your feet with free foot massages
Rejuvenate your weary travel feet at plentiful free cushy massage chairs located throughout the airport. Relax as long as you want in luxurious lounge chairs while mechanical built-in massagers rub, press and roll your feet and ankles. You can even adjust settings to your preferred strength and type of massage.
 free internet connection points |
2. Browse the internet
Get online free all over the airport via several connection options. If you’re traveling without your laptop use the free computer internet terminals. With your laptop you can access free wifi or use the free laptop usb ports. All choices located throughout the airport.
 movie theater at Changi |
3. Watch ongoing feature movies
Yep, you heard it right. Changi Airport has free movie theaters, and not 1 but 3 theaters, one in each terminal, showing non-stop movies 24/7.
4. Relax in 5 different gardens
Prefer relaxing in nature? Wander through gardens of cactus, sunflowers, orchids, or ferns. Colorful butterflies are also fluttering around the Butterfly Garden, the world’s first butterfly garden at an airport.
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| Orchid garden in Chiangi Airport |
5. Get up-to-date on the latest electronics
3D Electronics Zone
Do you love technology? Try out the newest games, computers, 3D TV, cameras and other cutting edge technology while you’re between flights. If you’re gallivanting around the world long-term it’s easy to get behind on new technology. Here’s an easy and fun chance to get caught up.
6. Try your hand at art
Make your own wood-block print then learn about Singaporean Peranakan and other SE Asian cultural arts at Changi’s Interactive Art Center.
7. Catch up on your 40 winks
Feeling tired? Changi has actually set up several rest areas for travelers to sleep on comfy lay-back lounge chairs. Not surprisingly, these sweet in-transit beds do fill up with weary passengers. With luck you’ll find one awaiting you but if not you’re more than welcome to stretch out and sleep on the well carpeted & padded floors in various quiet sitting areas located well out of the path and noise of airport foot traffic.
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8. Science Museum/ Center
In conjunction with the Singapore Science Center, Changi offers interactive science displays to entertain and stimulate the weary minds of passing travelers. Fun stuff!
9. Race down the world’s tallest slide!
Crazy as it seems, Changi Airport has the world’s tallest indoor slide. Visitors get a free slide token with any $10 purchase anywhere in the airport. Feel like indulging the playful side of your nature? Go race down the 12 M/ 4 story slide.
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| Chinese junk on Singapore River tour |
10. Take a sight-seeing tour of Singapore city
Changi’s Free City Tour
If you’ve got a 5-hour lay-over you can join a free 2-hour tour of Singapore. Changi’s city tour service will put you on a bus, take you into the city, board you on an old Chinese junk, sail you up and down the Singapore River with a tour guide, walk you along the scenic river banks, then take you back to the airport. All for free!
Tours head out several times per day in mornings and afternoons.
(* This is the tour I took by rescheduling my onward flight. Even though I’d visited Singapore many many times already, I couldn’t pass up a free guided tour of my favorite city. )
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You might not have ever considered an airport as a destination in its own right, but perhaps you’ll be making an exception for Singapore’s fantastic airport?
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If you found this post useful, you’ll love my FREE eBook:
100 Free Things to do in Asia. It describes 10 free activities in 10 different Asian cities and destinations.
Check out my eBook here
You might also like the following posts from my ’10 Free Things to do in…’ Series:
Singapore
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Bangkok
and: Why is Singapore the Best City in the World?
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(note: all photos from Flickr Creative Commons except the photo of Singapore River tour, which I photographed. find Creative Common photo authors via photo links.)
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Hi! I'm Lash, an American nomadic world traveler who's been traveling solo since 1998. I’m passionate about traveling the world nomadically and then sharing it all with you. I hope to inspire you to travel the world, to entertain you with tales from the road, and to help you reach your travel dreams. Welcome! 
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10 FREE THINGS TO DO IN SINGAPORE - LashWorldTour » LashWorldTour
2012/06/25 at 9:33 am (UTC 8) Link to this comment
[…] LashWorldTour:Why is Singapore the Best City in the World? Photo Gallery: Architecture of Singapore 10 Free Things to do in Singapore’s Changi Airport 10 Free Things to do in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 10 Free Things to do on Tropical Islands and […]
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2013/01/09 at 2:09 pm (UTC 8) Link to this comment
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10 Free Things to do in Singapore Chinatown - LashWorldTour » LashWorldTour
2013/02/13 at 11:46 am (UTC 8) Link to this comment
[…] LashWorldTourTravel Blog offering Cultural Insights, Travel Tips, and Tales of Adventure from 14+ years of world travelsHOMEABOUTAbout LashWorldTourAbout LashContactWhat’s in a name?LashWorldTour Travel MapLash’s Travel Fast FactsMissionsWorld Travels Overview: 1991-2011PressDisclaimerCOUNTRIESASIABALI- INDONESIABalinese CultureDiving in BaliBicycling in BaliAmedSanurBali MiscBANGLADESHBRUNEICAMBODIASHANGHAI- CHINAHONG KONGINDONESIABaliJavaLombokJAPANLAOSMALAYSIAKuala LumpurPenangLangkawiBorneoDiving in MalaysiaMalaysia MiscMYANMARNEPALPHILIPPINESSINGAPORESRI LANKATHAILANDVIETNAMAUSTRALIAEUROPEENGLANDSPAINS AMERICABRAZILUSAAdventuresBicycle TravelCycling in Bali SeriesHikingMotorbike TravelScuba DivingSky DivingSurvivor TV CrewTravel DisastersWWOOFCruisesTravel TalesCulturePhoto GalleriesTravel Tips10 Free Things to do in… SeriesAccommodation TipsFlight TipsLuxury Travel TipsMoney TipsSafety TipsWhy Living Overseas is Better SeriesMisc Travel TipsBeyond GuidebooksTravel ResourcesTRAVEL INTERVIEWSBook ReviewsHotel – Tour – Museum ReviewsLINKSTravel StoreFREE eBookTravel Books StoreLash’s Guidebooks to Bali wp_flash_img_show will display here (config: default)« PHOTO GALLERY: Interesting Transportation In Asia 10 Free Things to do in Singapore Chinatown 2013/02/13 by Lash WorldTourSingapore10 Free Things to do in Singapore ChinatownWhile Singapore is my favorite city in the world, the city’s Chinatown district is an area I have decidedly avoided for many years.Sadly the beautiful colonial Chinese shop-house buildings lining the main streets are buried behind a dense horde of tacky, chaotic souvenir stalls that clog up the roads, turning them into jam-packed narrow paths that visitors have to push and shove their way through. The whole time visitors are inundated with loud yelling salesmen, blaring music and noisy pedestrians. In short, it’s a nightmarish tourist trap.main shopping streets of Chinatown – SingaporeI visited Chinatown once years ago. After exploring the neighborhood’s interesting variety of temples and restored historical buildings and then wandering through the shopping maze, I kept my distance. In fact, I’ve avoided Chinatown like the plague ever since.This year, however, I decided to give Chinatown another chance… The main shopping streets are still as horrid as ever. But outside that main drag, I discovered that Chinatown really offers many worthwhile places to visit. In fact, visitors could easily spend two to three full days exploring the district’s many charms in depth.Even better, most of Chinatown’s best attractions are entirely free! Here are 10 I recommend:Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum – Singapore1. Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & MuseumWander through Chinatown and you can’t help but notice this massive, traditionally designed Chinese temple looming over the southern end of the shopping district.This 5-story temple is easily one of Singapore’s most intriguing and elaborate temples. If you’re going to visit only one temple in Singapore, this is it. Every floor of the temple is decked out with thousands of glowing lanterns, Buddhist images, gilded decor, elaborate statues and other religious accoutrements.Two floors of the temple are dedicated to the temple’s museum, which has an impressive collection of Buddhist statues from all the Asian Buddhist nations including Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Japan, Sri Lanka and India.The top, fifth, floor is a rooftop garden bursting with gorgeous colorful orchids. In the center of the roof, housed in its own room, rests the world’s largest cloisonne prayer wheel, Tibetan style.If you’re into temples, Buddhism or museums, you could easily spend a couple hours or even a half day at this massive temple.Chinatown Visitor Center – Singapore2. Chinatown Visitor’s CenterRight next door to the Buddhist Tooth Relic Museum is Chinatown Visitor’s Center. Although the staff aren’t especially friendly, the center does offer a variety of free Singapore maps, including an excellent map of Chinatown. Most of the district’s attractions are not marked on regular Singapore maps. You’ll need the Chinatown map to explore in depth.The Visitor’s Center also has several well-designed displays with explanations of the history of Chinatown. In addition, they sell many beautiful books about Chinatown and Singapore.3. Guided Walking TourA free guided walking tour of Chinatown starts every day at 2 pm. Meet at the Chinatown Heritage Center, 48 Pagoda Street, at the north end of central Chinatown.URA city model – Singapore4. URA – Urban Redevelopment Authority ‘City Gallery’If you’re at all interested in architecture, design, city planning, or history, get yourself to URA, at the southern edge of Chinatown on Maxwell Road. They showcase cool, room-size 3-D models of both Singapore city center and the entire Singapore nation, as it is currently, and as it’s planned out for the future.Their Singapore City Gallery presents two floors of extensive, sleek displays about all aspects of Singapore’s development. They also have a library full of design, planning and architecture books. The main floor of URA has changing exhibitions such as the annual architecture, design, and urban planning awards.Red Dot Design Museum – Singapore5. Red Dot MuseumLocated directly across Maxwell Rd from URA’s City Gallery, the interesting Red Dot Museum is housed in Chinatown’s former traffic police headquarters. It’s a huge brick building that’s been restored and turned into a collection of art galleries. Most of the art and special exhibitions displayed are of the unconventional and underground type.Inside the vast building there’s also a cafe and a chic bar/restaurant. restored shop houses – Chinatown – Singapore6. Self-guided Walking Tour of Restored Colonial Chinese Shop-housesIf you love colonial architecture or Chinese shop-houses, you’ll love the Tanjong Pagar neighborhood, located on the south end of Chinatown, quite close to Red Dot Museum and URA.Wander along the following roads to get a full dose of gorgeously restored 3-story shop-houses: Neil Road, Keong Saik Rd, Craig Rd, Duxton Rd, Duxton Hill and Tanjong Pagar Rd.Pearl’s Hill City Park – Singapore7. Pearl’s Hill ParkOn the western edge of Chinatown, just across New Bridge Road, sits this lovely hillside park. Stroll over if you want to escape city noise and bustle, relax in nature, or get some exercise. Many stairs lead up onto the hill where you’ll find plenty of sidewalks, benches and landscaping. A small pond adds more charm to the leafy green park.Indian Hindu Temple – Chinatown – Singapore8. Temple HoppingSurprisingly, Chinatown has a huge variety of temples, representing many different religions. Among them are Indian Hindu temples, an Indian Muslim Mosque, a Methodist Church, a Durgha Shrine, a Malaysian Muslim Mosque and several different styles of Chinese Buddhist temples.They are all marked on the Chinatown Map, so you can simply use the map to wander around from temple to temple. Visitors are allowed to enter most of them, but be sure to check protocol. Generally, you’re required to take off your shoes and to cover your shoulders and knees. Signs at the entryways explain. If you’re still unsure, watch what others are doing and follow suit.9. Self-guided Clan House Walking TourChinese clans are community centers that historically have helped out mainland Chinese immigrants from their own particular region of China or those with a particular dialect or trade. Clans also help educate and support members in various ways.Today, many original clans are still active in their communities. Many clan houses have been restored to former glory. Those of note are marked on the Chinatown map. Simply use the map to wander around and marvel at the beautiful clan house buildings.To western eyes, some clan houses look pretty much the same as Chinese Buddhist temples. But if you examine them more closely and compare, you’ll start noticing differences. Other clan houses in Chinatown look distinctly different from temples.main shopping streets of Chinatown – Singapore 10. Chinatown’s main market streetsLast but not least…Although I personally deplore the chaotic, noisy main shopping streets of Chinatown, perhaps other travelers such as yourself might enjoy exactly that kind of exotic Asian market. Maybe some would describe it as fun and exciting. Who am I to judge?Your choice: avoid Chinatown’s main drag or else plunge right in and see for yourself. You will certainly find a huge variety of souvenirs, Chinese snacks and merchandise there.But don’t claim you haven’t been warned.(p.s. My Singaporean friends warn to watch your handbags while cramming your way through the crowded aisles)———————————————————————————————————————-You might also find the following posts useful: 10 Free Things to do in Singapore pt 310 Free Things to do at Singapore’s Changi Airport———————————————————————————————————————– /* /* Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published.Name:Email:Website:Message:You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> […]
ACTIVITIES IN SINGAPORE » LashWorldTour
2013/09/17 at 12:03 pm (UTC 8) Link to this comment
[…] 3 for Singapore Singapore’s Changi Airport Singapore’s […]