CAIT AROUND THE WORLD

May 17-18, 2023 — I’m back! Are you excited to hear all about my Airport Odyssey of 2023?

I decided (stupidly?) that I was only going to book into the hostel in Singapore for one night and that the other night I would spend in the Singapore Changi Airport. Now, Singapore Changi is one of the top-rated airports in the world in terms of sleep-ability. I’d read about how there were sleeping lounges all around the airport where you could curl up and catch a few winks, which is especially handy when you have a very early morning flight and are trying to save a few bucks by not getting a bed that you’ll just have to leave without really enjoying and by not getting some kind of expensive transport to the airport (i.e. anything that is not a public bus or train). What they don’t tell you, however, is that it’s damn near impossible to find these sleeping areas (I certainly couldn’t) and that even though it sounds like Changi runs all night, it definitely doesn’t. Food places shut down by ten at night and the 24-hour stuff isn’t enticing enough. But before I get into all of that, let me take you through the start of the night.

I arrived at the airport some time after 9:00pm. I’d watched the Marina Bay Sands light show before going back to my hostel, picking up my bags, and heading to the airport via the subway system in Singapore. That part, thankfully, was relatively easy. I might have stayed in the city longer, except my phone needed charging and I really did need to try and get as much sleep as I could overnight. I plugged my stuff in and called home while I did. I think I spent almost an hour getting things charged up enough to last me a while, then finally went in search of food.

I saw signs for the levels where there was supposed to be 24-hour stuff and made my way down to see the options. There were about ten places, but only one that was making the all-nighter. Seriously? I didn’t want to head to the Jewel mall because it was such a walk but eventually I made the trek and of course, everything there was closing right up. I had about three options out of the entire terminal and finally just got in the line for Starbucks, reasoning that at least they had sandwiches. And I was absolutely dying by this point, too, since all I’d had to eat was breakfast and some McDonalds fries earlier in the day.

I don’t remember exactly what I had but I do remember that it had some fried cheese on the edges and it was delicious. I got a black iced tea with it (that was a mistake, it had caffeine). After that little pick-me-up, I was feeling steadier and went to find a shower.

Now, according to the Singapore Changi Airport website, there were showers available in the airport in one of the terminals. I think I walked for over half an hour to find those showers before I finally stumbled across them and found out that they cost money to operate. Screw that. In addition, I would have to shower and then walk outside for another half hour to get back inside the airport and the air conditioning. The entire point of me taking a shower at the airport was so that I wouldn’t smell to the poor people that I would be sharing a plane with for eleven hours. I’ve been on the receiving end of that and it absolutely sucks. I would’ve been hot and sticky after showering if I used that shower. Abysmally disappointed, I headed back to the main airport and decided to go to Terminal 1 (I was in Terminal 3) since that was where I needed to be to catch my flight anyway. I walked around there for close to half an hour searching for a lounge with showers and still couldn’t find one. I was, at the same time, looking for the sleeping areas I’d been promised and couldn’t find those either.

Finally, I asked where I could find a shower at information and they were amazing. They pointed me in the direction of a lounge with sleeping pods and showers. I went to the Plaza Premier Lounge and paid for use of the lounge and the shower for $75 (yep, that gave me a small heart attack) but I was also so relieved and was so incredibly pleased with the whole setup there. I now know exactly why people exalt lounge access and when I get home, I want to look for a credit card that gives me access.

The sleeping pods inside the lounge were all taken but they had rather comfy chairs available. Those chairs had outlets to charge your things and I took advantage of that while I waited for it to be my turn to shower. When my buzzer went off, I went back up to the desk and they gave me the key to the shower.

The shower was impeccable. So incredibly nice, with a beautiful stall and shower head, hot water, towels provided, wash for hair and body provided. They even provided a toothbrush kit. Everything you could possibly want or need. Simply because I enjoy using my own hair stuff, I didn’t use theirs, but I did take advantage of the soap. I felt like a new person after my shower and got into my comfy airplane outfit before heading back out to the desk and handing in the key.

While I was up, I filled my water bottle at the station, where they had the option of flavoured water, regular still water, and sparkling water! I also saw the food spread here and it rocked. All free with lounge access! Incredible! I sat back down in one of the lounge chairs and plugged my stuff in for a bit longer. I put in the one earbud I had left and tried to doze. I didn’t sleep much — if at all — but at least I was comfortable.

I got an hour or two of lounge access with the $75 purchase but they didn’t seem to be super strict on it. It was 12:20am when I checked into the lounge and I didn’t head to the gate until four in the morning. On the way, I stopped to get a neck pillow and also ended up purchasing earplugs for the plane. I’d lost mine a couple days before when I got my flight from Indonesia to Singapore. I was pretty sure that I dropped them when I had to put my bag through initial security because they were just in a side pocket. I’d gotten through until now without a neck pillow but knowing that I’d barely slept all night and that it would only be 11:30am when I landed in Greece, I decided that sleep was of the utmost importance and that if I had a pillow then I probably would sleep.

I got to the gate after making my purchases and got into the line for security after rearranging my things so that I had easy access to what I needed. I was so out of it, however, that after I’d put everything into my allotted bins, I realized that I still had my phone on me. The very nice guy behind me let me put my phone with his stuff.

Once I got through security and repacked my bags, I filled up my water bottles at the station provided (I’d guzzled them before going through security). Shortly after that, we were called to board. I was near the back of the plane, so I was one of the first on. I had the unfortunate luck of being in a middle seat on this flight because I hadn’t done seat selection in time, but it ended up being alright.

And so ends my Airport Odyssey of 2023! Tune in on the next post to hear how the flight went and what I did when I arrived in Greece!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to leave a like, comment, and share with your friends and family. Enjoying following along? Hit subscribe and receive notifications when I post! If you’re looking for more frequent updates, follow me on Instagram @cait_around_the_world.