Changi Airport, SingaporeDaily: 24 hours
Jewel Changi Airport is a nature-themed shopping and entertainment complex within the premise of the world's beloved airport in Singapore. Officially opened on 18 October 2019, it covers a total gross floor area of 135,700 square metres. While it's not a new attraction to Singapore residents, I'm pretty much dedicating this post to our overseas friends who've yet to visit Jewel or simply miss the sight of it given the current travel restrictions.
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SIN: Jewel Changi Airport <YOU ARE HERE!>
SIN: Changi Beach Club [Before COVID-19]
SIN: Village Hotel Changi [Before COVID-19]
The toroidal glass and steel dome is the result of the partnership between Changi Airport Group and CapitaLand. It's said that the project cost S$1.7 billion without involving any government funds or taxpayers' money.
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| Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie did the design for not only Marina Bay Sands, but also Jewel. |
Jewel is connected to Terminals 1, 2 and 3. Most of the time, I go there via the link bridge from the departure hall of Terminal 3.
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| It takes at least 5 minutes to reach Jewel. A few travellators have been installed along the link bridge. |
There are about 300 retail and dining outlets there. I'm not doing an advertisement, but at the point of writing, it houses the largest Nike store in the island.
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| Jewel was accorded the 2016 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum, an international museum of architecture and design. |
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| Have you tried their Singapore-exclusive Pandan Shake? |
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| Let's keep everyone safe by wearing our masks properly! |
There's one particular store that I always purposely walk past whenever I'm at Jewel. The mouse soft toy residing in a hole in front of The Better Toy Store never fails to make me chuckle.
Jewel also houses the first permanent Pokémon Centre in Asia outside of Japan. The first overseas Pokémon Centre was opened in 2001 in New York, the USA, but it closed down in 2005.
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| All aboard (the imaginary) Air Pikachu! |
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| Such an adorable plushie of Dragonite carrying its baby Dratini! |
Speaking of Pokémon, spending a minimum of S$60.00 in a single receipt during this holiday season entitles one to purchase a limited edition Pokémon-related item at a special price, but I believe all of them have been sold out by now.
Jewel came to fruition due to the need to expand the capacity of Terminal 1 and its open-air carpark. There's an early check-in lounge on the first floor, which allows passengers of certain airlines to check in 3 to 12 hours before departure.
Changi Lounge is a landside airport lounge that allows you to access for a fee even if you're not going to travel on a flight. If you're a Priority Pass member, you can access the lounge before your departure or after your arrival on the same calendar day.
During his National Day Rally speech in 2013, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong mentioned about having a beautiful indoor garden inside Jewel. He said, "So we have Gardens by the Bay, this one is Gardens at the Airport." Fast forward to today, we all now enjoy the magnificent Shiseido Forest Valley in the heart of the dome. Can you believe that it's inhabited by around 3,000 trees and 60,000 shrubs?
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| It's one of Asia's largest indoor gardens, spanning five stories. |
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| Have you been naughty or nice this year? |
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| Quite an amusing wet floor warning sign, no? |
HSBC Rain Vortex is the centrepiece of Jewel. Having a height of 40 m, it's the world's largest and tallest indoor waterfall.
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| Recirculating rain water is pumped to the roof to fall through the round hole at up to 37,850 litres per minute. |
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Can you see the rainbow?
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An acrylic funnel channels the mighty cascade to an underground pool, insulating its sound at the same time.
If you're wondering whether the waterfall runs 24/7, the answer is no. It's turned on from 10.00am to 10.00pm daily. The photo below was taken during my staycation at
YOTELAir Singapore Changi Airport.
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| Glamping at Shiseido Forest Valley, anyone? Each tent has a diameter of 4 m. |
The waterfall looks stunning too at night.
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| The design team the waterfall is a continuation of the building, where "the roof is pouring in and the building is getting completed in a liquid form.” |
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| I still haven't seen the Light and Sound show before, which has been temporarily suspended from 26 March 2020 until further notice. |
During this festive season till 3 January 2021, there's hourly fake snowfall from 6.30pm to 10.30pm.
Changi Experience Studio prides itself in the "first-of-its-kind digital attraction [to experience] the magic of technology, and learn about aviation and what makes the airport tick."
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| There are 20 different interactive touchpoints over 10 content zones. |
The topmost level is called Cloud9 Piazza. As of now, I've not entered the ticketed area called Canopy Park, which has got a few attractions.
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| Shown above is Manulife Sky Nets. |
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| Get yourself lost in the two mazes: Hedge Maze and Mirror Maze. |
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| At 50 m long, Canopy Bridge has a glass panel flooring at the centre section. |
There are quite a number of eateries up there.
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| Embark on a gastronomic journey in an indoor 'al fresco' setting. Yes, that's oxymoronic. |
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| Tiger Street Lab is the first eatery venture by Tiger Beer, a local brand born in 1932. |
I briefly mentioned about glamping earlier, something that I'm not interested to do, not at Jewel at least. Nevertheless, I'd love to hear about the experience from someone who's done this.
There are more shopping and dining options on the basement levels.
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| The next four photos were taken during the soft opening of Jewel in March 2019. |
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| I love the creamy soft serve from Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory. |
Whenever they come to Singapore, many of my overseas friends like to bring back salted egg snacks from Irvins, which was founded in 2015 by an Indonesian-born serial entrepeneur by the name of Irvin Gunawan. I myself find the salted egg fish skin really addictive.
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| Is that a medusa? |
A&W has finally come back to Singapore in 2019 after leaving the F&B scene here in 2003 due to the stiff competition it faced from other fast-food chains. I finally managed to secure a seat when it just opened at 9.00am on a Sunday before a long queue started forming.
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| The Great Root Bear, also known as Rooty, has been A&W's mascot since 1974. |
Five Spice is the name of the food court there located at level B2.
Shaw Theatres at Jewel is the first in Singapore to offer a next-generation cinema hall IMAX with Laser, a dedicated family hall and DTS:X sound-capable halls.
More often than not, I leave Jewel via the direct link to the arrival hall of Terminal 1.
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| Beware of a giant dragonfly! |
Jewel is truly a gem in our world's best airport. We certainly can't wait to open our doors again to overseas visitors once the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
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