6 Reasons Why You Should Take A Mini "Vacay" At Singapore's Jewel Changi Airport
Jewel Changi Airport is an air-conditioned destination with a fantastical indoor forest, experiential super-stores, global cuisines and art galore
I live in the east and it is a quick 12-minute drive to the airport. Why would I fancy spending 48 hours at Jewel Changi Airport?
But I pack a cabin bag anyway for two back-to-back staycays at the airport, feeling like a globetrotter on the verge of travel. I also spin a little itinerary to discover the secret facets of Jewel.
Yet, this is not pure whimsy. Like those who love journeys, I live in a permanent state of travel, the senses alive whether I am somewhere on the far rim of the world or navigating emerging enclaves in Singapore.
In this light, Jewel, designed for the enjoyment of Singaporeans and tourists alike, is really an air-conditioned destination with its inner worlds of fantastical indoor forest and experiential super-stores, global cuisines and art galore.
Singaporeans are now traversing the island with fresh fervour during the pandemic, and I feel validated in my choice of domestic travel when I meet several airport stalwarts at Jewel, beginning with Yotelair Singapore Changi Airport hotel manager Nick Cheesman.
While I nibble my way around Jewel - stopping by South Korea's Pizza Maru and Pazzion Cafe, among others - the scenes that return to me after my 48-hour sojourn are the Avatar-style fantasy gardens.
I think it is because celebrated architect Moshe Safdie modelled Jewel after the paradisical gardens of ancient scriptures and the dreamscape of the Avatar movies - even as Jewel authentically retains the city-in-a-garden essence of Singapore.
One night, I step onto the glassy Canopy Bridge. The panels below my feet reveal the shimmering forest valley while I am eye-to-eye with the Rain Vortex.
As the man-made mist swirls, I think I have concocted my pandemic escape. Aloft at Jewel, this is the closest sensation to being away.
Text: Lee Siew Hua/The Straits Times