Ten hours in Changi Airport (and other stories)

15 Oct - Kathmandu - Singapore - Christchurch

[my journey, again as told to Angela via text message]

OK I'm on my last big leg to NZ. It's time for another one way text message conversation xxx

Singapore was long, but fun

Jo somehow scored us exit row seats from Ktm to Singapore. But those short-haul seats that don't recline still made for an uncomfortable trip.

Off the plane we were so jetlagged and fatigued that it was like we were all drunk. So decision making was flawed and fragmented

Mine clarified abruptly when I saw the pret red star. A tunnel vision took over. And then two +1 shot cappuccinos and two mayo'y chickeny bacony salty goodness Super Club sandwiches later, my equilibrium was restored.

THERE IT IS

And it was amazing

We eventually established base camp in the comfy chairs between pret and the big goldfish pond.

I explored ALL of changi. All of it.

T3 (our terminal, with the butterfly enclosure AND THE PRET A MANGER)

T2 (an old terminal under renovation, where we flew into and Jenny flew out of)

T1 (the one and only. The one with the pool (closed). The one with gardens. The one with a big screen and a slo mo video of Zendaya riding a horse in a toga to gift some perfume to the world from a mountain top. What can't she do?!

But not T4 the domestic one, or The Jewel that is apparently AMAZING but you have to enter Singapore to go to.

Still, 17,000 steps.

Plane spotting

This terminal had freaky carpet

Transitioning between T3 and T1

And pret 🤩 Just as good (no better, no worse) as I remember. The coffee and the sandwich tickle neurons that haven't been tickled for 19 years.

Lucky I have a cheeky super club sandwich and pret pot in my bag above me, awaiting a time in the next ten hours where the mood needs it.

I had a $20 shower, SO GOOD, but no sneaking into the pool because it's in terminal 1.

I asked the maid if the tap water was drinkable because I wanted to fill up my water bottle. Instead of answering she ran off and came back with an armful of mineral water bottles from the lounge next door. "Shh don't say anything" she said as she handed them over

I still don't know if you can drink the tap water

Everyone and everything is so nice at Changi

What did we all do? 

Bharat? Went to sleep on the floor some distance away. We never saw him again until boarding.

Bryan? Went off for a shower early. Never saw him again either. Until we went for showers and found him in the $/h lounge.

(You'll meet all these people soon and they are all amazing)

Jo? Sat, read, then made me drink wine with her.

Jenny? Sat, walked, thought she'd lost her nz sim. I helped her. She found it. I went with her to her gate. Now she's in Bali in an airbnb.

Me? I ate pret super club sandwiches, drank pret cappuccinos,  explored the butterfly enclosure, walked (nearly) every metre of every transit terminal, found the gardens, decided that doing a 5k run of laps of a ~1k gate concourse would be too antisocial, drank wine with jo (while Bryan  drank tea), discovered that I was anxious only because boarding time was 6:50pm, not 16:50, and we had plenty of time for more wine.

The Philip island  motogp practice was on the tv at the bar in Singapore. 

They had to stop the moto3 practice 

Due to a goose on the circuit.

A goose.

Honk.

OK that was my day.

The best seat

The very fit for purpose dinner with the magic wine glass

Now I've boarded my Singapore to Christchurch flight, and I HAVE THE BEST SEAT. Aisle bulkhead. I have about seven meters of legroom. The downside? There's a baby in a bassinet to my left. They are so cute. I and the woman in the seat beside the couple both just told them not to worry about any noises the baby makes.

I have to tell them to feed the baby on descent so they don't cry.

Dinner was YUM and the hostie keeps refilling my wine glass, before I even finish. 

I think she likes me. Or the woman on the other side of te aisle whose matching me refill for refill Or, maybe it's because we're both beside a baby in a bassinet.

There's another baby and another bassinet,  on the left window bulkhead. They are cradling the baby and have filled the bassinette with bottles of booze.

Can we pay more to fly Singapore Airlines? I like Singapore Airlines. I like Changi Airport.

"Our" baby won't settle. ... Dad sorted it. Somehow. Dammit what's in this air that is so allergenic and making my eyes water so? Hormones are firing like mad and it's all genetics and evolution and NOT ME THE RATIONAL ONE

It's 7:30am. I just woke up! They are turning the lights up. I must have had the perfect sleep. No idea what my arrival time is.