Choose Changi for a super Singapore stopover

Flying to Europe can be a bit of a slog. Don’t get me wrong, almost 24 hours of travelling is still worth the hassle, but if you can spare the time, a break in between makes it more bearable.

Singapore is the ideal stopover. Do it on your way there and the first leg is only five hours. A day or two later you will be rested and ready to tackle the remaining 13-hour flight.

Stop on your way back and you get the long leg out of the way and you are on Perth time. A couple of days R&R and a five-hour hop sees you back home, refreshed and ready to face the real world again.

My family and I are travelling from Perth to Zurich to spend a few weeks in Europe. We leave Perth at 6.25am and arrive in Singapore at 11.45am. The next flight to Zurich departs Changi airport at 1.25am. It’s not quite enough time for a proper stopover so we stay an extra day, giving us almost 38 hours to explore.

Singapore has a great selection of hotels, but given the quick turnaround, we have chosen to stay at the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport hotel.

You might think staying at an airport is a bit dull. But not this one … cast all visions of Tom Hanks in The Terminal from your mind. It has been named the World’s Best Airport Hotel and Best Airport Hotel in Asia for the ninth year in a row at the 2024 Skytrax World Airport Awards.

The Crowne Plaza is conveniently located landslide in Terminal 3. We collect our bags, clear immigration, and five minutes later we are in the hotel’s lobby. We arrive well before the 3pm check-in time but the very helpful concierge arranges early entry.

Tomorrow’s check-out is at noon, which would mean a lot of hanging about before boarding our 1.25am flight. We decide booking the room for two nights is a better option. It might seem wasteful paying for an extra night when you aren’t going to be there long enough to sleep on the second night, but trust me, it’s worth the hit.

This way we have the second day to explore, the hotel’s fabulous pool area at our disposal, time for dinner, then we can shower and freshen up before checking out about 11pm. It’s the perfect plan!

The rooms are spacious, light and airy, with floor-to-ceiling windows. You can even book a room with a runway view, so you can lie in bed and watch planes taxiing and taking off. The bedrooms have excellent soundproofing so jet noise isn’t an issue. Our standard rooms don’t face the runway, however, we can see the control tower and are able to watch the planes take off and come in to land. I’m not much of a plane spotter, but even I enjoy the view.

Being tied to the hotel is not the only option. A short walk over the link bridge on level 2 of the departure hall at Terminal 3 takes us to the Jewel, a multi-storey mall with an abundance of shopping, excellent dining options and well-designed nature-themed spaces.

More than your typical shopping mall, the centre features beautiful terraces filled with lush green planting surrounding the world’s tallest fountain. The Rain Vortex is 40m high and stretches all the way from an oculus in the roof, down to level 2 of the basement (B2).

Rainwater that falls on the building is funnelled into the structure through the oculus, and as much as 37,850 litres of water flows through it every minute. I catch glimpses of the fountain and terraced forest as we make our way through the levels of the centre, and the verdant terraces provide a welcome seat between shop visits.

While relaxing there we watch those with more energy take part in classes for yoga, spin or Saber Sculpt (you can release your inner Jedi with the glowing sticks) next to the waterfall.

You’ll find fun for all ages on L5, with bouncing nets, discovery slides, hedge and mirror mazes. For something a little more sedate, there’s a selection of shrubs and flowers from around the world in the Petal Garden and Topiary Walk.

It’s lunchtime, so we make our way down to Food Republic on B2. The food court is set out like one of the city’s hawker centres and has a great selection of South East Asian food stalls. Choose from traditional local favourites like chicken rice, satay and laksa, or Hong Kong roast meats, hot pot, various noodle stalls, plus Malaysian, Japanese or Korean food.

As a family, we always want food from multiple stalls. On a previous trip a local gave me this very useful tip — find a table and put down a packet of tissues. This indicates the table is taken, meaning we can go our separate ways, choose our meals and once we have our trays full of food, we don’t have to wander about trying to find an empty table (and each other). About $40 buys us dishes of beef rendang, char siew pork noodles, wanton noodle soup, chicken rice and a serve of greens.

We spend the rest of the afternoon lazing by the pool. I can see the control tower from my sunbed, but it’s the only indication that we are at the airport. Surrounded by towering palms and tropical greenery, dotted with bright red parasols and plenty of sun lounges, the pool area is an oasis of tranquillity.

We return to the Jewel for dinner to try out another recommendation I got from several locals, and it doesn’t disappoint. Din Tai Fung is on L3. Originating in Taiwan, the dumpling restaurant chain was once named one of the top ten restaurants in the world by renowned chef Ken Hom, describing its dumplings as “perfection”. He’s not wrong. We share steamed pork xiao long bao dumplings, oriental dumplings with black vinegar and chilli oil, fried rice with pork and egg and stir-fried Hong Kong kailan with special sauce. The food is delicate yet packed full of flavour, the quality of the cooking and the ingredients shining through.

We are drawn back to the area around the Rain Vortex. At night the surrounding lights are dimmed and the fountain is lit up in a selection of jewelled colours. It’s very pretty, and at 8pm and 9pm from Monday to Thursday (plus 10pm on Friday to Sunday) you can enjoy a music and light show. The steel and glass roof looks like a UFO as white lights flash on and off, smoke wafts out and beams of coloured lights twist and dance up and down the water before it tumbles through the reflective pool on L1 and then on to B2 where it disappears into the floor.

The following day we decide to venture into the city. We take the train on the MRT’s east to west line, changing at Tanamera, and in 20 minutes we are at Raffles Place (you can tap on and off at MRT stations with a bank or travel money card; we use a Wise card for the whole of our holiday and it’s very convenient).

A five-minute walk along the river and over Cavenagh Bridge takes us to the Asian Civilisations Museum. The striking pale yellow and white neoclassical building features arcaded verandas and doric columns.

Beautiful on the outside and fascinating on the inside, the museum celebrates the artistic heritage of Asia. You could spend all morning here, but the city’s efficient and convenient MRT system means there are many options to while away a few hours.

+ Take the train to Bugis and explore the street art and shophouses of the Arab Quarter. Marvel at the view of the golden-topped Sultan Mosque while dining on excellent Turkish or Middle Eastern food in Bussorah Street. A visit to the Malay Heritage Centre is an interesting stop. Once the home of the first Sultan of Singapore, Sultan Hussein, the centre showcases the culture, history and heritage of Malay Singaporeans. The building is in the middle of renovations and is due to reopen at the end of the year.

+ City Hall station is convenient for St Andrew’s Cathedral. Struck twice by lightning (in 1845 and 1849), the powder-white church is one of Singapore’s few surviving examples of English neo-gothic architecture. A five-minute walk from the cathedral will find you at the National Gallery, where you can see works by Singaporean and South East Asian artists.

+ From Bras Basah station make your way to The National Museum of Singapore. The Story of the Forest is a lovely immersive art exhibition featuring colourful animations of wildlife and landscapes from 19th century Malaya. The wider museum gives great insight into the history of Singapore and the neoclassical exterior architecture provides a stunning backdrop for photos.

+ For an excellent overview of the city, head to Clarke Quay and embark on a traditional bumboat river cruise. The 45-minute journey travels from the Clarke Quay jetty, through Boat Quay, under several historical bridges to Marina Bay and back. With interesting commentary and plenty of opportunity to take pictures of famous Singapore landmarks, including the Merlion, Marina Bay Sands and the impressive skyscraper-filled skyline, it’s one of my favourite Singaporean attractions.

+ Visit Chinatown or Little India for colourful shophouses and temples, imaginative street art, bustling markets and authentic food.

+ Bayfront will bring you to the Marina Bay Sands hotel, and from there into Gardens by the Bay. Here you will find the impressive Supertree Grove. Make your way to the top of one of the supertrees and take a walk over the OCBC Skyway for wonderful views over the gardens. Explore the two giant greenhouses where cool temperatures give welcome respite from the city’s humidity — Cloud Forest has spiralling walkways, a 30m waterfall and a lush vegetation-clad mountain to explore, while Flower Dome contains nine gardens displaying a riot of colourful flowers from five continents.

After our morning at the museum, there’s just enough time to enjoy another relaxing afternoon by the pool before dinner. We are tempted by the hotel’s restaurant and bar Allora which serves Italian fare. However, over the next weeks we will visit Italy, and we want to get one last dumpling fix before we give ourselves over to pasta and pizza, so it’s back to the Jewel and into Tim Ho Wan.

The original Hong Kong dim sum restaurant was once known for being the world’s cheapest Michelin-star restaurant, and it now has more than 60 restaurants worldwide. A selection of dumplings, radish cake, poached lettuce (sounds odd, tastes good) and Yangzhou fried rice sets us up for the next leg of our journey.

Satisfied, we head back to finish our packing. Five minutes after checking out of the hotel, we wheel our suitcases to Singapore Airline’s easy-to-use self-service check-in machines and we are ready to fly.