By Chris
January 25, 2020 • 5 min read
Boracay: January 14-23, 2020
Changi airport: January 23-25, 2020
After Bangkok, Brandon and I spent a week in Boracay in the Philippines. It's famous for their white sand beach and recently underwent a huge cleanup effort by the government involving shutting the entire island down for months. Compared to pictures I saw, it was indeed gorgeous and clean when we visited. We stayed at a beachfront hotel called Villa Caemilla that I found on tripadvisor. It was small, did not have a pool, but its best feature was the restaurant in front of the ocean. Cheap banana smoothies, free painting classes, and a cultural dance show were included.
Overall it was a lovely stay and wins our vote for best sunsets we've ever seen in our lives. However, I think our later travels to Koh Lipe had better swimming at the beach. It's also incredibly far away from the states, so most of our compatriots were Europeans.
Our flight into Boracay was routed through NAIA airport in Manila. It's rated as one of the worst airports in the world and we got to see firsthand why. At least half of it is outdoors in the muggy heat, and a huge portion was undergoing renovation while we were there, with unfinished scaffolding and confusing signs trying to lead passengers to their destination. It was so confusing though, that getting lost and needing directions was almost inevitable.
Furthermore, we had to transfer terminals and had no idea where to get the shuttle that supposedly connects the two. A lady in official looking airport uniform that even had the airport logo and her position embroidered on it, stopped us and tried to convince us to pay a lot of money for a shuttle that would arrive "much faster" than the normal one. She also tried to get us to pay for a special lounge. We finally concluded this must be a scam and declined.
Eventually we found a bus to take us to the next terminal but it may not have been the official one after all. It was sketchy AF, old and worn with self sewn cloths hanging down, patched up sides, and creaky groans as it moved. It looked like a renovated (and falling apart) school bus. Then it stopped randomly at intersections and picked people up and dropped them off to places on the way that had nothing to do with the airport. When we finally disembarked, we were charged money to have taken this "official" airport transport. If it was a scam, at least it was a smaller one.
In contrast, upon leaving Boracay we spent two nights at Changi Airport in Singapore, which consistently wins awards for being one of the best in the world. As soon as we stepped off the plane, we were amazed by a grand hall that had moving gold sculptures in the air rearranging themselves like dynamic dinosaur bones. This was the hall that held immigration. I've never been so entertained in a line before. Then at baggage claim, lush flora adorned the sides so it felt like a resort. We couldn't believe we were in an airport. It was like Hyatt and Disneyland had an airport baby. I couldn't help myself. I kept exclaiming "look Brandon look!"
We had decided to stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel which is actually inside Changi airport for two nights. We had heard about the "Jewel" at the airport and wanted time to check it out. It did not disappoint.
The Jewel of Changi is a huge indoor mall attached to the airport, with a central waterfall that is the largest indoor waterfall in the world. It was built pretty recently, and again felt like Disneyland. It even smelled like the inside of an indoor ride at Universal studios, the ones that make the indoor studio feel like you're outdoors. And oh boy did I feel like I was outdoors at the Jewel.
The Jewel at night has laser shows with changing colors, graphics, and music.
At the bottom level of the Jewel, you can go up to the basin that collects the water that has fallen. It's completely enclosed so you can go right up and touch the clear barrier.
We also tried out the Jewel's upper level garden for a few dollars extra. It had gorgeous displays and was totally worth a couple bucks to stroll through. We did not, however, try out the jungle gym elements, the bridge at the top, the 3-D exhibit, or go to the movie theatre at the Jewel. And yet, we stayed busy.
Finally, when we were commuting between terminals at Changi, we were very impressed by how organized the shuttles were. They had schedules, high frequency, and even had comfy couches in view of the shuttle so you don't have to stand in line.
Changi airport is an attraction unto itself and spending a night at the Crowne Plaza there is a great way to turn a layover into an experience.
January 25th to February 20th After our brief stay in Singapore, we more or less spent the next month (from January 25th to February 20th) on various Thai islands. It was a blast and a really unique experience. Looking back on it I'm probably struck the most by how different the experience was on each of the islands. We also had some interesting experiences getting to and from the different…