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Tags: Airports / Singapore Travel / Changi Airport / Airport Heaven / → All Tags

Confirmed: Singapore's Changi Airport Is Absurdly, Famously Decadent

A new survey is out on travelers' favorite airports, this one claiming to be among the most comprehensive to date. 14,500 frequent travelers representing 160 countries from around the world were polled, and after everything was tallied the winner was Singapore's Changi Airport. Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok and Amsterdam's Schiphol were 2nd and 3rd respectively.

We're not sure how actually legitimate these results were and if there was any campaigning in the background. Whoever's responsible for the airport's PR seems to have an ambitious streak, and someone has gone so far as to insert copy into Wikipedia: "the designer airport is one of those anomalies where the phrase 'I spent all my time in the airport' is likely to be a positive."

So maybe this was a commissioned survey. But as the old saying goes, if you've got it flaunt it. And the Singapore Changi Airport certainly seems to have it.

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Tags: Shopping Travel / Harry Winston / Singapore Travel / → All Tags

Singapore Will Soon Wear Harry Winston Diamonds

What with the recession supposedly ending this year, it's time to get back to building jewelry stores and luxury shopping emporiums! First to hop on the hopeful train is diamond dealer Harry Winston, who'll debut their first Singapore store within the ultra-glam ION Orchard shopping center.

Opening next month, Harry Winston Singapore marks the 19th international store for the ritzy jewelry brand and their fourth city in Asia after Hong Kong, Taipei and Beijing.

Of course, if they're trying to attract the big spenders with cash left to burn, this new shop is going to have to literally sparkle. That's why, for their autumn grand opening period, they'll be showcasing "one-of-a-kind pieces from The Incredibles, a travelling collection of rare gems and magnificent designs inspired by the Winston archives." No, these pieces aren't from the Disney movie, but are surely going to be just as entertaining if you can handle staring at items that cost well into the six figures.

Related Stories:
· Harry Winston [Official Site]
· Shopping Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Harry Winston Hong Kong]

Tags: Airfare Deals / Singapore Airlines / Singapore Travel / → All Tags

Singapore and More for $679 Is Something We Can Get Behind

Sadly, the much-hyped Airbus A380s don't fly over American skies for Singapore Airlines, but the carrier is still tops in service and in-flight amenities no matter the route. This is why we're thrilled to hear that their joining in with the summer travel discounts, and even extending the low pricing through November.

Travelzoo alerts us to this deal: Book by June 28 and travel between July 1 and November 30 out of New York to Singapore, Bangkok, Bali, Manila and Kuala Lumpor for $679, including taxes and fees. Of course keep your dates flexible to find the cheapest fares, but man is this some good stuff.

Another $200 to total an $879 flight will get you from New York to Delhi, Mumbai, Melbourne and Sydney. It seems like only months ago we were thrilled about a $750 Hong Kong direct, and now these fares fall into our laps. You know what to do: book early, book often.

[Photo: grosbyvn]

Related Stories:
· Global Sale on Top Airline from NYC [Travelzoo]
· No Sex, Please: We're On Singapore Airlines [Jaunted]
· Airfare Deals Coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Changi Airport / Airport Lounges / Singapore Travel / → All Tags

Don't Leave Singapore's Airport Without Your Oxygen

We've spent many an hour in transit at Singapore's Changi Airport without chancing across the curious range of delights that await us at the Plaza Premium Lounge in Terminal 2.

A shower for S$8 ($5) is pretty reasonable; having to pay for a three-hour nap (S$30; US$20) is something we're less sure about, because it's not clear what kind of private place we get to catch our Zs. And somehow we're just not hip enough to pay between S$15 and S$23 for the oxygen.

To be sure, this place doesn't have the sleek appeal of the Singapore Airlines first class lounge, but then the sleek place doesn't offer oxygen. Or perhaps it does, but it's gratis. Take your pick.

Related Stories:
· Singapore's First Class Lounge Invites Great Experiences [Jaunted]
· Changi Airport Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Steel Wool]

Tags: Anime Travel / Singapore Travel / → All Tags

Sexy Japanese Cartoons Coming To Singapore

The only sight more ubiquitous in Asia than a woman dressed in flannel Hello Kitty pajamas is an internet cafe plastered in anime posters. The Anime Festival Asia ’08, hosted at the Suntec Convention Centre in Singapore November 22-23, pays homage to the cultural phenomenon.

The location site is even odder than the cartoons themselves, since anime is a distinctly Japanese creation. It’s the first of its kind, and the event is expected to draw more than 80,000 attendees.

The event's flyer reads as follows:

If you know what Shojo, Shonen, Hentai and Yaoi means; if you know all the characters in Naruto and their special moves; if you know every single one of Clamp’s works and how they link up, then Anime Festival Asia 2008 is exactly right for you!

Um, our answer to all of those questions is an emphatic "Not really!" But are we into watching obscenely well-endowed people with enormous eyes fight each other using strange futuristic weapons? Why not. There are worse ways to lounge off a hangover.

Related Stories:
· Singapore to Hold Japanese Pop Culture Festival [Japan Times]
· Anime Festival 2008 [Official Site]
· Casinos Coming to Singapore [Jaunted]

[Photo: super_rats]

Tags: Singapore Travel / Casino Travel / Crime / → All Tags

Casinos Coming to Singapore; Too Late for Senegal's Diplomats

We're not surprised to learn that in Singapore--the country that totally banned chewing gum until 2004--it's not that easy to find a place to gamble. It's not illegal, but there aren't any casinos, so that makes it tricky, although come 2009 they're planning to open their first.

Until then, you have to find your own way to have some blackjack fun, but the way of the Senegalese Consulate is not the one we recommend. This week the ex-honorary consul of Senegal was jailed for two months for allowing his office in Singapore to be used as a gambling den.

Big money was changing hands at the consulate casino and perhaps it's a good thing that Singapore will get a real casino soon; we figure the cocktails available from the Senegalese Consulate probably weren't up to par.

The first of two recently-licensed casinos will open next year and the other in 2010. Lucky for the consul, he'll definitely be out of jail by then.

Related Stories:
· Ex-Senegal Consul Jailed, Fined [Straits Times]
· Singapore Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of coming casino site: Singapor3]

Tags: It's Summer Somewhere / It's-Summer-Somewhere / Singapore Travel / Bridges / → All Tags

It's Summer Somewhere: Singapore's Sentosa

Singapore might be the land of no spitting, but at least it's in the middle of a permanent summer. And while Singapore city itself is mostly shopping, shopping and a bit of eating between shopping, you can get away to Sentosa Island if you need a bit more of a holiday feel.

Sentosa Island, just a short hop across the harbor from Singapore itself, is home to all kinds of attractions, including Underwater World (and the overrated Dolphin Lagoon), restaurants, rides and resorts.

With yet another large resort on the way--set to open in 2010 and draw some 15 million visitors a year--another access route to the island is necessary. That means doubling the size of the current bridge joining Sentosa to the mainland. If they add any more lanes, it'll stop being an island.

Related Stories:
· Resorts World at Sentosa Builds S$80m Bridge [Yahoo]
· Singapore's Sentosa Island Gets a New Resort [HotelChatter]
· Singapore Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Storm Crypt]

Tags: LCCs / Low Cost Carriers / Singapore Travel / Tiger Airways / Singapore Airlines / → All Tags

Tiger, Tiger, Flying High

One of the hottest budget airlines in the Asia Pacific market at the moment is Singapore-based Tiger Airways, which recently expanded into the Australian market, too. Tiger is a pure-bred low cost carrier, set up expressly for that purpose in 2003, but Singapore Airlines is a 49% stakeholder.

Tiger's routes are largely flown through Singapore, although there is talk of setting up hubs in other Asian countries like the Philippines or South Korea. The airline's other main destinations include Australia, China, Thailand, India and Vietnam. Tiger's recent entry into the Australian market is real headline-grabbing budget stuff: flights as low as A$10 ($9) are on offer. Fares that low are definitely grrrreat.

Related Stories:
· Tiger Airways [Official Site]
· Tiger Airways Unveils $10 Flights [news.com.au]
· Travel Stories in Singapore [Jaunted]

[Photo: Ian Fuller]

Tags: Singapore Travel / Tourism Boards / Changi Airport / → All Tags

Tourism Board: Singapore Wins (New) Top Honor

On June 15, the Singapore Tourism Board won the award for "Best Tourism Branding" at the first-ever Travel Weekly Industry Awards, held in Hong Kong. The group has been touting its accolade ever since.

The organization focuses its branding on business travelers and the medical industry, but still has a "leisure group" for travelers whose purpose for visiting lacks monetary motivations.

The board lays out a bold business plan to establish the Southeast Asian City-State as a hub of world commerce. Since travelers start their visit flying into Singapore's Changi Airport -- considered by many to be the best place in the world to catch a plane -- the Tourism Board will be securing the country's position as most desirable destination among the corporate elite in no time.

Related Stories:
·   Glass Elevators in Singapore [HotelChatter]
·   Singapore to Scan Faces [Jaunted]

[Photo: National Geographic]