Advice for SIN turnaround?

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Arrive on UA at SIN at 12:30am and depart for NRT at 7am. I'm new to MRing and have never been to SIN. Anyone have pointers or advice for getting around the airport/customs etc during this turnaround? Lounge? Thanks much for any advice.
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You can stay in the transit hotel for the interim if you want to get some rest. It is around $75 for 6 hours I think. I stayed there during my last trip to Bali through SIN. Rooms are nice size with a bath and comfortable bed. You can find more info on the SIN airport website or google transit hotel Singaport.
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Lots more info under Destinations-Singapore section too. The SIN turn on UA seems to be pretty popular. From SFO (assuming), you are going to be in for a long trip ... 40hours or so in total ... have fun.
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NWR,
Since this is not a Mileage-Run-specific question, but rather a question about SIN airport and layovers, there would be a lot of info in the Destinations forums. Did you know about the Singapore forum? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/singapore-510/
A good proportion of threads are questions and answers relating to SIN airport itself - what to do, if it is worth doing the free city tour, lounge and entertainment or shopping options etc.
e.g. this recent one: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/singa...ction-sin.html

There are lots of free internet-access terminals in the main concourses, thousands of shops and places to eat or drink, various lounges, a free movie theatre and outdoor areas, plus an option for a free tour of a few tourist attractions, sponsored PR from the Singapore Govt.

If you have lounge access through staralliance, you could check on threads about the lounge options. I have sometimes found a lounge or part of it is closed for renovations, so it is good to check on the current state of the lounges or anything else of interest.

Here is the forum. Have a good Mileage Run!

BiziBB, Moderator Mileage Run forums
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Travel this far and spend $1000++ and not even spend a day or two
exploring this wonderful city/country? why not give urself a break and
enjoy singapore (hotels are available from $30 to $3,000) and transportation
is very reasonable... treat yourself..
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OP is on a MR.
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Quote: Travel this far and spend $1000++ and not even spend a day or two
exploring this wonderful city/country? why not give urself a break and
enjoy singapore (hotels are available from $30 to $3,000) and transportation
is very reasonable... treat yourself..
Man I would love to but only got time for a pure MR
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You have two choices: either stay in the airport or go into town. Your choice will be influenced by what time you actually get through immigration and customs. This is not as clearcut as it sounds because the UA flights for the past few months have been getting into SIN late every so often due to equipment problems. In that case your time on the ground is likely to be shortened.

The quick answer is to stay at the airport. There's genuinely a ton of stuff to do at Changi. Note that most of the things to do are on the airside. There are a few food places open at the airport groundside in the middle of the night but airside is just plain more interesting to wander around even though lots of things will be closed anyway. So, just check out the airport for yourself: http://www.changiairport.com/

If you decide to go groundside even if you stay at the airport, if you can get to the taxi stand (Singapore Immigration and customs quick and efficient) by say 1:30AM probably the simplest thing to do is to go to one of the hawker centres. Change about US$150 or so, then grab a cab and go to Newton Hawker Centre. It's more expensive than other hawker centres (because all the tourists go there) but it will be open all night and some hawker will be cooking. This way you can literally say you got some local flavor. Then get another cab to go back after say an hour or so.

About going groundside: if you decide to do this note that the UA ticket counter only opens around 4AM or so (or is it 4:30? not sure). This is important because you will need your boarding pass for the SIN/NRT flight in order to get back to airside. Even if you decide to stay airside all night I'm not sure if the transfer desk is open for UA flights at midnight. Without it you won't be able to get into the lounge; you're UA *G, right? With your UA Premier Exec card and boarding pass you can access both the Kris Gold (SQ economy) and SATS (UA contract, you get a pass) lounges. So during your transit in NRT on the way to SIN, go to the UC there and try to get them to issue you your SIN/NRT boarding pass. (Reasons for going to the lounges: Kris Gold, arguably better food but YMMV, SATS: has a shower and massage chairs.) There is the Silver Kris lounge (SQ), but you would need a business or first class boarding pass to get in.

For further info (eg what food to eat), search the other threads in this forum.

BTW, what day are you arriving and leaving SIN?
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Quote: BTW, what day are you arriving and leaving SIN?
This Wed the 13th.

It would be great going to a hawker center. But never being to Singapore before and going in the middle of the night for a few hours and particulars of navigating Changi...I'll probably just stay airside. I'll see how I feel when I arrive..after 27 hrs in the air!

Thanks very much for the great information. I'll get a shower at SATS.
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There is also a good kopitiam (food court) in the B2 level of T3 (landside) and I'm pretty sure it's open 24 hours. The Taiwanese stall is especially good but you can also get a variety of Singaporean classics there. Because of the way Changi is set up you will need to re-clear security anyway to catch your outgoing flight, so no harm in going landside.

I'd encourage you to get out of the airport though, Changi is simple to navigate and cabs in Singapore are easy to deal with.
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Quote: This Wed the 13th.
Oops... Wednesday is the 12th. Or were you thinking of Thursday? (Don't miss your flight because you were a day off!)
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Quote:
It would be great going to a hawker center. But never being to Singapore before and going in the middle of the night for a few hours and particulars of navigating Changi...I'll probably just stay airside. I'll see how I feel when I arrive..after 27 hrs in the air!

Thanks very much for the great information. I'll get a shower at SATS.
See how you feel when you walk off the flight. Singapore is really, really well organized; they give the Swiss a run for their money. Anyway, it's not unusual for someone to go from jetway to curbside in 15 minutes (once in a while, even with checked baggage in hand), and the cabs in Singapore are basically honest - and no tipping. I reckon that at that hour, the cab fare to Newton would be no more than S$30 each way for say a 20, 25 minute ride.

If you stay at the airport Gailwynand has a good idea in checking out the food court in the basement of T3 (where UA operates from). If it's open (I live in Sing so I've never had the experience of scoping out Changi at 3AM), you can try out some of the Sing food; change US$20 should do you nicely. Just remember to either have your boarding pass in hand or be prepared to wait for the check in counters to open in order to get back to airside.
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Quote: Oops... Wednesday is the 12th. Or were you thinking of Thursday? (Don't miss your flight because you were a day off!)
I meant Thurs the 13th!
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Quote: and the cabs in Singapore are basically honest - and no tipping.
Really, no tipping?

Thank you for the great info. I love FT!
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Correct, no tipping. Sometimes they will even round down your fare to avoid having to give a lot of change. Your biggest challenge is likely to be deciphering the cab driver's Singlish.

Keep in mind, there is a late night surcharge and an airport surcharge on cabs so if your final fare seems high it doesn't necessarily mean that you got ripped off.
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