Changi Airport Public Areas, T1 3/F

Since checkout time from the hotel was a noontime (as usual), and departure to Cebu was at night, I again had time to roam Changi Airport. This time, I sauntered around public areas, mostly at Level 4.

But let me start from the City Hall MRT Station where I departed the city from. I noticed something:

The many times I've been riding this conveyance, I haven't (yet) encountered a damning crowd like it is at our Metro Manila LRT/MRT. Am I just lucky, or Singapore's MRT does not get that crowded after all?

Maybe I'm just lucky, since Singaporean friends told me they've experienced jam-packed rides too. But it could be once-in-a-blue-moon for them OR baka ang "jam-packed" nila isn't the 'mala-sardinas' natin!

Here's another trivia: it says "Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co. Ltd." so UK made pala ang MRT nila!

Hindi naman sa 'colonial mentality', but we all know that if it is made there, it must be of high quality. And that is not even the train car itself btw, it's just the barrier gate of the platform! How about ours?

Aheheh, yung orig galing Belgium, pero ngayon.., hesumalusep, galing na ng... 'mainland'. Alams na!

Anyway, so I arrived at the airport, uneventfully as usual. Then, from T2 where the MRT arrives, I made my way to the skytrain going T1 where my Air Asia flight check-in counters are located - dulo usually!

I like that service announcement posted on the glass wall. It says this Skytrain (public area) only runs from 5AM to 2:30AM, but outside those hours, there is a free shuttle bus service at T2 Departure Door 1 near Check-in Row 1. It only shows how complete their services are. Note it's free and for the public!

I reached T1 in no time, and I stopped to marvel at this "Kinetic Rain Art" again. It's just so calming..,

I even shot another video, this time from a different angle! And there were three Pinays taking turns to take their pictures with that thing as their background! They were surprised when I said "akina phone nyo, kunan ko kayo"! Hindi naman sa mabait ako! Ulterior motive lang, nagpa-kodak din ako sa kanila!

When you constantly travel alone, you do learn to 'improvise' on some necessities hehe! Anyway...

Next, I saw one of the Christmas Trees made of so many Pokémon characters. When I took a pic, that escalator going to 3rd level caught my attention. I said to myself "mapuntahan nga ang taas na iyan"!

Well, I didn't eat at that restaurant. Just went to that edge for a pic of check-in area down at 2nd level.

Everything at this 3rd level is 'public area' and oh boy it is such a wide space called a 'Viewing Mall'..,

There are shops, this is a mall indeed, most of them are branches of Singapore's good restaurants..,

And this is not named a 'Viewing Mall' for nothing. The non-checked-in public is given ample views of the inner portions of the airport's pre-departure area (after Immigration Counters), called 'transit area'.

To the right of those luggage push carts down there are customs and immigration counters (not seen in photo - buti nalang, kasi bawal kodakan yun). Everywhere else are duty free shops, restaurants, etc.!

This below, is to the left of that picture above.., the Central Plaza of Terminal 1 I mentioned before..,

Just a little more to the left would be the 'Social Tree' ('di nahagip ng camera), but we have seen that two seeks ago, right? In fact, that view is exactly diagonally across this. Note though, the above was taken from the public area - while it looks clear, there is actually a glass wall. It's an airtight viewdeck!

Here here., I moved the camera a little bit to the left, and there is the Social Tree once again..,

Note again that this is viewed from a public area. So that Social Tree is also seen by the public (where I stood) even if it is way inside after immigration! Magaling talaga ang pagka-gawa ng Changi Airport!

Pati madlang public pinag-iisipan nila! There is nothing like this in any of our old or new airports in the Philippines. The nearest comparison is NAIA T3, doon sa taas ng check-in counter (mezzanine), kaso you see nothing much dahil tinabunan ng restaurant at tindahan. Public area lang, not a viewing mall!

At this public viewing mall of Changi, the space goes all the way to have a view of the airplane side..,

Here's a sample of what I could see from the glass wall of the Viewing Mall. Planes can be seen here!

In fact I spent a while watching that Emirates plane. I was "star-struck"! That is the biggest two-engine aircraft on earth so far. Emirates has the most number of that kind of airplane. Boeing B777-31H(ER).

That plane has 8 First Class, 42 Business Class and 310 Economy Class seats. Imagine 360 in all!

Look where I stood by the glass wall on that public viewing mall, the floor's edge is transparent!

I wonder if that is a technical or scientific requirement of the building or aesthetics pang-aliw lang!

Anyway again, this public area is big, still with wide spaces probably for commercial establishments.

Mind you, there are even children's play areas here, but you will notice they are kind of temporary.

And the restaurants located in this public viewing mall are not just any street hawkers. They're big!

Then there's this 7-Eleven store that captured my attention. Not really the store but that glass wall!

That outdoor area behind the glass wall at right is off-limits to the viewing public - there's even no way going out there from this area. And that's actually the Cactus Garden we visited some two weeks ago!

As mentioned earlier, it is above the transit area. So, you have to be a checked-in passenger to be out there. But if you look at the first picture of that article, you will see the glass wall. This is its other side!

Now that's what we should call "amazing"! This airport does not only beautify its inside and outside, it also makes everything accessible (viewable at the very least) to as many people (passengers or not)!

Let's go inside, shall we? And you almost know where we are headed this time!