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Whilst connecting flights are usually a pain, if you have to, and even if you don't absolutely have to, I would recommend arranging to transfer at Changi Airport Singapore. I would actually say you should go out of your way to have several hours stopover time if you can.
Now, friends and family members will have heard me raving about how great it is in the past. But it turns out, to use a very cliche phrase, that was only the top of the iceberg.
You see, I was not aware at the time when I was previously there that I had only been to one terminal. And as great as Terminal 3 was, with its Butterfly Garden, Koi Pond, free movie screenings, the best terminal, in my opinion was Terminal 2.
Upon arrival at Terminal 2 through the convenient Skytrain the first thing that caught my eye was this lovely little garden set up possibly to celebrate Valentine's Day. But that garden paled in comparison to the Orchid Garden nearby. Beautiful flowers set in a beautiful setting, with a mini koi pond and a little bridge that provided an excellent photo opportunity.
But if you're more one for drawing flowers than taking photos of them then feel free to avail yourself of the crayons and paper at a nearby table. The table also includes wooden block prints to do impressions over with the crayons. I'm not sure if it was originally designed for children but it definitely brought out the inner child in the many adults using it.
If you are worried about entertaining children then you should take them along to one of the kids play areas, there is at least one in each terminal.
If, like me, you're more concerned with avoiding little children then at least you know where not to go.
Unfortunately the Fern Garden was closed off for renovations but on the way there I came across the 'Xperience Zone'.
This is an area which looks like it belongs more in a sci-fi movie than an airport. It features four different TV's with individual sound systems each suitable for two people. Unfortunately they seem to be full most of the time but if you're into sports there's also a huge TV with multiple seats.
But you can also make a digital postcard to email to someone. Or if you've got a Skype account you can use the free Internet video phone call services. Or you can just access the Internet for free both in the Xperience Zone or any one of the couple dozen locations around the whole airport.
The shopping is also easy and convenient and you can pay using your Australian eftpos card.
It's probably worth spending a bit extra on food than I did, although I wasn't actually that hungry and by the time we were served dinner on my connecting flight I could barely eat a bite.
And unfortunately for coffee lovers like myself apparently Asian countries don't really understand coffee the way we do. If it's going to annoy you as much as it did me then you might consider going to somewhere more familiar like Starbucks (at least one on each terminal).
If you can, arrange to arrive at Singapore during the day. The rooftop Cactus Garden on T1 and the rooftop Sunflower Garden on T2 are ok at night but you really want to see them during the day. The Butterfly Garden is not worth going to at night time. Definite daytime activity.
At the Cactus Garden you might also like to enjoy a cool alcoholic beverage on the adjoining rooftop bar.
But if you're into a different sort of entertainment I would suggest going to the Sunflower Garden and on the way playing some computer games, Playstation games, listening to music videos or watching a free movie screening (also available on T3). Bit of fun if you're sick of walking around looking at pretty gardens.
Another option if your feet are sore from walking is to sit down at one of the many free foot massage sofas.
The only really annoying thing was the slight difficulty I had working out where to go to get my boarding ticket, and the fact you can only do that two hours before your flight not straight away.
But that is nothing in comparison to the difficulty I had in the Shanghai Airport. And it wasn't just me being super tired. I saw several other people having difficulty talking to staff and trying to work out where to go.
And there's almost no shops or anything to entertain you. In fact, had Shamghai not been so bad, especially following something so good by comparison, I probably wouldn't bother writing all this about Singapore.
So in future if there's a connecting flight that makes you wait for several hours at Changi Airport in Singapore take it and enjoy the experience as part of your whole travel experience.
If you're offered a flight, even if it's super cheap, that requires a transfer at Shanghai, consider paying extra money for a different flight. It's definitely a travel experience but one you can definitely do without. But perhaps I'm just being extra harsh because of Singapore.
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