Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Singapore's Changi Airport has been ranked the world's best for seven years in a row now.

  • But just because it's at the top, doesn't mean it's staying comfortable.

  • It's called Jewel, it's a nearly $1.3 billion dollar project which connects

  • three of the four terminals at Singapore's Changi Airport.

  • It aims to increase the number of passengers coming to Singapore for both visits and stopovers.

  • It's even being dubbed a destination for the locals, too.

  • And maybe that's not so crazy, considering it also boasts its own movie theater and grocery store.

  • But if you come to this airport for just a layover, well, you will need to clear immigration to enter this dome.

  • Unless...

  • Say you have a stopover at the airport, but you don't want to go through immigration?

  • Well, this train allows you to hop onboard and go right through the Jewel

  • so you can experience it without actually getting off.

  • By riding on one of these trains, you can experience Jewel, without technically ever entering Singapore.

  • So what exactly is this place, which feels like an airport, a tourist attraction,

  • and a gigantic mall, all combined into one?

  • Jewel builds on Singapore's goal of being a "City in a Garden."

  • Here are the three elements that make Jewel unique.

  • Number one, the HSBC Rain Vortex.

  • This is where the water originates, it goes down through this funnel which then creates the vortex.

  • The total length of the waterfall is more than 130 feet,

  • making it the largest indoor waterfall in the world.

  • Jewel is comprised of five floors above ground and five floors below ground.

  • I'm standing two floors below ground right now and this is actually the base of the waterfall,

  • which goes inside the glass. And the glass, you can even touch the glass.

  • The Shiseido Forest, which is sort of meant to feel like you're going on an actual hike.

  • It spans across five levels and is nearly 100 feet from the bottom to the top.

  • There's about 60,000 trees, plants and shrubs.

  • And there are actual signs that refer to it as a trail.

  • Many studies were conducted to ensure the plants and flowers

  • will survive the right temperature, humidity and sun exposure.

  • To build this forest they've imported trees from the U.S., China and Australia.

  • And if you walk up to the top of the forest, you get to what this area is known as, Canopy Park.

  • Don't worry, you can also take the escalator.

  • Here, you can walk the entire perimeter of Jewel and see more views of the rain vortex,

  • along with inter-terminal airport trains passing by.

  • It's also home to different gardens, activities and more restaurants.

  • Singapore's Changi ranks number seven in the world in terms of international passenger volume.

  • But it wants to climb the ranks by increasing the number of people coming through the airport.

  • That's one of the reasons for this endeavor.

  • Singapore's spot on the map puts it within a 7-hour flight

  • of some of the world's biggest populations, including China, India and Indonesia.

  • Construction of Jewel broke ground at the end of 2014, and it was finished in less than five years.

  • Once this bridge behind me opens up, you're going to be able to look at your feet

  • and see right through because, well, it's made of glass.

  • Not recommended if you're afraid of heights.

  • Overall, we wanted to create a multi-faceted project

  • that would capture tourism minds here and just attract more people.

  • That's Jewel Changi Airport's CEO Jean Hung.

  • What's good for our travelers is that if you are kicked out of your hotel in the morning,

  • but your flight is at night, you can come to Jewel, check in your bag

  • and enjoy the facilities that you see around you before you go onto your flight.

  • Even though there are plenty of homages to Singapore, much of the inspiration is global.

  • We went around the world because we wanted to create a memorable garden

  • and so we got inspiration from Highline, we went to the Huntington Gardens in LA

  • and visited various famous gardens that are world- renowned and tried to learn a little bit from the best.

  • In an effort to be energy efficient, the air conditioning actually comes from the ground, through vents like this.

  • The idea behind this is to save energy by only cooling areas where people actually are,

  • rather than the entire dome.

  • But, while Jewel might seem like a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon,

  • what's it like to be here if you're running to catch a flight or you just landed after a long journey?

  • You have a 7-hour stopover what's your first impression of this experience?

  • Fast and simple, pretty straight forward.

  • So, you just landed, what do you think so far?

  • It's really amazing.

  • You're about to fly out, did you come early just to see it?

  • Yeah, actually I have about 30 minutes until I need to run, so I'm going to rush.

  • One passenger told me the area was hard to maneuver with their luggage.

  • But Jewel has a baggage storage service too.

  • Passengers can pay around $10 to 20 to store luggage for up to 24 hours.

  • And that's not all.

  • Traditionally passengers have only been allowed to drop off their luggage

  • three hours before their flight, but now that's changing.

  • Now, up to 24-hours before most flights, passengers can check in here,

  • drop off their luggage in these automated machines behind me, and then from there, well,

  • the airport hopes you'll go have a nice meal, do some shopping or just explore the sights.

  • Just seeing the people being overwhelmed by it is something quite emotional for me.

  • That's Ashith Alva, he was the head of this project.

  • We've created this new icon where the world can see what Singapore offers the world.

  • This water feature behind me, it looks very simple, it's just water coming out of nowhere.

  • But to actually get to this, there were so many studies done, it took almost two years of pure studies.

  • He said his team actually used a reservoir in Los Angeles to do a full-scale mockup of

  • the waterfall to understand how the water would land, how loud it would be,

  • and even the specifics of how it would splash in different areas.

  • Aside from the main attractions under the dome, there's more than 280 new restaurants and stores here.

  • There's more than 80 food and beverage outlets here,

  • some of which, like this one, are making their debut in Singapore.

  • Singaporeans in our London restaurants are actually our third biggest customers,

  • so, it made obvious sense to come to Singapore once the Jewel opportunity was given.

  • That's Ben Hedley of U.K. restaurant chain Burger & Lobster, who said the opportunity

  • at Jewel made them choose Singapore over Hong Kong for its flagship Asian outlet.

  • Then there's also New York burger chain, Shake Shack,

  • making its first mark in Southeast Asia with this location.

  • Even Starbucks had to find ways to go big.

  • This Starbucks is now the largest in Singapore and it's the first with its own four tap nitro bar.

  • But if all of that outside is too much commotion for you,

  • you can come and get some shut eye in between flights,

  • where you can rent a room like this for as little as four hours, which costs around $60.

  • At night the days end with timed light shows at the Rain Vortex waterfall.

  • Overall, Jewel is an impressive feat.

  • It feels like a glimpse of an airport from the future, only it's open now.

  • Overall, it kind of feels like I'm in a theme park.

  • You have this inspirational and exciting music playing in the background

  • and I'm even standing in what's referred to as a Splash Zone.

  • While I'm not sure people will change their travel plans because of Jewel, I do know,

  • there's now a higher chance that I'll be missing my flight.

  • Hey guys, it's Uptin. Thanks for watching.

  • I want to know, would you modify your itinerary just to have a layover here at this airport?

  • Let us know in the comments below. And while you're at it, subscribe to our channel.

Singapore's Changi Airport has been ranked the world's best for seven years in a row now.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it