Jump to Comments Yes, you heard that right! On my previous trip, at the end of March, I had a 9-hour layover at the Singapore airport (don’t ask). I don’t know of a better airport to be in for that long. It’s absolutely gorgeous with live plants, flowers and water features. I was fortunate enough to be able to stay in the Singapore Airlines lounge so I took advantage of the food, sleeping area, internet access, and even the showers.

There is also a tourist desk in the airport that will set you up with a free tour (2 different ones to choose from) of the city if you have a layover for at least 5 hours. So I took a great 2+ hour excursion around the city (see all the photos). They handle everything for you - signup, passports, immigration, bus ride, and boat ride. Very cool!

As we (all of the tourists) were getting ready to head towards immigration to leave the airport I noticed a large group of people dressed alike. Turns out they were “Agria Swara” - the Bogor Agricultural University Student Choir from Indonesia. They were on a layover heading for Budapest, Hungary where they were going to compete in an international choir competition. We started making faces at each other (ok, I was flirting) and then eventually we were hanging out. Somehow, I’m always the white guy standing out in the group. I got to practice the few phrases I know in Bahasa Melayu (Malay) which is very similar to Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian). They seemed to get a good laugh.

The tour ended up taking us on a bit of a touristy route which was so-so but it was really wonderful to get out of the airport and enjoy the fresh air. I had a great time just hanging out with my new friends. The group and I filled up one entire bus together. A week later I received great news - they won 2 gold medals for Mixed Choir and Folklore and one conductor achievement prize. Congratulations to them! I asked them to get the gold for me and I’m sure that’s why they won…