1. It Has Outdoor Smoking. With Sunflowers.

Yes, really. Forget the fug-filled cubicles of lesser airports. At Changi, you can smoke outdoors, and upstairs, either in the sun or sheltered from the rain, looking over banks of sunflowers to watch planes coming and going.

2.There Are Massage Machines. For Free.

Sure, plenty of airports have little massage stands, and spas. But Changi has free massage chairs scattered around the travelators, just to take the pressure off before or after flying. And, with multiple settings, they’re genuinely relaxing.

3.Also a Whole Room of Games. Cash not Required.

Many airports attend to the needs of preschoolers, but figure older kids can get along just fine. Not Changi. The Entertainment Deck includes a section devoted to X-Box Kinect, X-Box 360 and Playstation, which means you can dump teens and tweens and head next door to the movie theatre for a film or two. For littlies, there’s a bunch of genuinely fun playgrounds.

4.Not to Mention A Chance to Explore the City. Gratis.

Singapore is heinously expensive. Still, if you’re just passing through Changi Airport – with a minimum 6-hour wait between flights – you can hop on a city tour bus and get a taste of the city-state, completely free. Almost seamless immigration means that’s perfectly doable – either on their day or their night tour, while there’s plenty more things to do in Singapore if you’d like.

5.Did I Mention There’s a Swimming Pool? On the Roof? With a Jacuzzi?

You know that feeling when you just want to jump straight into a cool bath and wash off the grime of travel? Yeah, that. But in a swimming pool. On the roof. With a jacuzzi, too. Unless you’re staying at the Transit hotel, though, a mystifying S$13.91 fee includes towels, showers and a soft drink at the bar.

6.They Collect Bizarre World Records.

Yes, yes, every airport under the sun boasts modern art. But some of Changi’s is genuinely good, like the moving sculpture, Kinetic Rain. This also holds the unusual position of being the world’s largest kinetic artwork. And the bizarre world records don’t stop there. Terminal 1 is home to the world’s largest slide – or at least the world’s largest slide that’s in an aiport. (It’s 12 metres tall.)

7.You Don’t Have to Spend a Fortune to Buy Something You’ve Run Out Of.

Not wishing to labour the point, here, but Singapore ain’t cheap. And predictably there’s everything from Bottega Veneta to Prada scattered through the airport. Yet, unusually, there’s also cheap stuff here if you need it – Uniqlo, Muji and even Bata shoes, while the Duty Free makeup has high street lippies at discount prices alongside the MAC and Dior, while chemist prices are remarkably uninflated too.

8.You Can Sleep in Changi Airport. Like, Officially Sleep.

It’s possible to stay at the Transit Hotel, which is actually in the airport, in increments of as little as six hours. Yet if you’re the kind of cheapskate who would rather sleep in an airport than spend on a layover hotel, Changi’s dedicated nap zones – complete with beds – are tailormade for you. Note that you’ll need to be fast to nab a bed, while security guards have been known to wake folk up to check that you’re actually transiting – still, even if you’re on the floor, a darkened area is way better than the bright lights of your average terminal.

9.They Dish Out Art Classes for Free.

Singapore’s answer to England’s brass-rubbing, woodblock rubbing is a traditional Singapore artform. And there’s stands to practise it across the airport!

10. The Computer Stations Work.

Lots of airports have free Wifi, but Changi’s is genuinely fast. Lots also have free machines that were supposed to connect you to the internet back in the day. Changi’s work.

11. How Can You Not Love an Airport with a Butterfly Garden?

I’ve raved about the sunflower garden upstairs, while the orchid garden and cactus garden are pretty too. Changi’s butterfly garden, however, complete with a hatching section, is an absolute standout. Because what kind of crazy, beautiful genius puts a butterfly garden in an airport?! Changi Airport. That’s who.

Image credit: Sunflowers and airplanes by Moniquez on Flickr’s Creative Commons.