That Time I Took a Shower at the Airport

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At the end of our Southeast Asia trip, Andy and I had one last night and a full day in Singapore. We had to check out of our hotel before lunch but our flight didn’t leave until 11:30pm, giving us all day to hang out in the city. But since Singapore is very close to the equator, it’s really hot. I was not looking forward to arriving at the airport after a full day of sweating in Singapore’s heat and then having to sit on a 13 hour flight back home. Luckily I found a solution.

>>Check out this review of what it’s like to fly with Singapore Airlines!

Singapore photos

A few months ago, Aaron from Aaron’s Worldwide Adventures wrote about how wonderful the big international airports are in Asia, and he mentioned Singapore specifically. He talked about the transit facilities and things like a butterfly garden. He also mentioned how many of these airports have showers, though not specifically in connection with the Singapore airport. So I was curious. I went looking at their website and sure enough, they do have shower facilities in some of the transit lounges.

I found that in the transit lounge in terminal 2 I could take a shower for S$8.56, which is a little less than US$7. (There is also one in terminal 3 but for some reason it’s more expensive.) I was very excited about the prospect of washing off the day’s sweat and being more comfortable on the long flight back to Zurich.

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With a little quick research, I found that we needed to go through immigration to get to the transit lounge. Luckily our flight was leaving from terminal 2, otherwise I don’t think the plan would have worked. If you have a layover in Singapore and want to use the showers in terminal 2, go there BEFORE clearing immigration and customs. But if you’re starting in Singapore like we were, check in for your flight, go through the immigration check, and then go upstairs to find the lounge.

There were 12 shower stalls, each of which included an area with a little bench and a sink, so there is plenty of room for your stuff to stay safe and dry. Hand soap is provided by the sink, and a shampoo/body wash combo and conditioner are provided in shower. Bring your own toiletries if you don’t want to use theirs. They also provided a clean towel, so you don’t need your own. In the common area of the shower room, there was another row of sinks, soap and lotion, and two hair dryers.

The entire time we were in there, a woman went into each shower stall as soon as someone finished, and she cleaned, emptied the trash and replaced the towel. No worrying about the cleanliness of the shower facilities there.

I never thought I’d take shower at an airport, but this was a great experience. The shower itself was really nice, and I was so happy they provided towels and hair dryers. Having a shower made me feel so much better about getting on that flight after a long, hot day in Singapore.

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