Add in the fact that I was getting in at midnight (2am Sydney time) and not leaving till 10am it occurred to me that the extended time gap might work in my favour in order to sleep. Then I just had to work out how to do that safely given that I'm a woman, travelling alone.
Turns out Singapore's Changi Airport was voted the best in the world for sleeping and they don't mean on the hard gate lounge chairs. They have napping areas at all the terminals that you can pay for by the hour or block of hours.
I had intended to stay at the Transit Hotel, which is another option for longer layovers without having to clear immigration. Unfortunately I left it too late to book and they were fully booked.
So instead I hit up the Transit lounge and their napping suites. I booked 6 hours with a shower and a wake up call. I was a bit hesitant again as the napping suites aren't private as such, they're little cubicles with a full bed, with partitions between each one and curtains rather than a door. The one I stayed in was bundled into 4 pods.
As it turned out though it was perfect. I was inevitably a bit on my guard so I woke up when other nappers came or went which was only twice, and after my rain shower and extended nap I'm feeling pretty balanced.
I've now got another flight from Singapore to Cebu via Kalibo which eventually gets me in at 4pm. Just in time to get settled and scope out the meeting facilities in time for a big week of training with the team.
X
*feminist side notes*
When I told a male colleague about the stopover length and that the transit hotel was booked out his response amused me. "It's ok, just sleep in the terminal, I've done it, it's ok"
When I responded with "you're not a woman on her own" he took a second to get it, the inherent risks in a world where some men believe that they have a right to impose on the women around them.
Damn it must be nice to be a man sometimes.
