This is the real FREE Wi-Fi. Kudos to Changi Airport, living up to the credentials and rankings

One thing which frustrates me throughout the world is "free wifi" logo and "unable to connect" or "try after some time" messages.

I will try to take some screenshots from places like SFO, LAX, HKG, NRT where the WiFi experience  is killed by unnecessary advertisements, and clicks. ICN is different but plz take note my korean friends that very few travellers transiting /traveling in ICN international can read korean. Places like CGK, BKK, DEL, BOM, MNL are as good as trying to get free wifi in an US motel. So no point talking about them.  Out of these, CGK used to be the better one but recently the lack of maintenance or increased user traffic started to kill the experience. BKK is shine and shine outside and no substance inside so no comments on that. DEL, BOM: they are interested in your money, so never ever pay for the WiFi (which I did so naively) after the first 30 min free wifi. It doesnt work and they can double charge your credit card.

As always, Singapore is different. Here is a screenshot taken sometime ago at Changi :) Only downside or improvement they can make is the removal of OTP. It can be a registration or certification issue for past visitors (device ID/MAC may be or SIM authentication)

Changi Automated Clearance System: What software it is using..

I am quite impressed with overall infrastructure in Singapore. The Government and some great guys planned it in that way, and the 'first impression' which is Changi Airport counts a lot. Recently I was a bit disappointed with the so called "random security checks(which are not really random in my experience)" and "random return security checks" but overall I am quite happy and I must say this is probably the best airport. Be it the ease of reaching/getting out, immigration/custom clearance, security checks, amenities, food (Ofcourse ,except the horrible, and super expensive indian one), crowd for takeoff/landing and the shopping options.

Out of all, the best part for me is the immigration. After the auto gates / automated clearance /  IACS/ eIACS/  deployed in 2011the whole experience is a breeze. I have never encountered any issues, and it works as it supposed to be.

Yesterday, for the first time I had an issue. After clearing the glass barrier with my passport, the system stuck. It's like you can't go back or forward. The officer came in seconds, and we noticed that the system started rebooting itself. So while waiting there, I saw the system OS. You wouldn't believe... and it's...

Now I seriously admire the developers, system integrators or programmers who executed it. They did an amazing job to go with Windows and the systems are running 24x7 with almost zero down time. I must say they are meeting the telco standard/grade availability as this is the first time in years I saw a system booting/hang. There were plenty of post logon scripts after the booting process and GUI and I guess the front end is a simple VB or HTML code with plenty of back end scripting.

After 3 minutes, the system is back and there goes it. Happy traveller, and a very disappointed looking officer who couldn't believe that Changi made a passenger wait for 3 min. Kudos Officers, you guys are really amazing to take it so personally and apologising as if this is even a 'delay'

Wish our American, Australian, EU friends or neighbours like Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai & Viet friends lean something. I love their job, especially sitting in a comfy chair on a raised platform and looking at the herd who are standing in front of them for hours. Unfortunately I always end up in the herd. Anyways, thanks to Changi once again.. the frustrations from the travel will be gone once you land up in Changi..

Premium or Private Bus Services to Changi Business Park

Another week @ CBP and few more complaints from my colleagues who end up late due to this morning rain.

I did some complaining couple of weeks back on the lack of public transport facilities to CBP here, and just realized that even the LTA website Publictransport doesn't show all the premium bus services to CBP. So I started watching around me and given my little work load (thanks to the early CNY holiday mood) I end up with below table.

Most of these buses end up @ the same place at CBP. Also I didn't updated the return trip but they are available in the evening around 5.30 ++++. If you are one of those lucky guys / girls staying around Sengkang you can find plenty of buses till 9. 

Also most of the buses accept Flashpay cards or the new EZlink cards. By the way in my observation the old SMRT Creditcard (EZ-Link) failed to work. So better keep some cash :).

Try to take the earliest bus (you need to wake up few min earlier) as these buses tend to be crowd free. The last buses or peak period buses are pretty busy and often I see people standing (??) which is not allowed as per LTA. But seems people prefer to stand for 30-45 min rather than getting squeezed for hours in MRT.

Also take note of morning traffic jams along TPE (Now a days it seems a MUST between Jalan Kayu to Pasir Ris). So give some buffer if you've options. 

On top of these services, there are plenty of small buses or vans carrying 10-15 people. May be these are adhoc services or kind of carpool or vanpool services.

I'l update as and when the latest info is available or if I see some new services.

Happy traveling :)

Operator Name	Bus No	Time	Starting	Ending	Interim Stops	Price	Comments
http://smartbus.com.sg/	N.A	8:15	Sengkang	CBP		$-	No bus number now. Will update if there is any
	N.A	8:20	Sengkang	CBP		$-
	N.A	8:40	Sengkang	CBP		$-
	N.A	8:45	Sengkang	CBP		$-
	N.A	9:00	Sengkang	CBP		$-
	N.A	9:05	Sengkang	CBP		$-
	N.A	9:25	Hougang	CBP		$-
	N.A	9:30	Sengkang	CBP		$-
	N.A	8:00	Punggol	CBP		$-
	N.A	8:25	Punggol	CBP		$-
	N.A	8:45	Punggol	CBP		$-
	N.A	9:05	Punggol	CBP		$-
	N.A	9:20	Punggol	CBP		$-
	N.A	8:30	Sembawang	CBP	Yishun, Khatib	$-
	N.A	8:30	Pasir Ris	CBP	Simei	$-
	N.A	8:15	Braddel	CBP	Toa Payoh	$-
www.mybus.com.sg	740	7:30	Sembawang	CBP	Yishun, Khatib	$3.50
	740	7:40	Sembawang	CBP	Yishun, Khatib	$3.50
	740	7:50	Sembawang	CBP	Yishun, Khatib	$3.50
	741	7:30	Yio Chu Kang	CBP	Ang Mo Kio	$3.00
	741	7:50	Yio Chu Kang	CBP	Ang Mo Kio	$3.00
	741	8:00	Yio Chu Kang	CBP	Ang Mo Kio	$3.00
	742	7:25	Serangoon North	CBP	Hougang, Sengkang, Punggol	$3.00
	742	7:40	Serangoon North	CBP	Hougang, Sengkang, Punggol	$3.00
	742	7:55	Serangoon North	CBP	Hougang, Sengkang, Punggol	$3.00
	742	9:00	Sengkang	CBP	Hougang, Sengkang, Punggol	$3.00
	728	7:30	Sengkang	CBP		$3.00
	728	7:50	Sengkang	CBP		$3.00
	728	8:50	Sengkang	CBP		$3.00
	593	7:35	Punggol	CBP		$3.00
	593	8:05	Punggol	CBP		$3.00
	593	8:50	Punggol	CBP		$3.00
	593	9:20	Punggol	CBP		$3.00
	593	9:50	Punggol	CBP		$3.00
http://www.ss-hub.com.sg	N.A	8:00	Buangkok	CBP	Sengkang	$-	No bus number now. Will update if there is any
	N.A	9:05	Sengkang	CBP		$-
	N.A	8:40	Buangkok	CBP	Sengkang	$-
	N.A	8:30	Woodlands	CBP	Admiralty, Sembawang, Yishun, Khatib	$-
	N.A	8:15	Jurong East	CBP	Bt Batok, Bt Gombak	$-
	N.A	7:10	Chao Chu Kang	CBP	Giant Tampines	$-
	N.A	9:00	Pasir Ris	CBP		$-
	N.A	8:45	Simei	CBP		$-

Indian food in Changi Business Park (CBP)

Just moved to CBP and yes, I hated the move just like the rest of my colleagues. The place is 'ulu', no good transportation, need to spend hours in public transport, no good food, expensive etc etc.

On the plus side, there are plenty of Indian food choices available, there is a Fairprice extra right next to office. Great. I have an excuse to get a cab on friday :)

Coming to the Indian food, below is a list for future reference.. I'll try to update if I come across any new places and am sure there will be some feedback which I can use too.

I am giving the postcode and building name instead of the complete street address to avoid any clutter.

1. Sakuntalas ( UE Bizhub East, South tower, S-486018)

This is near the fairprice xtra (if you walk further up) and food is good. I've tried few of their items (Dum Biryani, Set Meals & Kadai Chicken) and most of them are good. Only downside is it gets pretty crowded and the prices are a bit on the high side compared to food court prices. But worth for a quick meal, and don't expect it to be a quiet place :)

** Used to be Zaffaran. 

2. Saravana Bhavan (Plaza-08, S-486025)

Same type of food and offers strictly vegetarian. Exec set lunch seems to be popular as I can see many people during the peak hour.

For me, it's unlikely I'll end up as a regular here.

3. Ras Bites (Plaza-08, S-486025)

This is in the building Plaza-8 but towards the end. i.e. Walk past Saravana Bhavan, Sankranti and then there it is.  level. Seems this is one of the best bet for a lunch meeting with Indian guests/food. Place is good, food tastes good too. Prices are reasonable but lately I see this place getting pretty busy around Lunch time.

4. Makan Mumbai Express (MM Express - Teh Tarik) (CITI Bank building, S-486026)

This is the Indian stall in the Teh Tarik food court in Plaza-08 and I've been visiting this place almost every day. Their set meal is great and tastes good too. One should watch how quickly (or the attempt) they serve the thali in the huge steel plate :)

But during lunch hour the place is obviously crowded so one need to plan either a bit early or a bit late. Especially avoid the 12:30 period.

5. Sri Shubham (next to MM Express @ Teh Tarik) (CITI Bank building, S-486026)

This stall opened around Oct last year and steadily improving the food quality. This is Andhra / Telugu food so supposed to be more spicier compared to MM Express. However I found it's not the case. Food is acceptable but their vegetables need improvement. Actually a lot of improvement.

6. Sankranti (Plaza-8, S-486025)

Food is not bad, prices are ok (Set lunch ~ 8; Buffet ~12) but the biggest issue is "service'. They seems to be busy walking fast across the place and you've to be lucky to get their attention without getting up and standing on table.
Update-1: Since my original comments, there seems to be some improvement. Will try few more times.

7. Tandoor Curry Club (Eightrium @ Changi, S-486035)

Food is acceptable and they deliver too. So can't miss this place. Phone number is 9118 7234. Delivery took around 40 min on a busy monday so I guess these guys can be trusted/counted on.

8. Kinara (UE Bizhub, S-486018)

This is a rather new opening and the food is good but not the bill :|. So you need to be 'prepared' to pay >25 for lunch; double for dinner with drinks. Somehow it doesn't appear in their website but I can assure you the place is open and running for a while.

9. Indian Curry House (Expo near Hall-4, S-)

This is a place near Expo which operates during lunch & dinner hours. Strangely the dinner hours are till 11.00 so after a late meeting @ office, you can jump in here.
Food is good but a bit on the high side for the quality. I loved the butter naan. Fish cake/cutlet wasn't that great. Rest of the items like butter chicken, tandoor etc are acceptable.

10. Indian stall @ Basement food court, Changi Citi Point

There is a stall in the Changi Citi Point. When you enter the mall from main entrance just take the downward escalator at the right hand side. That's the small food court or food area in Changi Citi Point.
Food is good but the place is damn crowded during the lunch hours. Good to give a try if you are not in a rush during the lunch break or if you can beat the peak hour crowd.
Breakfast or Evening tea / snack time is great at this place as the variety of snacks are pretty good. i.e. you can most of the items like Dosai, Samosa, Kachori etc.
Update#01: Heard that this place is an extension to one of my fav and most frequented Indian restaurant at Serangoon Gardens - Garden Kadhai. Have to find during my next visit when I am back to work :)

11. Ananda Bhavan, UE Bizhub East (It's opp Fairprice or near the Nanyang coffee)

No need introduction. Not too crowded (may be not many people know this place??).

12. Vegetarian Food, The Signature Building Food court

This is a 'Indian food court", and to the far left you can find the vegetarian stall. Good food and the lunch set menu seems popular. They are offering South Indian set & north indian set (i.e. same stuff but with buttermilk in south indian set)

13. North Indian Food, The Signature Building Food court

Same food court, and variety. Naans are pretty acceptable

14. South Indian Food, The Signature Building Food court

Same food court, and variety. They do have some 'special rice' i.e. lemon rice etc. 

15. Nepalese Food, The Signature Building Food court

Not Indian per say but pretty close. This food court should change to 'indian food court' :) great place for Indian food lovers and trust me guys/gals, you need to start jogging to keep your weight under check.

16. Muthiah Restaurant, UE Bizhub East

This place is at the back side of UE Bizhub (after NTUC towards the Expo mrt via the old route). After an year or so, I managed to visit this place and I am quite surprised to see a huge crowd. Guess I was wrong to expect people wouldnt go there at the corner but people love to walk across in rain or hot sun to have a good meal. Food is good, and variety is great. Only down side is the waiting in the queue to place order, wait to get the food, wait to get the bill. They are extremely slow in the service and that's creating long waits..

17. Manchurian Club, UE Bizhub East (486015)

I missed the manchurian club and this is infact considered indian :). They offer the popular 'chinese food' customized for indian palette. The place is towards the hotel (from NTUC Fairprice, you can see Cheers - Shenton Clinic and - Manchurian Club) and not very crowded. Food is average for me but service is much better. You can have a spicy bite here during the upcoming rainy season :)


**That's all for the time being and will explore and update if I come across any new places**

*** Thinking of putting in the map possible with some pictures. Time to plan my next trip :).

ID Photo in Changi - Instant passport photo

I've got this strange requirement, that is I need passport photographs while I was at Changi. This is for one of the country visa on arrival requirement and I am not quite sure whether the destination airport would have an instant photo booth.
First thing is try to look in internet. The popular ID Photo (Instant Photo Booth) which is very common in MRT Stations and public malls seems to be a 'missing thing' in internet.
I couldn't find their website as well as their locations. Four Square showed me there is one but when I asked the Customer Service stall @ Changi T2 they stared at me blankly. But the Guardian staff came to my rescue and Yes, There is a ID Photo booth in Changi.

The location in T2 is near the City/MRT Escalator. This is right next to the ATM's (OCBC, DBS) and you can't miss it if you walk there.
Excuse me for the bad quality of the picture as I took it in a rush :)

Understood that there is another booth @ T3 / Terminal 3 near the entrance too. T1 seems to be missing one;