The hidden cactus garden at Singapore Airport

I had heard that Singapore airport has some outdoor garden areas within the airport grounds, and last time I went through Singapore airport (12 years ago) I didn’t see any trace of one, although I was aware of them. So this time I was determined to find one.

I went on one of the free internet computers there and I found out that the terminal I was in has a garden, and it is called the cactus garden. Then I went searching for it. I found a map which showed that it is upstairs, so I went upstairs and couldn’t find anything that looked like an outside garden. I asked a lady at a desk and she said that I needed to go back downstairs and find another upstairs section. I followed her directions and found myself in another upstairs area that still didn’t have a garden. I asked another person that was working in a restaurant there, but I couldn’t understand his English very well.

I went back downstairs and was beginning to think that maybe the cactus garden would continue to elude me. Then I saw a sign for a smoking area. It’s not a place I would normally seek out, but I thought that it would have to be an outdoor area, so maybe that’s where the garden is. I went upstairs again and finally found it! They only allow smoking in a small part of the garden, so I was able to wander through it without having to put up with nasty fumes.

I probably spent about half an hour searching for the garden, and only five minutes wandering through it! I would have liked to have spent more time there, but I needed to go back to the gate for boarding my plane. Anyway, after I went to all that effort, I hope you enjoy these photos I took there.

Me! Yes, I made it there and this is the proof!

Buka airport

Buka airport is an airport like no other. Your first experience with the airport is likely to be in arrivals. When you arrive, you go through a small gate and wait in a small area for the luggage to come over on a trolley. The passengers unload the luggage and you squeeze through to grab your bag when it’s accessible. The photo below shows the Buka airport building, and you can see the arrivals area outside. The people who are standing behind the mesh fence have just arrived and are waiting for their luggage.

When you arrive, you don’t need to go inside the building – it is only for departures. Here is the check in counter.

We do have a little shop to buy some snacks to keep us going. It’s called the ‘Landing and Take Off Canteen’. There’s no hot pies for sale there, mostly it’s cracker biscuits and Twisties. Here you can see the canteen, and to the right of the photo there are two security staff – they check your bags when you enter the airport, to make sure that you aren’t carrying anything you aren’t supposed to have.

Lastly, here is the waiting area. When Rebekah and I were travelling recently, we managed to sit under a fan and keep cool. I counted the ceiling fans – there were six and only three of them were working.

(Remember you can click on the photos to see them a bit bigger).