Bar crawling @changiairport

Your correspondent is on a flying visit to Koh Samui for a mate’s wedding. Trying to do it on the cheap and using frequent flyers. In my haste to snaffle a full trip on points (a miracle), I didn’t notice that I’d set myself up for an 8 hour layover between midnight and 8am at Changi Airport, Singapore.

Remarkably, there’s more than enough nightlife in the vast expanses of Changi’s three terminals that 8 hours can be whiled away – but I think I’ll be unconscious on my first day in Koh Samui.

The typical venue is a sports bar, but there’s also an outdoor bar in a cactus garden and a taphouse that I’d patronise if it was a standalone venue. All are 24 hour venues and all serve food (though I abstained from anything solid). With a seemingly 24 hour soccer cycle it is the actually possible to stay amused for the duration.

The My first stop was the Carlsberg Sports Bar. Pretty ordinary to be honest, but I was able to get a unique, which is a surprise in Singapore. Tiger White is a half decent citrusy wheat beer – worth a try. The Travellers Cactus Bar is a unique experience. You get to sit in the humid Singapore air in the middle of a Cactus Garden. The highlight is The World is Flat bar. Eight top quality taps, including Moon Dog’s Old Mate Pale Ale. I got to try another unique beer by a Singapore Brewer. Brewlander’s Peace is a “New England Wheat” – and damn fine it was too. Nicely hoppy as well as wheaty. Big fan. The food looked excellent here. Harry’s is a chain of bars in Singapore and there is a Changi outlet. Had a unique porter made by Carlsberg Malaysia here. O’Learys is Boston styled sports bar & grill with a long bar at which you can sit and drink overpriced Tiger.

There are worse ways to spend a layover.