Even if it’s just a couple of hours, a stopover should be a fun part of your trip, not something to endure.
If you’re looking at flights to get to the start of your adventure but the thought of transiting via Dubai or Doha makes you a little nervous, help is here!
There are plenty of alternative flight routes you can take that don’t transit through the Middle East and though travel times might take a little longer, those extra hours between connections don’t have to be spent in an uncomfortable chair in the transit lounge.
Because even if it’s just a couple of hours, a stopover should be a fun part of your trip, not something to endure.
To help pack more joy into your journey, here’s three of the MagEx team’s favourite stopover cities (that aren’t routed via the Middle East) to help turn your transit into a transee!
SINGAPORE
A popular pick from the team and for good reason! Singapore is the gift that just keeps on giving – and that’s before you even make it out of the World’s Best Airport.
Stretching skywards over five levels of neck-bending art installations and futuristic architecture within the airport itself, head to Jewel at Changi Airport where ‘nature meets retail’ and you’ll be practically begging the airline to delay your next flight.
Boasting the worlds’ tallest indoor waterfall, the Jewel Rain Vortex, a rooftop Canopy Park with garden trails, mazes, a butterfly garden (yes, really), +2000 trees and countless seasonal flowers from around the world, you can easily while away a few hours here between flights in pure botanical bliss.
It’s the calm you need before you unleash a duty-free shopping storm!
And if you need somewhere to repack all your purchases, consider freshening up for the next leg with a book-by-the-hour hotel room at YOTELAIR. Just don’t forget to set your alarm or it’ll be your name blaring through the departure hall loudspeaker in the final call passenger announcement.
If you’ve a longer chunk of time (five and a half hours or more) consider booking a Free Singapore Tour.
There are a bunch of guided routes departing direct from the airside transit areas that will have you whipping past the city’s most iconic landmarks like; the Singapore River, the Merlion and the straight-from-the-pages-of-science-fiction Supertrees at Gardens by the Bay. All that in under three hours and you’ll be back in time for your next wheels up with a stack of new pics in your photo roll.
Of course, it would be a fool’s errand to arrive in Singapore on a full tummy!
So tuck into a food tour (or two!) and make a meal of the downtown’s tastiest neighbourhoods; Chinatown, Little India or the social street-eats vibes of the numerous Hawkers markets.
With local dishes like chili mud crab, spicy Laksas and satay sticks from Lau Pa Sat vying for your attention, you’ll have plenty of tasty memories to sustain you through your next flavourless in-flight meal.
Want to fill a few days in more leisurely ways?
Give touristy Sentosa Island the slip and take a bumboat ride over to laidback Pulau Ubin for old school village feels. Cycle your way through mangrove forests, go birding in the Chek Jawa Wetlands and get to know what life in a kampong (traditional village) is like before the future gobbles it up.
Singapore might show up as just a ‘little red dot’ on the world map, but there really is so much to see and do in the ‘Lion City’, we’re certain your first stopover here won’t be your last.
DELHI, INDIA
Now, don’t let the sheer size of this megacity and its population of 35.5 million people daunt you! There’s a rickshaw full of reasons for you to dilly-dally in Delhi…
Featuring large-scale wall murals by 50 local and international artists (many of them women), if you’re a lover of street art then the Lodhi Art District is quite possibly the most colourful way to kickstart a stopover of five hours or more.
Though, strolling the alleys of the Khari Baoli Spice Market runs a close second!
Cinnamon, saffron, chai tea and all manner of other herby goodness have been wafting around these stalls since the 17th century, so once you’ve filled your sniffer (and your belly), head upstairs to the market’s hidden rooftop for (ahem) scent–sational views of Jama Masjid and the jewel in Delhi’s crown… the UNESCO World Heritage listed Red Fort.
Once home to Mungal Emperors, you’ll need a good couple of hours to tackle this sprawling 225-acre complex, but with a few rest stops in the shadows of those glorious archways, you’ll be so glad you did!
Just the spell you need to gather your strength for textile, perfume and jewellery shopping at legendary Chandni Chowk.
Take your fashion inspo from the local ladies and layer up with bangles in silver, gold and pearls in Dariba Kalan (formerly known as Silver Street). It’s not surprising you’ll find treasures fit for a princess here… the original Chandni Chowk was designed by one.
Once you’ve filled your daypack by emptying your wallet, retreat from the heat to one of the cool-to-the-touch stone niches of Agrasen ki Baoli. Thought to be around 5,000 years old, this 60-metre long and 15-metre-wide stepwell doesn’t just feature in a bunch of Bollywood films… but a few ghost stories as well!
Whether you believe them or not, you’ll have plenty of tales to keep your cabin mate enthralled on your next flight connection.
Click here for more incredible ideas for dawdling in Delhi.
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
Break up your long haul via Kuala Lumpur with a layover of 5 hours or more and you’ll pocket three cultures in one; Chinese, Indian and Malay!
KL’s world class transit system (train, light rail and monorail) means you can fast track a bunch of sites between flights and where better to get your bearings on the city’s cross-roads of Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic architecture, than with sky-high views from the Petronas Twin Towers.
Heard of them?
At almost half a kilometre high (452-metres to be exact), they’re only the world’s tallest twin towers! You’ll want to book your tickets for the SkyBridge and Observation Deck in advance though, because if the altitude on the way up to Level 86 doesn’t make you lightheaded, missing out will!
Once you’re back on street-level, we recommend you grab a custardy egg tart – flaky if you like the Portuguese style or crumbly for the Cantonese kind. The sugar hit will help power you for the hours you’ll spend exploring the twelve galleries of fine artworks, textiles, jewellery and armour at the Islamic Arts Museum. And in oh-so-cool air-conditioned comfort too we might add!
Now, let us ask you this, MagExplorer…
Do you consider yourself a foodie?
You soon will!
Singapore isn’t the only South-east Asian destination famous for its hawker markets, so unbuckle your belt a notch and make a beeline for the nearest bowl of noodles at the Petaling and Jalan Alor Night Markets. Served with a generous side of people watching, jetlag doesn’t stand a chance against a belly full of smoky Hokkien Mee, Nasi Lemak and Char Kway Teow.
Cue the food coma!
And that’s okay, because you’ll want to be well rested for the day you’ll spend at Batu Caves. But to get there, you’ll need to climb a rainbow first…
Yes, you’ll probably utter a prayer to the gigantic gold statue of Lord Murugan (Hindi god of war, victory, wisdom and courage) midway up the 272 steps to the entrance as KL’s humidity kicks in, but what’s a little sweat when, ready to embrace you at the top, is the cool air of the 400-million year old towering limestone caverns.
We’re at a loss here at MagExplorers for how best to describe the collection of Hindi treasures that you’ll find inside. Let’s just say that the 2.5 million pilgrims, devotees and tourists that come here for the annual Thaipusam Festival celebrations each February believe the monkeys on the steep staircase are worth braving!
And whilst we’re on the subject of wildlife, you’d be bananas to miss the Perdana Botanic Gardens. Go early to escape the heat of the day and you’ll be rewarded with:
- Sweet tweets from the residents at the KL Bird Park
- Koi ponds and pretty things that flutter at the Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park
- Cuteness overload at the Deer Park
Not to mention lake views, a sunken garden and pathways showing off Malaysia’s national flower – the hibiscus.
Once that sun hits its zenith though, it’s just a short distance to escape indoors and into all things cultural at the National Museum or National Art Gallery.
With all these ideas ticked off your Malaysian stopover list, you’d be well and truly ready to switch your phone to aeroplane mode again and slip on your eye-mask!
Well, that’s probably enough ideas for today.
Let’s leave you now so you can dunk these ideas in your cuppa.
And that’s just three of our team’s stopover faves – we’ve got more up our sleeve for another blog post. If you want to take a guess, here’s three clues…
- One is the only city in the world to span two continents
- Another is famous for its dim sum culture and neon lit-nightlife
- The last is a rising stopover star in China known as the ‘Duck Capital’ (and it’s not Shanghai or Beijing!)
Can you guess them? 👀