Photo of tourists sleeping near Jewel Rain Vortex upsets S’poreans

SINGAPORE: When a photo of people sleeping on benches near the Rain Vortex at Jewel Changi Airport was shared in a local complaint group online, it understandably upset many commenters.

On the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page on Wednesday (Aug 13), a netizen shared a picture of at least five people, all of whom looked like they are Asian, lying down on benches near the largest and tallest indoor waterfall in the world, which is one of Jewel Changi Airport’s main attractions. Several wheeled luggage items can be seen near the travellers. While some of the travellers kept their shoes on while they slept, there was at least one pair of shoes nearby as well.

“Singapore JEWEL RAIN VORTEX become a place for tourists to sleep??” the author wrote in the caption to the post, which has been shared and commented on.

Netizens commenting on the post did not hesitate to express dismay at the sight, which is unsurprising, given that the Rain Vortex has become an icon not only for Changi Airport but also for Singapore as a whole.

When the airport opened in 2019, now Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, “Jewel has become one of the instantly recognisable icons of Singapore. Every facet of it is brilliant. Foreign leaders I have spoken to have gushed over it, and the New York Times recently featured Jewel in an article describing how visiting Singapore was ‘a trip to the future’. This is remarkable, because usually tourists want to leave the airport as soon as they can, but in Singapore, Changi Airport is a tourist attraction in itself, and Jewel has enhanced that reputation and appeal.”

The Independent Singapore has reached out to the post author for further comment or updates.

“Oh my… It’s so ugly…” wrote one on Facebook.

Others commented that the tourists are “too much” and that enforcement officers should be deployed to forbid travellers from lying down in the area.

When a netizen suggested that walking around the airport may make some travellers tired and cause them to need to lie down, another answered with, “Be considerate. Use your brain, if you are tired after a long walk, you can sit on the benches and let others who are equally tired to have a chance to sit and rest their legs, and not lay your whole bloody body down, you are SLEEPING and not resting.

Those benches are meant for visitors to sit and rest their legs when tired after walking, and not meant for sleeping. Where do you expect others who are equally tired to rest their feet when you are sleeping like a pig occupying the whole bench? People coming from a civilised country would not do such a thing. Do the right thing at the right place.” /TISG

Read also: Jewel Changi to launch rain vortex tours, shopping offers to mark 5th anniversary