Essential Things to Know Before Traveling to Singapore

CAPITAL
Singapore

LANGUAGE
The official language of Singapore are English, Mandarin (Chinese), Malay, and Tamil.

ELECTRICITY
220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round two-pin plugs are the most common types in the region.

PASSPORT & VISA
Citizens of British Commonwealth countries (except India) and citizens of the USA do not require visas to visit Singapore. You'll be given a 30-day visitor's visa if you arrive by air and a 14-day visa if you are arriving by land or sea. Visa regulations and prices are subject to change, please check with your counties Singaporean embassy before arrival.

LOCAL TIME
Singapore Standard Time (SGT) is 8 hours in front of GMT.

LOCAL CURRENCY
The monetary unit in Singapore is the Singapore Dollar (SGD). XE.com is a useful site for currency conversion.

MONEY EXCHANGE, CREDIT CARD & ATM
Bank and exchange counters are everywhere in Singaporean cities and towns. Larger hotels will also exchange cash and travellers cheques. Credit Card advances are possible at banks. There are lots of ATM’s however there are reports of ATM fraud especially in Singapore. You should always keep your PIN secret when using the ATM and be aware of any odd cables or devices attached to the front of the machine. Credit Cards can be used in larger restaurants (in cities) and for purchases in stores. In all cases you should never let your credit card out of your sight.

CLOTHING
As a general guideline clothing should be lightweight, loose fitting, hard wearing and easily washed. Singapore has a tropical climate and therefore the weather is generally warm to hot all year round. Most Singaporeans dress smart but casual so 'short' shorts and revealing vests look out of place. Women, and also to a certain extent men, will find that the way they dress will often determine the degree of respect they receive from both men and women. The issue is not nearly of such importance in ‘touristy’ areas, such as the coastal areas and beaches, where you can be just about as casual as you like. Make sure you bring lots of clothing that covers shoulders and knees and also at least one outfit which covers your legs to ankles and your arms past the elbows. Make sure you allow for climate changes and remember that even in very hot countries, night-time and early morning temperatures can be extremely cold. You will generally find it is better to have several thin layers rather than one thick layer as it gives you more flexibility and warmth.

COMMUNICATION

Email
Internet cafes can now be found everywhere in Singapore. The cost for an hour is approx US$0.95.

Phone
A 3 minute call (to the USA) will cost approx. US$14.50 from a hotel. A US$5 international phone card can be used to make a 15 minute phone call to the USA from a phone box/booth.

Post
The postal service in Singapore is good and stamps are available everywhere. An overseas stamp will cost approx. US$0.50 for most overseas destinations.

WEATHER & CLIMATE
Singapore has a typically tropical climate. It is hot and humid ALL year round and experience frequent bursts of heavy rain - although generally this never lasts all day. During the monsoon (Nov – Feb) it may rain more and longer than usual. Humidity tends to remain at around 90%.

Singapore: (approx)

MEALS
Approximate costs for meals and snacks are shown below:

• Simple snack - US$2
• Light meal - US$3-12
• Fancy restaurant - US$15-35+

Singapore is a gourmet's paradise, with everything from humble street stalls to 5-star restaurants. There are over 30 different cooking styles, including various regional styles of Chinese cuisine, American, English, French, Indian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Russian and Swiss.
The most common, though are Malay, Indian and Chinese cuisines. Malay food is famed for its use of spices and coconut milk; no pork is used, as most Malays are Muslim. The Indian community mostly traces its roots back to South India and their food reflects this, meaning that spicy vegetarian dishes are predominant. To try many small dishes, order a thali (which may be served on a banana leaf). The most popular Chinese regional cuisine is Cantonese, which includes a lot of stir fry dishes as well as dim sum (small dishes, often steamed, which are intended for sharing at lunchtime).

Specialties:

• Beef rendang (coconut milk beef curry).
• Char kway teow (thick rice noodles stir fried in soy sauce and chilli with prawns and clams, often with additional ingredients such as egg).
• Chilli crab (fresh crab with a piquant tomato sauce).
• Gado gado (a fruit and vegetable salad in peanut sauce).
• Hainanese chicken rice (steamed chicken served with rice which has been cooked in chicken stock, along with ginger and chilli dips).
• Ikan assam (fish in a sour tamarind sauce).
• Laksa (a coconut-based spicy noodle soup, usually containing prawns or chicken as well as tofu, fishcake and beansprouts).
• Masala dosa (a rolled pancake filled with a vegetarian curry, popular as a snack or for breakfast).
• Satay (skewers of marinated meat cooked over charcoal, served with spicy peanut sauce, cucumber, onion, rice and coconut).

Things to know:
Although the Singaporean authorities have closed most of the individual food stalls which were once common, street food is still very much in evidence in dining areas known as hawker centres. These are often open-air, and always contain an array of stalls specialising in different dishes. Other eating options include kopitiam (literally coffee shops, although they also sell food). There are also food courts in malls, often with excellent food, as well as restaurants with waiter service. Bars/cocktail lounges often have table and counter service. There are no licensing hours.

Tipping:
Officially discouraged in restaurants, hotels and the airport; a 10% service charge is included in restaurant bills.

Regional drinks:

• Bandung (milk mixed with rose syrup).
• Bubble tea (sweet, milky tea with tapioca balls which can be sucked up through the extra-wide straw).
• Kopi (coffee, served with condensed milk by default but available in a variety of forms including Kopi-O which is black with sugar).
• Sarsi (root beer, which usually comes in cans; ice cream can be added to make a float).
• Singapore Sling (cocktail containing gin, cherry liquor, Cointreau, benedictine, pineapple juice, lime juice, grenadine and Angostura bitters). It was invented in the early 20th century for the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.
• Soya bean milk
• Sugar cane juice
• Teh tarik (tea which has been poured repeatedly from one cup to another, cooling it, mixing in the condensed milk used as a sweetener, and leaving it with a frothy top).
• Tiger Beer (ubiquitous local lager brand, although recent years have seen the opening of a handful of microbreweries producing more interesting beers).

HEALTH & MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS & GUIDELINES
As a general recommendation, it is advisable to check with your family doctor or travel clinic for latest health information.