Before You Book

PREPARING TO GO 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

A valid passport is required by all nationals. All Passengers are responsible for securing proper documentation prior to joining the tour. Please ensure that passport/s are valid for a minimum of 6 months beyond the intended date of return and contain between 2-6 blank “Visa” pages. You should have at least two free pages in your passport. Please access the Travel & Visa Requirements Section on the top of this page for the latest visa entry requirements for the country/ies you are visiting. Passports are required; in addition, travelers are also advised to check with local consulates for full details regarding visa requirements. Please note securing a valid visa for entry is the sole responsibility of the traveler.

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.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

It is highly recommended that you purchase travel insurance. Your home country health plan may only provide limited coverage while traveling outside of the country. Indus Travels can offer you a complete travel insurance package. Some credit cards do offer travel insurance; however, they do not always provide adequate coverage. Review and understand the terms of your credit card insurance policy. Extra travel insurance can be purchased. Most insurance companies do have exclusions in their coverage. Pre-existing medical conditions are not insurable.