Well I have been living here in Singapore for more then 1 year now so I thought I would share some more of my thoughts about this island country with you.
Transportation
The cabs are all metered and there are plenty of them so you don’t have to worry about getting ripped off like in other countries. One thing to check is the charges that apply to for the cabs during different time of day, pick hours, holidays, and after midnight. To give you and example, after midnight there is a 50% charge added to what ever the fare is, so if you find your self running short of cash you don’t want to get caught out there after that time depending on where you live this could be a problem for you. Most likely it would be due to the location where most of the hotels are and the area that you’ll be in. To get a cab you’ll find cab stands or you can just hale one from the side walk by holding out your hand above your head and waving. If you see one with the roof light off it has a customer on the older cab, the newer ones will say, ’’for hire’’ or ’’busy’’. Singapore has also started to enforce the rear seat belt laws so to avoid the fine be sure to use them, a good point to remember if traveling with children that require a child safety seat although I am not sure how this applies you should call one of the companies to check first.
Comfort Taxis - 6555-1188, Citycab - 6553-3880, Tibs Taxis - 6369-0001
To use the MRT you purchase a MRT card from the booth located in all the stations or you can buy a one way ticket for the machines. If you use a one way ticket get it right before you get on the train because they are times and may run out before you use it if you wait to long. The MRT cards will cost you between S$12 and S$15. You can add as much to the card as you like depending on long you plan to be in country, you can return your card for cash before you leave. It is best to only put about S$20 on the card just incase you should misplace it. The MRT card is used for both trains and buses so you don’t have to worry about having two different cards to get around the country. Trains run about every 5 to 7 minutes so catching one is not a problem with breakdowns being very rare. If you are in one of the 2 main train interchanges (City hall and Raffles) be sure you are on the correct level going in the right direction. To check, look at the map located in the loading area, it will show the direction of the train and the stations it will be stopping it. During rush hour in the morning (7 to 9) the trains will be packed full, so if you don’t want to deal with the crowds avoid that time frame when heading into the city area.
MRT trains depart the 4 main stations (east, west, north and south lines) around midnight so depending on where you are in the city would determine when the train reaches your location to get you home. The stations have signs saying when the last train will depart from that location if not just ask one of the workers in the control station. The MRT also goes to the airport at Changi so if you have been here before and have an ideal where you are going you can take that vice the cab and save about S$15 in cab fare to your hotel.
Buses run the same as the MRT but no time listed of the last one. So now you can see how the cabs have a racket on the 50% fares charge after midnight with everything shutting down. One more thing on the cabs you may find it hard as hell to get a cab starting about 11:45 pm. They tend to hide out until midnight to start to pick up customers for the added fare charge.
Hotels and Motels
Being such a small place Singapore has some outstanding hotels and fairly good deals due to the exchange rate right now of S$1.70 to 1.80 to 1.00 USD. You can get a 5 star hotel for S$165 and up. There are plenty here to choose from too and all in the central area of the city so just about everything is with in walking distance if you are up to it. On the on other end you have budget motels throughout the city that will range from S$8 for a backpackers place to S$69 for a nice budget motel like Hotel 81 in the Geylang area. Some of the smaller motel can be quite cheap in the way the rooms are as many are use be the working girls throughout the city for short time trips, hourly rates apply in many of these motels but the government is trying to stop this practice. You’ll need your passport to check into the high class hotels while just about any kind of ID will get you into a motel. There are plenty of web sites that list the hotels in Singapore and many give great rates for internet reservations so it is worth checking them out. If all you need is a place to lay your head down for a night sleep then check out the Geylang area to meet your need. One of the biggest cost you’ll have while in Singapore will be for your hotel. So if you cover come that obstacle then you’ll have more cash in hand for other things.
The locals
I have found most everyone to be very friendly and helpful here. Crime here is very low but it is still present so you should take care when out on the town. Singapore has its gangs like anywhere else along with its pick-pockets and other low lives. I have never had any problem but that is just me.
You’ll find that Singapore that a mix of just about everyone in Asia here. Many of the construction workers here are from India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand to mention a few places. Maids working here are from the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. Most of the imported workers work 6 days a week on meager wages (S$300 to 800 per month) doing the work that the Singaporeans don’t want to do. So for most of them Sundays are their day off and you’ll find them throughout the city mingling together on Orchard Road around the malls or other locations. You’ll know then when you see them because there will be masses of people just standing around talking, having picnics or doing what ever.
As for the Singaporean, I find them pretty complacent for the most part. There is a need to establish one self before getting married here so many of the younger people (18 to 35) are single and available for dating. You can go in many of the clubs and find plenty of people to talk with that are out on the town with friends most of the same gender. I can’t figure this out because there are a lot of great looking girls here and I never or hardly see them approached the guys in the clubs. It may be from the discouragement of dating at a young age (secondary school) thus they don’t develop the skill for dating that others do in different countries, but this is just my opinion. Plus living at home until they marry has to have its affects also on how people date here one would also think.
Due to the weather 33c to 36c (80 to 90f) during the day here the cloth that are worn are light and colorful but black seem to be a favor color of many of the ladies while on the town. You can se it all here too from the hip hugger pants to the mini skirt with the platform shoes. What ever you seek you can find here in Singapore in the way of fashion. The discos have dress codes so it is best to call before hand to make sure you are wearing the appropriate attire, this is usually just a shirt with a collar and slacks so that shouldn’t be a problem for anyone. The pubs, well just about anything goes in them when you figure that just about everyone lives in shorts and sandals anyway. One last thing, don’t forget your umbrella it can come in handy while waling around or for the rain that can come at anytime so get a small one that can fit into you backpack so you will not have to carry it when it is not needed.
Hey seems I have written it very long, so Continued in comments section