Singapore:
|
Singapore, SGP
Updated Wednesday, March 10, 2010 9:00 AM
Rain | 26°C | High: 34°C
Low: 25°C
Wind: 2 kph
Humidity: 94%
|
Thursday
35° / 24° | 
Friday
36° / 25° | 
Saturday
36° / 26° | 
Sunday
33° / 25° |
|
|
|
|
Essential Information: Currency
| Singapore Dollar [1 SGD is approx 31 INR]
|
Language
| Mandarin (A lot of tamil speaking people in specific areas)
|
Food
| Multicusine with lots of see food (Even Vegetarians will have no problems if they go to Little India)
|
Culture
| Very Modern and High Tech |
Visa is cool!
You need a visa for Singapore which can be arranged at reasonable charges (1500 approx everthing included) by your travel agent. You need not go to any visa office for the tourist visa. You'll just need the booked itinerary of your travel (you can also just present a blocked itinerary since international routes allow you to block itinerary and then confirm it later)
Travel Singapore airlines if you can afford ...
..if you want a cheap deal go for Tiger Airways - no frills flying from Bangalore and Chennai. There area host of airlines in between these two and you can fit your time and budget accordingly.
5 things you must carry!
A power adaptor: or you might end up with an uncharged camera/ laptop at the end of first day. Thank fully all good hotels would have universal sockets but it always helps to go prepared.
An international credit/debit card with ATM pin, in case you need to take cash advance. (Most of us never use credit cards to take cash advance so never bother to remember it)
Local currency: You can get this from the Airport or from your hotel. Taxis do acept cards but sometimes they prefer cash.
Calling card: In case you need to call back to India. You could buy this at Indian airport itself.
Tip: If you forget to change currency at Airport and don't have any currency for Airport to Hotel taxi, ask the hotel to pay the taxi and add it to your room bill!
Tip: Pick up a free map of Singapore from the airport and you can guide yourself to all places around.
On reaching Singapore!
Depending on which airline you take you'll get a different view of Singapore airport, the budget terminal (Tiger airways) would be comparable to any decent international airport. But the main terminal is really lavish. If you travel Singapore Airlines you have special shopping discounts all over Sinapore and you can collect the detailed brochure at the airport (remember to carry your Singapore Airlines Boarding pass though for shopping). Also you have Kiosks where you can go and browse net just to kill time (free internet is also available on the budget terminal)
Tip: Singapore offers a 2 hour bus tour of the city - free for tourists in transit, the service starts at 7:30am.
Tip: You could use your international debit/credit card to withdraw money from an ATM this would definitely be cheaper than the exchange rate that hotel will charge. So don't forget to check your Credit card pin before you leave for Dubai.
Public transport = Metro (MRT)
Cabs in Singapore are quite cheap, but why care if you haved the Metro! Two metro lines running criss-cross from North-South and East-West cover almost all of Singapore you'll need to see.
Tip: Metros have a system of issuing a oneway ticket for a higher amount, essentially everytime you travel you need to submit your ticket back and collect the remaining amout from the ticketing machine. They don't accept cards!!
Take a Hotel according to your schedule!
If shopping at Orchard Road is your primary aim then take a Hotel on Orchard road - Le Meredien, Mariott and many aothers to choose from.
If you are looking for dirt cheap hotels Little India could be of help ... but don't expect any service quality.
Typical places to Shop and attractions includes:
Orchard Road: Suggested for shopping of brands, a frenzy fo stores lined up for your shopping tours.
Mustafa Centre (Little India): Good deals for electronics and other items
Don't forget totake the GST reciept if you purchase more than 100SGD of goods from a single shop.
Kya kare kahan jaye? (Where to go what to do?):
Orchard Road: You could just hang around and visit some places and party!
Sentosa : Amusement park built on an island with many rides and shows like underwater sea, Dolphin lagoon, Sounds of the Sea, Sky Tower etc. DO travel by the cable train.
Little India: All Indian food varieties and cheap hotels
Night Safari: Well maintained and well designed safari with many walking trails (Singapore Airline Boarding pass gives you discount here as well)
China Town
Financial District