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Singapore Survival Guide

Your Singapore Survival Guide

1) A water bottle. Singapore sits just about right on the Equator which means that the temperatures are accordingly high. Not only that, the humidity is killer. On some days, you step outside to a damp heat that you don't know how you're going to survive. Have a water bottle with you at all times because you're going to have to keep hydrated. Singapore is pretty good about having water fountains around, and so filling your bottle won't be a problem. And you can always walk into a restaurant and ask to have your bottle filled. This has never been a problem for me.


2) Tissues. It's interesting how much this is a 100% required item, and it's not for the actual tissues, although those are pretty useful too. The most use that you'll get out of your tissue packet is as a seat-reserver. When you go out to eat in a hawker center, or any other place that has open seating, the first thing that you'll do, before you go and order your food, is find a table/seat. Have a packet of tissues for every person in your party. The way you reserve said seat is by putting your tissue packet on your spot, one for every eat you're reserving. To Singaporeans, this signals a reserved seat. There might as well be a 6ft tall, 250lbs body guard sitting in the place of your tissues, fighting off potential seat-takers. Tissues = reserved. This also means that if you see a tissue packet, do not try to sit there. You're going to get a serious ear-full, probably in Mandarin.


There is some actual use for the tissues themselves. At places like hawker centers, or anywhere really, you're going to have a hard time finding napkins. In some toilets, you won't find toilet paper or paper towels. And, once again, the heat is killer and so you will be sweating. The tissues can come in handy there too.


3) Hand-sanitizer. Singapore is a very clean place. But that doesn't mean that there isn't bacteria going around everywhere. There are a lot of people in this small country. Especially if you like street food, and Singapore has a lot of good street food and hawker centers, you're going to need this as many of these places don't have easy access to a washroom. Not to mention, you're really going to want to use some of this stuff after you get off the train. Not that the train (MRT) is dirty -- in fact, it's very clean -- but there are a lot of people riding it daily.


4) SIM card. Obviously, you're going to need a phone to go with this, and generally, you can buy a really cheap phone just about anywhere. You can buy a SIM in places such as 7-elevens, post shops, and random street stalls. You'll need to show some sort of ID when you buy one. As a foreigner, you'll need to present your passport.


There are a few things that you won't be able to do with a local phone number -- you get asked for it everywhere. The most important of these things is calling a taxi. Although there are taxi stands everywhere, you will be, once in a while, stranded. And you will have to be really lucky in order to flag down a taxi. The best thing to do is call a taxi, and they'll come pick you up. Make sure to have some taxi company numbers stored in your phone. Here are some good numbers to store: 


Comfort Taxi: +65 6552 1111
City Cab: +65 6555 1188
TransCab: +65 6555 3333
SMART Taxis: +65 6555 8888
Premier Taxis: +65 6363 6888


5) EZ Link card. If you want to go anywhere, you'll need this card. This card will allow you to swipe in and out of the MRT (the train system) as well as local busses. You'll be able to buy this card at any MRT station, and you can top it up online, or at any station.  


6) Umbrella. It rains in Singapore. A lot. And it's not just a light misting or drizzle. When it rains in Singapore, it truly pours. It's as if the Gods decided to go play in the fire hydrant for 30min. Sometimes, the amount of water that falls from the sky makes it impossible to see even the building that's next to you. And the weather can change at a moment's notice. If you want to be on the safe side, travel with an umbrella. Even if you wake up and it's the most amazingly beautiful day you have ever seen, it has the potential, and pretty decent likelihood, of pouring down on you at some point during the day. Even if you're the type to like dancing in the rain, know that, because of the humidity, it will take some time for you to dry.