Singapore is attracting huge numbers of visitors from around the world. Of these, a fair amount decides that they want to make it their permanent home after enjoying the culture, cuisine, safety, and many other features it offers. If you are planning on visiting Singapore in the new future, these travel tips will take the stress out of finding your way around the country. Who knows, you may never want to leave.
Using Public Transport
The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) in Singapore is an extremely efficient train network. It reaches every part of the country so that you can get to whichever destination you choose. There may be a short walk between bus and train terminals. However, planning your trip will give you an idea of the distance. And if you miss your ride, another one will come along in a few minutes.
You can get a Singapore Tourist Pass for unlimited trips. For a full day, you will pay 10 Singaporean dollars ($10 SGD). A two-day pass costs $16 SGD while three days is charged at $20 SGD. This is $7.50 USD, $12 USD, and $15 USD, respectively.
You should avoid cabs except in emergencies as they are expensive. Grab is similar to Uber and is reasonably priced. Simply download the app so that you have it available on your mobile when in need.
Enjoying a Drink
Unfortunately, most bars and pubs are overpriced on their drinks, with a beer costing $7.50 USD and a cocktail more than double your lager. However, if you stick to Happy Hour from 17h00 to 21h00, the prices do come down a lot.
The best way to overcome this is to find out what the locals are doing, and which places they frequent. Here is a guide to the cheapest watering holes in Singapore.
A Day in Nature for Free
Singapore Botanic Gardens offers several unique trails, such as the Rain Forest Trail which will each take up to an hour and a half to explore. It also has various special gardens worth visiting, one of which is the National Orchid Garden, which boasts 60,000 orchids. The Ethnobotany Garden provides visitors with a nicely laid-out worksheet and guide to get the most out of the experience. The Ginger Garden contains a waterfall. Other places of interest in the Singapore Botanic Gardens are the Gallop Extension, Sculptures in SBG, the Learning Forest, the Seed Bank, and the Evolution Garden.
There are plenty of restaurants for refueling after taking in a trail or garden. You are also welcome to bring a picnic lunch to one of the designated sites in the Garden instead (e.g., Symphony Lake or Palm Valley).
The World Heritage List for UNESCO cites this Botanic Garden as the sole tropical one on earth.
The Infinity Pool
The Infinity Pool is a famous feature of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. It stretches out, giving a view of Singapore and the spectacular skyline. Water flows over the edge of an Infinity Swimming Pool in such a manner as to create the illusion of it touching the horizon.
Although you can experience the Infinity Pool for a mere $17 USD ($23 SGD), there is a hidden cost. You have to be a guest at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, one of the top hotels in the world. However, if you just want a glimpse, you can go to the 57th-floor Observation Desk.
How to Pack for the Singapore Climate
At its lowest night-time readings, the temperature will hover around 75 degrees (F) and push comfort levels with humidity and temperatures in the 90s during the day. Pack for hot weather with thin tops, lightweight shorts, and open-toed sandals. Because none of these items takes up much space, you can pack more in your travel bags. The only other must-have in the clothing department is a raincoat. Random, heavy rains occur sporadically.
Permanent Residency
Many Americans, and other nationalities, are finding good reasons to look at Singapore as a retirement home or the ideal place for a digital nomad to work from. The latter cannot continue indefinitely without looking at long-term options, because it is natural to want to settle somewhere permanent after a few decades spent in a hundred different countries. For these reasons, these same individuals consider purchasing property in Singapore and making it their permanent home.
PropertyGuru can assist qualifying clients with the purchase of property in Singapore. A popular option is HDB Build-To-Order Flats (HDB BTO). Clients can check the availability of HDB properties via PropertyGuru.
The Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) aims to have members of different ethnic groups in each set of HDB Build-To-Order Flats. As a general rule, this requires 85% of buyers to be Chinese, and 22% to be Malay. The remaining 13% is available to Indians and people from other ethnic sets. However, these quotas are revised and updated every month.
It is perfectly possible that your first visit to Singapore will have you considering making it home.