Business contacts
Mobile phones Three major telecoms companies compete for Singapore’s relatively small consumer base, so mobile phone hire is practically unheard of. You can buy second-hand phones, but you’ll still need a SIM card, and sign-up is excluded to foreigners. Hence pre-paid SIM cards are a popular option, available from SingTel, StarHub or M1 shops. Pre-paid phone cards are also very cheap.
Car hire All the major car-hire companies have a presence in Singapore, but taxis and limousine taxis are probably cheaper and more convenient. There is a car hire desk at Changi Airport Terminal.
Office rental Most hotels have business facilities, but the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel is just outside the central business district (CBD) and offers fully furnished, serviced offices including meeting room, computers, secretarial services, audiovisual equipment, fax and photocopier (392 Havelock Road, Tel: 6233 1888, Email: bizcentre. grandcopthorne@copthorne.com.sg). Regus Business Centres is at Centennial Tower, Levels 21 and 34, 3 Temasek Avenue (Tel: 6549 7000, Fax: 6549 700) and Singapore UOB Plaza 1, 35th-36th Floor, 80 Raffles Place (Tel: 6248 4500, Fax: 6248 4501, sales: 6549 7070).
Local press
The English-language broadsheet, The Straits Times, is the national daily, and its Life! section contains cinema listings as well as the bigger arts, sporting, shopping and culinary events. The free daily tabloids Today and Streats and 8Days magazine have ‘what’s on’ sections, and the coffee shop/pub weekly freebie IS (In Singapore) has its finger very much on the dining, arts and nightlife pulse.
Internet
The phrase internet café has a completely new meaning in Singapore these days, with major coffee chains like Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf offering on-site wireless internet access. Brewerkz Microbrewery & Restaurant is another popular wi-fi haven, and most hotels (even cheap ones) have business centre dial-up internet access with many now offering broadband or wireless broadband in your room. Old style internet cafés have made way for computer gaming centres, although erstwhile backpacker haunts around Bencoolen Street still have per hour internet usage.
Money
The local currency is the Singapore dollar and small money-changer kiosks are situated in many major shopping malls and tourist areas. Credit cards (MasterCard, VISA, Amex) are widely accepted, even in taxis—although many hawker stalls will only accept cash—and there are numerous 24-hour ATMs which may charge a small fee for cash withdrawal. Otherwise most banks are open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm (counter transactions until 3.30pm) excluding public holidays. Saturdays banks open until lunchtime. A rough rule of thumb for bargaining is that, if the price isn’t displayed, it’s worth haggling for a lower price, particularly on electrical goods, jewellery and at market stalls—but not at major high street stores.
Tipping etiquette
Tipping used not to be expected, discouraged even, but now it’s very much at the customer’s discretion. Be aware that most restaurants and bars add on what’s called (plus plus plus), which is 4% GST (goods and service tax) plus 10% service charge. Some places may make it clear that they don’t include a service charge and good service is to be rewarded. It’s inexpensive to let taxi drivers keep the small change, and bellboys at top hotels, as in most places in the world, are accustomed to tipping.
Visa/vaccination
All visitors need to go through immigration clearance on arrival and must satisfy the following requirements: passport valid for at least six months; confirmed onward/return tickets; sufficient funds to maintain themselves during their stay in Singapore; visa if applicable; and entry facilities (including visas) to their onward destinations. The immigration officers at Singapore’s checkpoints determine the granting of social visit passes to visitors. Visas are required for visitors from the Indian subcontinent, Africa, the Middle East, and the former Soviet states. Everyone coming to Singapore, whether by plane, boat or overland, is required to fill in a white disembarkation/embarkation card, and separate cards are required for each child, even if on the same passport.
No vaccinations are required, although visitors travelling on to neighbouring countries might want to consider some protection from malaria.
Public holidays
Some holidays are based on the lunar calendar and move around every year, others are on fixed dates.
1st January — New Year’s Day
10th January 2006 — Hari Raya Haji
29th-30th January 2006 — Chinese New Year
14th April 2006 — Good Friday
1st May — Labour Day
12th May 2006 — Vesak Day
9th August — National Day
1st November 2005, 21st October 2006 — Deepavali
3rd November 2005, 24th October 2006 — Hari Raya Puasa
25th December (Monday 26th December 2005) — Christmas Day
31st December 2006, Tuesday 2nd January 2007 — Hari Raya Haji
Weather and climate
Officially, November to January are cooler and wetter than the rest of the year, but in reality the tropical climate is very humid, very hot and prone to monsoon-type downpours all year round. A rainstorm may be short, but it’ll certainly get you extremely wet, so try to remember an umbrella. Many hotels, even taxis, will lend you a brolly, and they’re readily available in shops. Do remember, however, that most places are air-conditioned, so it can be rather cold inside—especially if you’re wet!
Suggested reading
The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew by Lee Kuan Yew.
From Third World to First—The Singapore Story 1965-2000 by Lee Kuan Yew.
Doing Business with Singapore (Global Business Series) by Paul Leppert.
Singapore: The Air-conditioned Nation by Cherian George.
Singapore 1942: Britain’s Greatest Defeat by Alan Warren.
No Money No Honey! by David Brazil.