Hey you guys! Phoebe here from Little Grey Box with Matt behind the camera
Are you planning a trip to Singapore?
A cultural melting pot Singapore is famous for its humid tropical weather and
unique mix of luxury and local experiences
To help you travel well
here are a few things we think you really need to know before you go to Singapore
Singapore is situated one degree north of the equator right at the southern tip
of the Malay Peninsula in the heart of Southeast Asia it has an estimated
population of 5.8 million people and its central location makes it an important
stop for travellers. As somebody who has lived in Singapore and has a really
big soft spot for it there is so much to see and do there that a few hours
or even a one-night stopover it's not gonna be enough to see and do it all
Now there are four official languages of Singapore
English, Malay, Tamil and Chinese
but there is a fifth unofficial language. The Singaporean Singlish local
language throws some unique phrases in there like 'la' and just an 'ah' every
now and then. The local currency is the Singaporean dollar now you'll find that
one Singaporean dollar is equal to around 72 US cents I would just
recommend that you download an offline currency app the one we use is XE Currency
It is free, it works offline and it's reliable
While you will find that cards are accepted at a lot of places they
won't be in those local spots so if you do want to dine at a hawker centre for
example make sure you've got plenty of cash
As somebody who has lived there
I would say, in my experience, Singapore is always hot and humid yes there were
going to be times when it's slightly more hot and humid than others but if
you try to plan your trip around those I just don't think you're going to have much luck
Now with the heat and humidity you need to be so very very careful make
sure you are drinking lots of water make sure that you are wearing clothes that
allow your skin to breathe, make sure you rest often and if you can, plan
your days outside of those really hot periods so when Matt and I visit we tend
to go out really early in the morning and do a few things then come back to
our hotel, rest during the hottest part of the day and then head out again late
into the afternoon. Now another great reason that that strategy really works
is because things in Singapore tend to open late and stay open late so you'll
find that most shops open at 10:00 a.m. but they're open until 10:00 p.m. same
with your Hawker Centres, while the breakfast stalls are going to be open in
the morning the good ones aren't going to open up until later one other thing I
will say about the weather as well is to look out for storms
remember equator, 1-degree, Singapore it is tropical and those tropical storms
are no joke when it rains it is torrential but it doesn't mean that it's
set in all day. In my experience it tends to rain in the afternoon maybe you get a
couple of hours of torrential downpour and then it clears up just fine but be
prepared have an umbrella have a waterproof jacket or something similar
and make sure that if you are carrying camera gear you can keep that safe from the rain too
When it comes time to finding your way around Singapore you've
got a couple of options if you've got a little bit more money to splash then you
want to go with Grab which is like Uber make sure that you download install and
setup Grab before you leave home we were recently in Vietnam and we didn't have
Grab installed and because we don't have an international SIM I had to get one of
my sisters to register using her number so that we could get all set up and use
the app now if Grab taxis are going to be a little bit too expensive or you
want to balance those out with public transport
Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit MRT system is the best, in my personal
opinion the best public transport system in the world it is safe it is clean it
is reliable it's easy to figure out and you guys it's so convenient to use so
when you get there you can of course purchase your tickets as you go along or
you can buy yourself an EZ-Link card I believe there's a deposit of around five
or ten Singaporean dollars you load up your card with money it gives you
discounted rates and then you just tap in and tap out as you go through the
train system even if you're a real novice when it comes to train systems
this one's very easy to figure it out if you do
take the guesswork out of it you should download maps.me that's one that
Matthew and I use when we travel and it'll tell you exactly where to alight
and which lines to use. Owing to the heat in Singapore I do not recommend trying
to get around on foot things may look very close on a map and maybe they are
close, but when you factor in that heat it's just not a good idea to try and
walk everywhere especially if you have little kids with you or you're a little bit older
In my experience it's kind of like visiting a theme park it's
incredibly safe you're walking around you're seeing these incredible buildings
and most of them are covered in gardens and plants it just doesn't feel real
there's a lot of color there's kind of a childlike sense of wonder in the air
everywhere you go I don't know if that's just me and then you have these amazing
experiences this great food it just feels like a theme park
so while Singapore isn't known for being a budget-friendly destination it's a
really really fun one and it's place that I think everyone should visit at least once
Now with all of those basics out of the way let's dive into a few
more specific things you really need to know before you go
Instead of eating at restaurants all the time try eating at Hawker centres where the food is
delicious and a fraction of the price and in my experience the best food on
the island happens at the Hawker centres anyway
If you do like to drink try and
get yourself a hotel room with Club lounge access Singaporean hotels who
offer Club Lounge access the club lounges put on a happy hour where all the
booze is free during certain times so you're gonna go in there make the most
of it and then head out for dinner and avoid getting drinks while you're out
If you're from North America you're going to be used to tipping everywhere you go
but don't worry tipping isn't required in Singapore instead just leave your
plate empty your belly full and tell the kind auntie and uncle who prepared your
meal that you loved it. They'll be very happy to hear it
If you are visiting Hawker centres, make sure you have a pack of tissues with you because
tissues mark the spot you can use them as your very own reserved seating tool
if you see a pack of tissues somewhere at a Hawker centre, that means that seat us taken
Don't move the tissues, they're not free
and don't sit there because some lovely little Auntie is gonna
come over and kick your butt and tell you to move... trust me
Don't be afraid to get experimental when it comes to food at the Hawker centres
there is so much good food there
try it all! Eat family-style, grab lots of dishes and share them among
yourselves, it is cheap and delicious and you never know when you'll try something you didn't expect to like
if you are unsure where to go for food in a Hawker centre
and it's all too overwhelming just look for the queues if there's a
lot of people lined up it means the food is good
Singapore is an island and everything is actually pretty close so you can't
really go wrong when it comes time to choose a location just make sure that
your hotel is a very close to an MRT station and you'll be fine
Singapore is best viewed from above so make sure that you find plenty of rooftop spots to
visit go to rooftop bars if you have the budget otherwise just visit a
few of those great rooftop spots so you can get a better sense of the city
Now there is more to Singapore than just Orchard it breaks my heart when they
hear people saying that they're going and they can't wait to go shopping on
Orchard and that's all they've heard about Singapore is so much more than
that and in my experience the best parts are the gardens, the parks, Gardens by the Bay
Jewel, all of those kinds of experiences so don't just spend your
time in Orchard get out see different sides of the island immerse yourself in
Peranakan culture explore Little India and eat all the food
Now I often hear people telling me about how their perception of Singapore is that is
incredibly clean. Yes it's a clean City and yes you will get in trouble if you
do things like litter, spit your gum out on the ground, spit on the ground in general
but don't be intimidated by it it's not this pristine perfect
Wonderland it is a city people do live there there is rubbish it does happen so
just be prepared it's probably not as squeaky clean as you think it might be
There are some tough laws around smoking so you can't just light up wherever you
like especially not at restaurants and such make sure that you keep an eye out
for designated smoking areas and adhere to those because if you are caught
smoking in the wrong spot you could face a hefty fine. Now I've just covered as
much as I could for this video but we have so much more detail and information
on the Little Grey Box website you guys we're gonna have loads of links below
for you and they cover heaps of things including where to stay, hotel reviews
must-try food and the very best guide to visiting Jewel
at Changi Airport I've had so many people tell me they tried to visit and
couldn't find it and I'm pretty sure I know why
Now if you don't already be sure to subscribe and say hello in the comments below
Have a great weekend and I will see you next week
Love ya!