Don’t breathe any air when within 200 yards of anyone else or you’ll get SARS.
Locals will ask if you want some durian and then laugh amongst themselves. I never got talked into trying it, mostly due to the snickering and the sign I saw in a cab that said, “no durians allowed in taxi.” It’s some kind of repulsive-sounding local fruit. They’ll understand if you just claim you don’t like them, because apparently even the locals are divided into people who love them and people who want to barf when they eat them.
The taxi drivers act like they’re going to throw you out if you ask them to roll the window down because you’re enjoying the novelty of the ridiculous heat and humidity.
Here’s a site geared towards info for people from other countries moving to singapore to work: http://www.expatsingapore.com/
Despite the smell, Durians are lovely. “Like eating strawberries and cream in a public toilet”.
… that hasn’t been cleaned for the last ten years (according to a friend of mine).
I’ve been back from S’pore for three days and would return tomorrow (SARS and all). I have spent a lot of time travelling there over the last 20 plus years. I adore the place.
I have friends from here (Canada) that live and work there, and love it. I have chinese friends there who I stay with when visiting, giving me a very nice inside to the culture, a blessing to be sure.
It has it all, low crime, great infrastructure, eternal summer, the best food.
Wait, let’s talk food. Seriously now, there is nowhere in the world where the eating is as good as Singapore. The Indian food is better than in India (where the chickens are all grissle and bone), Malay food, Vietnamese, Baba, Hokkien, well, I could go on all day. Suffice to say you will never lack something good to each, all available hot and cheap at the nearest hawker stand.
Fresh seafood every day of the week, and tropical fruits you haven’t even imagined yet.
They run their country on a surplus budget (yeah, you heard that right, even though they are a tiny island and import everything even fresh water!) and their nation reflects this. Don’t miss the zoo and the bird park, unmatched in the world I swear. And the museum of ancient civilisations, outstanding, really.
Not to mention that from Singapore there is a wealth of interesting culture and travel at your doorstep.
Oh, I wish I was you to be discovering all that Singapore is for the first time. You’re going to have a really remarkable time I’m sure.
Since you’re looking for advice, I’ll move this thread to IMHO.
bibliophage
moderator GQ
nonsense.
Schools have been closed for 2 weeks already but the outbreak is already contained. Avoid crowded places though, and contact ie skin to skin with people until the epidemic totally dies out. You should be safe.
Erm…the chewing gum this is overrated, if you ask me. You won’t even remember about it after a while.
It’s a totally safe place, ie you can walk about 3+ in the morning and not be afraid. (ok, in all but the most dangerous of neighbourhoods)
Food’s great. English’s the lang here so you should have no problems.
Any specific queries you have, Mussberger?
It (I will not dignify that place by mentioning its name) is more fascist than Nazi Germany.
But other than that, I guess it is not such a bad place.
:rolleyes:
Yes, it’s authoritarian, but no, it’s not “more fascist than Nazi Germany”.
More authoritarian than the US, that’s for sure.
Don’t fall asleep while you’re ashore.
… no, Amsterdam. 
I spent a couple of days in Singapore when my then-girlfriend lived there for 6 months, doing an internship.
It’s interesting alright. Great nightlife, especially out on the docs. As others mentioned, it’s probably the best place in the world for food. It’s so diverse it’s unbelievable. Although more seasoned travelers will deem it touristy, I loved the Chimes (or is it spelled Chiimes?) courtyard with all its restaurants.
The nightly boat tours through the harbour are lovely as well.
As far as the language goes, Singaporians for some reason end every sentence in the word “la”. I guess it’s their variant on the Canadian “eh”. 
I liked the place, and would definitely visit it again. It is authoritarion though (I haven’t seen this one yet: don’t jaywalk. Ever.), and I doubt I could live there for a long period of time. Definitely no Nazi Germany, of course, but a bit too uptight for my taste alright. YMMV.
And for God’s sake, don’t even think about using or trafficking drugs (any drugs) in Singapore. It’ll get you locked up at best, and quite possibly killed.
Oh, and just to reiterate: the place is about 40 clicks north of the equator. It’s friggin’ HOT, 24/7/365. I know it may sound obvious, and I see you’ve been there already, but for Northern Europeans like the OP and myself it bears repeating: it’s the most uncomfortable place I’ve ever visited, in terms of weather. Sure, everything is airconditioned (including taxis and the flawless subway system!), so you don’t have to get warm for a long time if you don’t want to. But it’ll seriously interfere with your energy levels if you DO decide to venture outdoors a lot.
Never been caught jaywalking nervous laughter. Singapore has a nickname of a ‘fine’ country - almost every misdeed is punishable by a fine.
Also, if possible, don’t litter. If you are caught, beside a fine, you would get Corrective Work Order. They make you put on this orange vest and go to some public places to sweep the floor or something to that effort.
But I have been around friends who never save their litter for the garbage bins (they could be found all over the place) and they were never caught.
All in all, if you stay clear of the Law you will rarely get to see the authoritian side of the government.
A small amount of heroin would get you hanged.
Other drugs would probably not get you a death sentence. Designer’s drugs like Ectasy and etc. would probably get you caned, a big fine and a long sentence in the jail, without any punctation in sight.
There’s a few Dutchmen serving life sentences in Singapore because they were dumb enough to bring their weed there. Usually legal amounts over here, even. Hop on a plane, and it’s a different world out there, kids.
Oh, I just remembered: I was watching Rogue Trader the other night, the so-so movie about the life and times of Nick Leeson, the trader that brought down Barings Bank.
In the movie, Nick has to appear before a court because he (gasp!) mooned a few ladies in a bar whilst drunk off his arse. “Insulting the decensy of a lady”, or something, was the charge. I’m going to assume that the movie was fairly accurate, although the charges were dropped and converted for a misdemeanor, for which he received a S$200 fine.
In the end, Singapore is very much an Asian country and the laws very much reflect that…Behaviour acceptable in western countries might not be, so think twice before rushing into anything…
Gosh… as long as the justice system is fair, it sounds like it’s got some ideas we could use over here…
Mussberger: why don’t you tell us of your interests so we can recommend places you can hang out? Another Singaporean doper here btw.
You have to check out the Esplanade if only to behold the two huge domes covered with literally millions of little thorns. It’s our new theatre/ concert hall on the bay. Try catching a concert there to savour the excellent acoustics. Evenings are the best time to go because it’s lighted up prettily and it’s very pleasant to stroll along the waterfront.
If you can, get some local friends to bring you out to eat the local food. There’s a huge variety of dishes, hawker centres and coffeeshops sprouting everywhere, and a whole culture surrounding it. Certain stalls are famous islandwide for serving the best of a certain dish and sometimes have been around for decades. Some areas are busy at breakfast and lunch; others are known as supper places and only come alive late at night. There have been entire TV serieses devoted to seeking out the best hawker stalls and rating them. Everyone has an opinion on where to find the good stuff and the really passionate will drive across the island, into seedy districts, or even across the border to Johore, Malaysia, seeking something yummy for supper late at night. It’s one of the more fun things to do on our small island.
Oh and you can buy the Makansutra at most bookshops-- it’s a little bible that lists out where you can find the best food.
Ours is a very IT-savvy society and Singaporeans are really into the latest technology-- cellphones, PDAs, computers etc. Practically everybody carries a handphone. Oh yes, we also have the highest number of Mercedes Benzes per capita in the world. There’s at least one Merc at every red light.
Plenty of excellent restaurants too. Try Au Jardin les Amis, a fine French restaurant housed in a colonial house in the beautiful green setting of the Botanic Gardens.
There’s a nice bar called Altivo on the cable car station at the top of Mount Faber, which is like a hill that’s a park. It’s not a happening spot, but the location can’t be beat and it’s quite lovely to go there and chill late at night.
Apart from that… as for the law, just don’t do anything silly like smuggling heroin, and it won’t bother you at all.
Owning a car is very expensive here but we have an excellent public transport system that’s mostly very efficient. These few days it’s been kind of underused because of the SARS thing, though.
It’s not the custom to strike up conversations with strangers here and you might get weird looks if you do. Generally, expect people not to talk to you much. This does not mean they’re unfriendly, it’s just the way things are. It’s normal for service in shops to be uninterested or even curt, though they might be nicer to you because you are a westerner.
Sentosa Island, a little island linked to the mainland by a causeway, is touted as a tourist destination. Some of the attractions there are kind of tacky, but it’s got a nice white beach (we imported the sand by the way).
What are the car prices now, rumraisin? I remember passing by a Rover dealership when I visited Singapore in 1998, and my jaw dropped when I saw a Rover 620i there for about the equivalent of $180.000 (American) or so. The same car would cost about $20.000 in my country, which is already known for its ridiculous prices, at least in Europe.
Was I mistaken, did I read it wrong, or is it really that bad?