About Singapore

Location

Singapore lies just north of the Equator near Lat 1.5 deg N and Long 104 deg E. At the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, linked to Malaysia by causeway. At Asia's crossroads with the Indonesian islands to the south, Thailand and the Philippines to the north.

Weather & Attire

Singapore’s weather is tropical, warm and humid, with average temperatures around 23°C – 33°C or 73°F – 88°F. November, December and January are usually the coolest and the wettest months, but rain can fall all year round. July usually records the lowest annual rainfall.

Wear light, comfortable, cotton clothing to beat the heat. Carry a foldable umbrella for those unexpected tropical showers.

Banking / ATM

Banking hours are: Monday to Friday, 9:30A.M.-3P.M.; Saturday, 9:30A.M.-1P.M.; Sunday, 9:30A.M.-3P.M. (some banks in Orchard Road). Most automated teller machines (ATM) offer the PLUS, STAR or CIRRUS network systems and are available 24 hours.

Currency Exchange

The official currency used in Singapore is Singapore dollars (SGD) and cents. Travelers' checks/cheques may be changed at most banks and licensed moneychangers, while foreign currency can be changed to SGD at major banks, hotels, airports and licensed moneychangers that can be found in most of the shopping centres and other downtown areas.

Bills come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 1000, 5000, 10,000 SGD and coins in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents and SGD 1. Currently, the approximate exchange rate for US$1 is 1.38 SGD and it fluctuates daily depending on the money market.

You may go to this website to check for latest currency exchange rate; http://forex.asia1.com/currency.html

Credit Cards

American Express, Diners Club, JBC, Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted.

Tipping

Tipping is not mandatory although it is often appreciated. Most hotel and restaurant bills already come with a 10% service charge.

Electricity

Singapore voltage is 220-240 volts AC, 50 cycles per second. On request, most hotels will provide transformers to visitors with electrical appliances of a different voltage, such as 110-120 volts, 60 cycles per second. When shopping for electrical appliances, do remember to check the voltage of the item against the acceptable voltage in your home country. The power plugs used in Singapore are of the three-pin, square-shaped type.

Hotel Phone Services

Most hotels offer in-room international direct dial (IDD) telephone services. However, some hotels may charge a minimal 30 cents successful call transaction surcharge. As there are different IDD service providers in Singapore, rates and access codes are dependent on the service provider used by the hotel. Generally, local calls from public phones, either coin or card-operated, cost 10 cents for 3 minutes. Card-operated phones are more commonly used and a phone card (from SGD 3.00) can be purchased at post offices, petrol kiosk and some shops.

Mobile Phones

There are two mobile phone networks - GSM900 and GSM1800 - and three mobile telephone service providers - SingTel, M1 and StarHub. To make international calls, the access codes are 001, 013, or 019 for SingTel, 002 or 021 for M1 and 008 or 018 for StarHub.

Medical Facilities

Singapore's medical facilities are among the finest in the world, with well-qualified doctors and dental surgeons.
Pharmaceuticals are available from numerous outlets, including supermarkets, department stores, hotels and shopping centres. Registered pharmacists work from 9 am to 6 pm.
Most hotels have their own doctor on-call around the clock. Other doctors are listed under Medical Practitioners in the Yellow Pages of the Singapore Phone Book.

Useful Numbers

Emergency Numbers:

Police 999
Ambulance and fire brigade 995
Flight information 1800-542 4422
Tourist line 1800-736 2000

Hospital 24-hour emergency assistance:

Mount Elizabeth (65) 6731 2218
Gleneagles (65) 6470 5700
Mount Alvernia (65) 6347 6210
Raffles Hospital (65) 6311 1555

Credit Cards:

American Express 1800-6737 8188
Diners Club 1800-292 7055
JCB 1800-734 0096
Visa 800-448 1250
Mastercard 800-110 0113

Visa and more tourist information:

• Information on VISA requirements for entry into Singapore is available at the website of the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, Singapore
  http://app.ica.gov.sg
  
  
• Website for useful information about Singapore
  http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/index.html