Singapore Warnings Or Dangers Tips by Skylink Top 5 Page for this destination

Water, even Newater, is safe to drink

Brochures claim that tap water is safe to drink. While not a foolproof test, I did drink the water and did not get sick.

Some of the water is Newater, a term coined for recycled water. Other water sources include desalinisation, collection of rainwater, and water that is purchased from Malaysia (after which it is purified and some of that water is actually sold back to Malaysia). Before there were threats from Malaysia to cut off the water but the percentage of water imported from Malaysia is going down.

There is a visitor's centre not too far from the Tanah Merah MRT station (somewhat close to Changi Airport) but I've never visited the centre.

Exchange rates

Often when you arrive at a place, you must have money and will change it at the airport. I found that the exchange rates at Changi airport are fair. The rates are not lower at the arrival level. This is in contrast to Inchon Airport near Seoul (Korea), where the exchange rates are worse in the arrival level than on the departure level!

Indonesians causing the haze

Around September and October, there is haze due to Indonesians burning their forests. 2006 is particularly bad. The local news publishes the PSI as a measure of how bad it is. Over 100 is suppose to be bad. The PSI fluctuates every hour.

I was there in October, 2006 and it's bad. One night was the worst night that year, according to the news. I could tell it was bad because I could smell smoke. Usually, you can't smell smoke just can see far away buildings very clearly.

I was in Singapore in October, 2005 and it was fine. The sky was blue and not very hazy.

Singapore is one word, not two.

Once I heard the steward (flight attendant) announce the airplane's arrival into "Singapore, Singapore". He did not seem to have a stuttering problem. The place is called simply "Singapore". In the same regards, one does not refer to "Honolulu, Honolulu" or "Berlin, Berlin". Perhaps, he was reading from a computer printout that automatically classified cities into two part names. In the U.S., the state is often said after the city name. However, Singapore is not the U.S.

Warning Sign.

Maybe I shouldn't have taken a picture of this sign?

Bus to Johor Travel to Malaysia or Indonesia Review

If you take a bus to Johor, they will stop at the frontier so that you can have your passport examined. Remember to get back on this bus! The frontier is not the last stop. During my first trip to S'pore, I thought the bus line ended and walked across the causeway.

The SBS 170 bus starts in Queen Street about 300 m or so from Suntec City, but it may be quicker to catch the bus at the Kranji MRT (NS7).

If you want to see Johor town, get off at the Malaysian checkpoint and walk. If you re-board the bus, the next stop is very far away (more than 5 km or 3 miles away) at the Larkin bus terminal.

For tourist who want several passport stamps, a short trip to JB will easily result in 4 stamps. However, if you are short of time, this may not be a good use of time compared to staying and enjoying Singapore.

careful when crossing the street

If you live in a country where cars drive on the right, you are at risk of getting hit by a car because you may look in the wrong direction. In Singapore, cars drive on the left.

This is not too much of a problem for me in Singapore because most crosswalks have a light for pedestrians and there are also other people who live in Singapore that cross the street and only walk when it is safe to do so.

Do not do criminal acts in Singapore

I had very enjoyable visits to Singapore. However, if you have criminal intentions, I would wait until you return to your home country before you act on them.

When entering the country, the card that you must fill out has a warning that there is a death penalty for drug smuggling. I saw in the newspaper about a man who was sentenced to be hung because he shot at a policeman. (He was also suspected of a murder but had not be put on trial for that crime). Another man contested a traffic ticket all the way to the High Court. The High Court must have been annoyed because they increased his fine 10 times to $700.

This is not to say that government officials are stern and mean. When leaving Singapore at the Malaysian border, the guard gave me a form saying that I would save time if I filled it out on the return from the day trip to Johor. At the airport, the guy commented that my passport was new, didn't have any stamps and that there were tourist brochures nearby if I had questions about the country.