Hi, welcome to Singapore!
This is a handbook for #rubyfriends from overseas put together by members of the Singapore Ruby community.
- Meetups
- Data SIM Card
- Power (Socket)
- Free WiFi
- Tipping
- Tissue Culture
- Communication
- What to buy to bring back home
- Don'ts
- Getting Around
- Food
- Coffee Culture
- Cat Cafes
- Drinking Locations
- Major Hawker Centres
- Shopping
- Sight Seeing
- Currency
- Co-working Spaces
- License
RubySG meetups are held once a month, on a Tuesday.
For updates on the latest meetup, please check us out on Meetup.com.
At changi airport (currency exchange counter) you could buy a $15 (5 days) / $30 (10 days) Singtel Prepaid SIM Card with 100G data.
You can go into most convenience stores (eg. 7-11) and buy a pre-paid simcard from either SingTel or StarHub (or possibly M1).
SingTel plans and StarHub plans.
You are very unlikely to find a nano format simcard however, which means you should look for a phone store.
Looks like this is the card to get for those who need nano sims.
This bad boy (Type G, BS 1363 UK, 230-240V).
Sometimes you can force the two prong European Type C into the socket, but it involves shoving a something small and non-metallic into the third hole, so I tend to avoid using this one.
Changi Airport has it.
[Comment: Changi Airport is amazing. I returned from a trip one day and to get from the gate, through customs and into a taxi took FOUR minutes.]
Wireless@SG is an open network available at almost every shopping mall, library and McDonalds. Requires a log in. Sign up here, under "Non-Singtel Customers". There is also a second network SSID called Wireless@SGx, which uses WPA-Enterprise + TKIP for authentication.
And the reboutable ladyironchef lays down where the free wifi cafes are.
No real need to tip. Leave a few coins if you'd like (to get rid of your coins).
You don't need to tip at a hawker food stall, and normal restaurants include a 10% service charge.
[Comment: Oh and talking about coins, Singapore is in a transition from one set of coins to another differently sized set. So you'll get two sizes of each coin. Yay!]
Singaporeans often leave tissues on seats in busy food halls (hawker centres etc.) while they walk around and buy food. I know you'll be tempted but best not to remove the tissue and sit down.
[Comment: If you need your own tissues, hawker centres are the place to buy them. You'll often find an older gentleman or lady offering one, two or more packets for a dollar or two.]
English mainly. Singlish.
[Comment: You'll look like an idiot if you try this slang. I sometimes answer "are you able to?" questions with "can!", but mostly that just makes me look like an idiot. YMMV.]
- Bak Kwa For those who like their pork. Just walk into any Bee Cheng Hiang or Lim Chee Guan
- Pandan Cake or Kueh Lapis from Bengawan Solo Conveniently they have outlets at Changi Airport.
- Pineapple cakes from Sunny Hills
- Kaya Jam and Kopi powder from Ya Kun
- Vandalism
- Littering
- Chewing gum [Comment: Actually you can chew gum like a cow chews cud, but you won't be able to buy any gum in Singapore and when you need to get rid of your gum, make sure you put it in a bin - see "littering" above.]
- Don't carry Durian in public transport [Comment: Eating Durian is another must-try experience in Singapore. However, carrying them in public transport is a fineable offense. If you really want to carry it onto public transport, mention it to the sellers and they will make sure it's wrapped thoroughly so that the smell does not escape).
[Comment: You really don't want to commit even minor crimes here. Singapore takes its law and order very seriously - one of the reasons it's a very nice place to live.]
Public transport in Singapore is excellent (see below) and probably should be your first choice.
If you're in the central area you can certainly get to many places by walking (but of course it's always hot and humid - and sometimes raining heavily - so please take this into account).
Install one of the following apps:
- Grab (previously GrabTaxi)
- Uber
You can also walk to a Taxi stand or flag down a taxi from the street.
Taxis could be a challenge during raining days.
The public transport system runs on a reloadable contactless card called EZ-Link. There are 1, 2, and 3 day unlimited "Tourist" passes. There is no need to buy these unless you plan on making 4+ trips per day.
There are the MRT trains which are frequent, clean and fast (and full of people during rush hour). (They run underground in the central part of Singapore.)
There are the buses which go everywhere, and are also very clean and comfortable.
There are two apps that you might find helpful for getting around on the public transport system:
-
SBS Transit iris (iOS, Android)
Tells you when the next bus will (hopefully) arrive.
-
Tells you which bus or MRT to take to get from A to B.
Changi Airport has a MRT station at Terminal 2 and it takes about 45 min to get into town. You take the train past expo which ends at Tanah Merah, then you wait for a green line train from Pasir Ris towards Joo Koon. This then takes you into the central area (probably City Hall or Raffles Place - don't go all the way to Joo Koon!).
These are some of the local food that you should try if you are in Singapore.
[Comment: I've added photos for a few of the foods listed here, mostly the ones I've tried in Singapore. If you're interested in some of the others, just grab a staff member at RDRC for suggestions about where to find them.]
You can't go wrong following the recommendations of famous food blogger Dr Leslie Tay.
Check out his Singapore's Ultimate Food Trail post and the map.
Yakun - these stores are everywhere.
You can get this at the drink stall in almost every hawker center. Ask for "breakfast set".
This is a traditional Malays dish of chicken, rice and other nice things.
[Comment: Sorry, but I haven't found a really good Nasi Lemak in Singapore.]
Go into any hawker centre and you'll find carrot cake. There are two varieties, black and white.
A spicy roll and a great option for vegetarians.
This is a very famous Singaporean dish.
Tian Tian in the Maxwell Food Centre is very famous (and I hear half decent). If you like to stand in a long queue, please go there at lunch. If you don't go there at lunch, they're unlikely to be open.
A local dessert.
[Comment: Unfortunately Singapore just doesn't make good variations of this dessert. You need to visit Malaysia for the real thing.]
This is an odd one, again from hawker centres. Rice cakes sprinkled with salted radish.
[Comment: I think it's vegetarian.]
Spicy noodle soup.
Pork in a herb soup..
Rojak is a great local dish for vegetarians. Another staple of any food centre.
Not a traditional Singaporean dish but always a good option.
The most popular Hong Kong style dim sum (aka. yum cha) restaurant at the moment is Tim Ho Wan - their pork buns are a "must try".
Kway Chap is a Teochew dish of flat, broad rice sheets in a soup made with dark soy sauce, served with pig offal, braised duck meat, various kinds of beancurd, preserved salted vegetables, and braised hard-boiled eggs. Fit for the slightly adventurous!
Pictures of Kway Chap via Google
Singapore is very famous for its chilli crab.
If you can get there Mellben is quite good. Try their Crab Bee Hoon.]
[Comment: Don't try this at touristy restaurants - it's just not worth it.]
Again, not a truly local dish, but a very nice Chinese dish of noodles and pork.
Worth visiting Foong Kee Coffee Shop if you're in Chinatown.
While there are many western-style cafes and popular chains like Starbucks throughout the island, local coffee culture is something you must experience. Best places to try local coffee are neighbourhood confectionaries or hawker centers. In local lingo, coffee is known as Kopi (and tea is Teh for that matter). There's a comprehensive vocabulary developed on how to order coffee (it is fun to learn and great way to immerse).
You can learn more about Kopi lingo from KopiJS. They also have a regular meetup, which you can join for kopi adventures and meet interesting people.
Time spent with cats is never wasted.
- Club Street
- Clarke Quay [Comment: If you like local beers, The Pump Room at Clarke Quay is worth visiting to try their ales.]
Of course there will be many other places that people drink in Singapore, just ask someone at RDRC for recommendations.
This is an alcoholic drink. I've never tried it but I'm sure it has a lot of booze in it.
The quintessential place to drink it is at Raffles Hotel (in the public area), but very expensive.
- ABC Market
- Redhill
One of the two major passions (the other being eating) of Singaporeans.
-
Sim Lim Square
Good for electronics, lower floors specialise in audio, video and cameras. Shop around for the best prices and check warranties before plonking down your hard-earned cash. Some bargaining may be possible.
Nearest MRT station: Bugis (East West and Downtown Lines).
-
Sim Lim Tower
Electronic components and spare parts. Nerd paradise.
-
Funan Square
Slightly more up-market version of Sim Lim Square. Prices probably higher than Sim Lim, but comes with an altogether more pleasant shopping experience. Challenger mega-store on top floor.
Nearest MRT stations: City Hall (East West and North South Lines), Clarke Quay (North East Line).
- Bugis Street
- National Museum [Comment: It's a nice old building but not that exciting unless you're really into museums.]
- Marina Bay Sands
- Singapore Zoo
- Night Safari
- River Safari
- Bird Park
- Sentosa
- Universal Studios
- Merlion
- Orchard Road
- Sky Garden
- Singapore Flyer
- River Cruise
- F1 Race Track
- Botanic Gardens
- Macritchie Reservoir
- Henderson Park
- China Town
- Haji Lane
- Pulau Ubin
- Bukit Timah Hill
- Gardens By the Bay [Comment: Enclosed and air conditioned gardens. Quite impressive unless you have to go there more than once.]
It's advisable to bring Singapore dollars (SGD) when visiting. However you can easily get cash out at ATMs after you arrive if necessary. While credit cards are widely accepted here, there are plenty of places which will only take cash. Certainly for public transport, cash is more heavily used. The best local food can be found in the older hawker centres and can't be bought with a credit card.
Some retailers have a naughty habit of slapping the transaction fees as additional surcharges for credit card purchases, so, if you're shopping for say electronic goods, you might find that you get a small "discount" for paying by cash.
VISA and MasterCard are commonly accepted. Many retailers still don't accept AMEX. Some retailers accept Discover, but best to assume most don't.
If you plan to bring your work while visiting Singapore, WeBuild SG provides a partial list of co-working spaces.
Released under the MIT License.