Top 5 Don’ts During Your Holiday in Singapore

These are probably the most important travel tips for your holiday in Singapore, the sort of holiday tips that can make it or break it. Singaporeans sometimes refer to their island as a fine country. Because a, it is nice; b, it has so many rules that you can fairly easily get fined to hefty 1000 dollar amounts, which would spoil your holiday. So just stick to these rules and you will be, well, fine.

Singapore is an potpourri of all kinds of people from across the globe but particularly in Asia. The reason for their draconian laws is not to scare tourists off from holidays in Singapore, rather on the contrary, to make Singapore a pleasant, liveable and loveable place. Think of Singapore like the crossroads between mainland China, India and Malaya. It has its own character, and it needs to protect itself to remain as magical as it is.

There are all kinds of people flooding into the country, and these people have different backgrounds, cultures, habits and norms. Singaporeans decided to impose a set of basic rules and norms, and they are prepared to enforce it. Caning is still in practise, and while a fine of 500-100 dollars may not deter everyone from breaking the law just for the fun of it, the idea of half a dozen blows with a half inch cane will.

So let’s get the easy ones out of the way.

Top Tip 1 for Your Singapore Holiday

Drugs

You are bound for the death-row for it. It does not matter. No questions asked. You will still go through a trial, but it will be your fault. If you are a junkie, stay away from Singapore, if you are just social, stay clean. You can still enjoy your holiday in Singapore.

Top Tip 2 for Your Singapore Holiday

Smoking and tobacco products

You are not allowed enter the country with cigarettes and Smoking is illegal at all public places. So don’t.

Tobacco products are very expensive in Singapore (so is alcohol for that matter) so you could run a very lucrative little business smuggling cigarettes. As the rule is a sort of one size fits all, there is no distinction whether you want to bring in 40 unopened boxes of cigarettes for your own use or for sale. Be prepared to buy your smokes locally. Alternatively get a couple of patches to reduce your costs.

Also, many other nations in Asia are passionate smokers and would smoke anywhere, any time. Some would be happily smoking while having dinner. So in Singapore, all public places, usually indoors, smoking is banned. Smoking is also banned wherever lots of people meet or wait, near entrances, in subways etc. But there are plenty of places where you can smoke, all properly marked, with ashtrays maintained. So stick to those and you’ll be fine.

Top Tip 3 for Your Singapore Holiday

Gums – Chewing Gums – Bubble Gums – Whatevergums - NO, NO, NO

Chewing bubblegum on the subway is an offence. The sale of bubblegum is prohibited. IT is also illegal to bring in any sort of gum into Singapore.

Singaporeans spent an awful lot on paving public places, and they intend to keep those marbles, granites and bricks, clean and sticky free. Don’t even dream about it. You could get caned. Get your toothbrush and mints ready.

Top Tip 4 for Your Singapore Holiday

Littering

You will be fined if you are caught littering. If you are officially convicted of littering three times, you will have to sweep the streets on Sunday with a poster on that says, I am a litterer. This will then be broadcasted on the local news. So if your idea of fun is to spend your Sunday in a hi-vis vest sweeping the streets downtown, go ahead, throw it away.

The city itself is very clean, the beaches are not that much as the sea brings in a lot of rubbish. The mangrove swamp traps a lot of the plastic junk as the tide brings it in, with the ebb all the bottles and bags get entangled in the roots and branches.

Top Tip 5 for Your Singapore Holiday

No Shoplifting and Theft

Whilst in some countries, you may get told off for nicking a 2 dollar item, just for the fun of it. In Singapore, that is a crime, punishable by a prison sentence. So don’t forget to pay for all items in the shop. Even in the Mustafa shopping center, which is like an old fashioned department store with about triple the amount of goods you would see elsewhere, when you buy something, they put it in a plastic bag and seal it with a zip-tie. There are cameras everywhere so even if you get away with it, consider yourself lucky. If you don’t, you’ll have time to ponder. Plenty of time.