Best place to change foreign currency in Singapore:

UPDATE 20 Apr 2016: Changing Large Amount of SGD to JPY? View my experience here
UPDATE 23 Dec 2014: Cash or Credit in Japan? view my recommendation here
UPDATE 12 Nov 2014: SGD to KRW comparison of exchange rate here
UPDATE: view my currency exchange experience on my recent trip to Malaysia here

When travelling to Japan, one of my first questions was - Where is the best place to change Sing dollar to Japanese yen? From SGD to no matter which currency, be it taiwanese dollar, norwegian kroner or the US dollar, that is always the big question in a savvy's traveller mind.

I recently went on a trip to Norway and did a survey of 4 main sources of currency exchange - lucky plaza, at the airport and at the destination airport, just using my credit card.( Note: for my foreign readers, lucky plaza is one of the popular currency exchange hotspot in Singapore. ) I need to change SGD to Norwegian Kroner, and here are my experiences:

The rate from google was 4.65 kroner to 1SGD.

1. Money changers at lucky plaza : some carry the elusive kroner and some don't. For those which did, their range quote span as low as 4 to as high as 4.58.
2. At the airport : Only selected kiosks carry the kroner. Of the one I found which did, it offered a rate of 4.5.
3. At the destination airport (Oslo Gardenmoen) : The good news is all money exchange kiosks carry kroner this time (duh). The bad news is, the demand, or just the rate, for Singapore dollars is quite bad.
4. The rate at which the bank charges on my credit card was slightly better, at 4.52. 

My recommendation

If you have a substantial amount: 

Know your target rate, go to your preferred local currency exchange hotspot, I.e the Arcade, Mustafa, Chinatown, Suntec, Lucky Plaza, etc

If you just need a small amount (eg. less than $500): 

Change at the airport. Why? The time you spend making a trip to and finding the best rate at your local currency exchange hotspot will not really justify your savings.
(Advice from another reader on 27 April 2014: Some currencies like the saudi riyal(SAR) have limited quantities, so it is no guarantee that you can get your currency at the airport) 

For this trip, I only need to change SGD 500, thus it was an interesting experiment for me. Even though I was able to, and really tempted to lock in the 4.58 rate at the money changer, my greed got the better of me thinking I could get a better rate at the airport kiosks.

That said, my loss was a mere 0.07 x 500 = 35 kroner in other words close to S$8 (ok, not that mere after all, but still I spent 2 hours traveling and transport took $4). It is always a good idea to have some destination currency with you, even if you have your credit card.

The loss was minimal this time but I gained good experience on changing currency rates next time! Hope this was useful for you.

EUFASS

In case of Emergency- 3 things you should prepare

Last night, I heard my father groaning loudly in his room. Worried, I went into his room to check. To my relief, it was one of his routine grumbling.

This week, a number of health-related events has sparked me to think about in times of emergency, am I ready? I thought this post will be useful for readers out there – touch wood, in times of emergencies, you should be prepared.

Thus here is a list of things that should be prepared.

·         What is your vital information?

Blood type, Allergies, medication, past medical history and all the basic information about your family members – are they at your finger tips?

·         Which Way to the nearest hospital?

Calling 995 might not be the best idea if you could safely and promptly bring the affected to the hospital. But make sure you know the way to your nearest hospital. I didn’t know, and thus it was quite scary to think about it… getting on the car only to know that you do not know the way to the hospital.

And of course there is the question – “where did you park your car?” – as you won’t want to look up and down in the carpark because you forgot where you last parked it. I don’t even want to go to where did you put your car keys, but these little things might cause you seconds that matter.

·         Always charge your phone

Or have a spare battery around. With the reliance on phone for GPS, information nowadays. Either you remember what you need, or make sure your phone is always operationally ready.

Nimble Quest game tips - without paying a cent

Recently, I am hooked on this app - nimble quest. It is essentially a RPG with the dynamics of the Nokia snake game. It's free to download, go ahead and try it!

Now as many free game apps, there is the option to purchase upgrades with real cash. As a rule of thumb, I never pay for such in game purchases. Some games are impossible to complete without buying anything, but this game is entirely possible to do that, you just need some time and skill. The tips I am going to offer, hope that they will be able to help you clear the game.

**At my current stage, I have 10/15 heroes level 2 upgraded, and fighting to clear the depths 2.

Hero choosing

- level 3 upgrade is close to impossible without purchase, look at level 2 and below upgrades. 

- For the first hero, focus on defense : ultear, the knight (can't rember his name), slash are best choices after their armor upgrades

- Choosing the 2nd hero of the party is also important. It should be a high damage, low range hero to complement your first hero.

- its fun to see how they change costume after each upgrade.

Battle

- walk in a zigzag fashion and stick close to your entire chain. This will allow more attack opportunities and also defend against enemies running into your chain.

- try to kill clerics first as they can heal your enemies substantially

- try to stay in the centre so that any bomb drops is fully utilized

- wait until last minute before u pick up the drops to fully utilize their power

Buffs

- though you can always pick up tokens, you should store up to a good amount and use it together.

- haste buff is good for collecting more gems. Personally I find it less effective in battle as you will have less control of speed

- always use attack and health buffs if you are going for serious stage-clearing

- I don't use the shield buff as you can pick it up quite easily. No need to waste token.

- use the fast forward buff for the hardest stage, very useful.

- add hero is useful as you'll have a stronger force, and also more chance of getting useful drops in battle

- dare to spend tokens on retries, if you started with a good amount of heroes.

Upgrades

- go for chest and magnet upgrades first to increase gem collection. Gems is king in this game. You'll have an easier time buying the other upgrades.