5 ways using Grab can play you out

Just wanted to share some of my experiences where i felt "cheated"/frustrated using Grab.

In the midst of the fierce taxi competition in Singapore, I have been using Uber and Grab quite a fair bit, especially since my company formally recognizes claims through their electronic receipts. I am definitely one of the happy consumers welcoming the newcomers in the taxi scene, where it was once dominated by the blue Comfort Taxis & yellow City Cabs. The commuters in Singapore (and also the region) has benefited from affordable fares, occasional promotions and most importantly, a greater convenience.

That said, these benefits come at a price. A price of frustration especially when it is coupled with poor customer service policies to rectify the issues. In my opinion, poor customer service is what distinguishes Uber and Grab. I am writing this for awareness for Grab users on how you could be played out by their services, based on my experience with them so far.

Scenario 1: Promotion codes are mostly limited to first xxxx users

This is quite common, and I am sure most of the savvy users are aware of this now. There might be a great 50% discount, but there are always small terms and conditions like only valid for first x users, up to discount of $x. So do not assume you will always get the advertised discount.

Well, this is still acceptable.

 (Someone shouts “Nobody ask you to take taxi what, take train lo!!”)

Scenario 2: Promotion codes keyed in by you may not be reflected by the taxi driver

Especially for NOBOOKFEE.

Watch out, taxi drivers may still charge you in full even though you have entered the promo code. There was also the situation where there is a no-promo-code-required $3 off was not reflected on my final bill.

It has become such a chore to need to always check and clarify with the driver “ You got minus the promotion already?”. Well, that is still better than having dealing with Grab’s customer service.

Which brings me to my next point:

Scenario 3: No promo code may be a big lie

In my case, it was.

When I saw that the $3 off was not reflected, I raised this to customer service. They asked me for proof, and I have to send them the screenshot.

They showed no sign of being apologetic in missing that out. For me, I got my $3 and also the feeling that I’m the biggest cheapskate out there...

Scenario 4: Promotions with credit card

Yet another case of promotion that was never delivered.

I think there are quite a few credit card rebates promotion out there in alliance with Grab. For me, I took Grab as there was a $10 rebate if charged on a Citibank credit card. The $10 credit rebate did not come. When raised to customer service, they said that the credit card company will reimburse the rebate. It never came.

Whose fault?

Scenario 5: Cash or credit? Exercise prudence when paying cash

This scenario applies to Grabtaxi.

Well I could I couldn’t remember if I selected the option to pay by cash or card. Taxi driver asked to pay up at the end of the ride in cash. Not thinking it is a big issue, I paid up, only to realise I was charged by card as well.

Raised this issue to customer service, and again, was asked to show proof. This time I had no proof, but perhaps to Grab’s customer service every commuter is trying to cheat their few dollars.

Thankfully my current trip was $7. But for my fellow commuters out there, always make sure you are not charged by card already when paying cash!

In summary

Well, there is always the convenient excuse to please read the terms and conditions. For me, I am quite sure I was eligible for the promotion (eg. $3 off no promo code required) but still not awarded. I guess there is a fundamental execution problem in Grab.

Thus, I wrote this post to give fellow commuters better awareness, and not to take the fares for granted. You might think you are saving money but in the end paying up more than the usual taxi ride.

I am willing to overlook the issues if the customer service is nice (. In my recent trip with Uber, they also missed out in awarding the $5 off for my 2^nd ride as part of the promised promotion. I raised to their customer service and they promptly reimbursed the amount. No questions asked.

This post is not about taking sides, but kudos to Uber and I know I will have a piece of mind riding with them. At the end of the day, I have no intention to make myself unhappy over a few tens of dollars. I believe every commuter out there shares the same feeling - which is the reason at the very beginning why uber and grab could succeed - that at the end of the day, we just want a fuss-free ride home.

Learn Tips, Share Tips

EUFASS

How to change money at Singapore money changers

Today, I was at lucky plaza to change some money to Hong kong dollars HKD from Singapore dollars SGD. 

Why lucky plaza?

My top choice has always been the arcade at raffles place, simply because of the high density of money changers as well as the transparency of prices displayed on the electronic board
However, today was a Sunday and the arcade is only open on weekdays and half day on Saturday (url). Thus on a Sunday or weekends, I would typically go to Chinatown or Lucky Plaza.

As I am near to Orchard, Lucky Plaza was a natural choice.

Rate quoted verbally at Lucky Plaza

So previously I have shared with readers how to see the rate at money exchangers under we buy or we sell, but bear in mind these are rates quoted on the digital screens.
For lucky plaza, most shops did not have those screens and you have to enquire verbally.

In my case of HKD, it would have been 0.18 under we sell, but when quoted verbally, the money changer person will give you the convertd we sell rate, for example 1/0.18 = 5.62.
In this case of converted rate, the higher the number, the better.

The 5.62 stands for for each sgd, you will get 5.62 hkd.

So after asking around, I got a rate of 5.63 and settled at that rate (Rates would not differ that much though there are many shops there ).

Savings versus rate at airport

At the airport, the rate was 0.18196, which translates to 5.49.
As such, I have saved about $18 (2.3%) from my $800 change..
Not much, but since I was already in the vicinity, why not pick up the savings?

Read more: My recommendation on where to change


So in short,
when quoted verbally at the money exchanger,
The higher the rate,
the more foreign currency you will get.




Learn tips share tips
EUFASS

Travel tips from my trip to Sydney, Australia

It was my second time to Australia in two years but i have forgotten most of the tips i gotten the last time during which i visited Perth. I'm glad though i have blogged about some of my experience back then from my week-long trip.

So I have listed down all the travel tips I have acquired during this short trip to Sydney. I stayed at Travelodge Sydney along Woolsworth Ave.

Gifts and souvenirs 

• Tim tam,  macadamia nuts are my top recommendations to buy back from australia.

Taxi

• Use Uber. A ride to the city from the airport is about AUD 35-60
• Go to the "express pick up" area near p9 car park, there will be signs guiding you there.

Accommodation

• Hotel may not offer drinking water bottles
• Buy your stuff from supermarket, it will be much cheaper. Still, expect to pay about AUD2 for a 500ml bottle of water
• Convenience stores are expensive (3 bottles of water and 3 bottles of coke costed my AUD24.60... GAHHHH) 

Traffic

• Traffic is generally smooth even during peak hours. (Probably very smooth compared to the likes of Indonesia and Philippines)
• There was a prolonged rain during the afternoon on our way to the airport, but we managed to get there in under an hour.

Currency

• Smallest note is $5. Comes in 5,10,20,50,100
• The $2 coins are gold coloured and are the smallest of the coins. A 20cent is so much bigger.
• Refer to my previous post on changing SGD to AUD... It matters where you change!

Immigration

• Singaporeans will need an ETA to visit Australia, even for a short travel. 
• The process is fairly simple and can be done at the singapore airlines customer service area on the spot for $50. (Will verify if you need to be flying SQ to be able to apply through them) 
• And yes, we can use the smart electronic immigration gate.

Learn tips, share tips

EUFASS

Uber or Grab or Taxi (bluebird) in Jakarta indonesia

Was in Jakarta a few days back again and once again traffic was a nightmare (Welcome to Jakarta!)

Made a few notes about my ride experiences when using uber, grab and bluebird taxis.

Do also look at my previous post on taking taxi from the Jakarta airport as well as my experience on blue bird rides.

Some notes when choosing to take uber or grab in Indonesia:

• When taking uber, problem encountered: GPS is spotty
  
  As such, the uber car icons may not be showing accurately where the driver location is. There are times where the car has arrived but the uber app still shows the car being few minutes away.

• So, do we wait and trust in the drivers?
  No! Some of the uber drivers in Indonesia do not know the way, does not come if there is police, and they do not cancel the ride. They wait for you to cancel the ride and you get hit by the cancellation fee of RP30,000 once you have waited more than 5 minutes.
  If there is still no sign of your driver, please make alternative plans or book again.
  
• Please remember to claim back your cancellation fee if it is not your fault.
  
  Yes, although it might be a small amount from your perspective. But lets not condone with the drivers who are abusing this system.
  
• So, what are some tips to mitigate this?
  
  There is the call driver function to let the driver know where you are and if he is really coming or not. Only thing is, the drivers are usually not well versed in English and speak Bahasa. What you can try is to pass to a local next to you to help explain your pick up location. The locals are generally friendly and helpful.
  
• What else can I do?
  
  Another alternative to consider is blue bird. They are generally available but you will have to live with the advantages uber and grab gives, which is their GPS-enabled navigation to your desired location.
• That is a sacrifice to bear in time-sensitive times, until the system and driver pool quality of uber and grab taxis improve in Jakarta.

Learn tips, share tips

EUFASS

Which number to see when changing money?

A beginner's guide to we buy we sell in currency exchange

Confused when comparing currency rates? 

Not sure how to interpret the two column of numbers : we buy , we sell?

I have not travelled for a while and found myself asking this question when changing to Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) in my recent trip to Jakarta. I thought it will be useful to share this information since I believe this question will be encountered quite frequently by people like me who does not do currency exchange often.

Click here for the best place to change currency in Singapore

Here are the 2 tips to remember when you are exchanging currency.

• Always look under "we sell"

>We sell is the amount that the money changer will charge you for 1 unit (or could be 100/1000 units) of the foreign currency.

• Then find the lowest number among the shops you are comparing

>Think as it from this perspective

: you are looking at the currency selling price and the smaller, the better.

Now, an example

I wanted to change SGD to IDR (Singapore dollars to Indonesia Rupiah) , there were 2 banks at the airport (Why change at the airport? Reason here )

So i looked under the "we sell" column

1st bank offered 0.109 the other offered 0.112. Which one should i go for?

I should choose the one offering 0.109, which means I will receive 1000 IDR for $0.109 SGD

To exchange for 1,000,000 IDR, I will hence need $109. (It will cost $112 if I went for the other bank)

So remember

look under we sell, and 

the smaller the figure, 

The better rate you'll get

Hope this was useful for you

EUFASS

Changing large amount of SGD to JPY in Singapore

So far, especially taking into consideration my numerous trips to Japan, my conclusion is transferring at a local money exchanger hotspot into cash is still the best choice.

My best friend is going back to Japan and is closing his SG account. Now there are 2 ways to transfer his money back to japan.

1. Directly through interbank transfer

2. Transfer to cash and bring it back

Telegraphic transfer

We went to UOB to enquire about telegraphic transfer.

I must give some kudos to UOB service, great service and we did not had to wait long despite having 20 people in front of us.

The charges were as such:

############ 

The indicative rate is 1.245 (which means 100 yen/ for SG$1.245)

Cable fee: $20

Commission: 0.125% (min $10 charge)

############

Assume for every SG$10000, he would get 800600 yen.

The Cash Way

Now to transfer the cash, you can change at the bank / airport, or change at the money changer.

Having previously written about where best to change SGD to foreign currency, I brought him to the arcade where I am familiar enough to help him get the best rate.

We got a better rate of 0.1230 after negotiating with the owner. 

At this rate, assume for every SG$10000, he would get 813000 yen

It was a savings of 12400 yen, which translate to about 1.5% savings for an amount of 10k.

Other Tips:

• Check your local limit of cash that you can bring through customs.
• Give your cash a good count before leaving the money exchanger
• Go for convenience if it’s a small amount

In our case, I guess the time spent justifies the savings we’ve achieved from this trip to the money exchanger!

Learn tips, Share tips

EUFASS

What to do if you picked up a small bird

I picked up a cute little bird the other day. It was limping on the road side and fortunately, the road has little traffic passing through.

I had the immediate intention of nursing it back to health, but realise I did not know what to do. Thanks to google, I got some answers. Interestingly, the first responses were do not try to keep it.

Not wanting to endanger this cute little fledgling's life, I went back to the spot where I found it. True enough, on a nearby tree I could spot a nest and a bird nearby chirping ( I think it's the mom, as the fledgling chirped along as well.

It was a challenge trying to climb the tree, but as I climbed the little bird chirped more actively. The mother bird watched from a safe distance, but clearly she was keeping a watchful eye as I placed carefully the little bird back to the nest.
It was a heartwarming scene as I walked away and saw the fledgling reunited with the mother bird.

If it happens to you, this are the tips I gathered. Should you encounter a similar situation, hope that it will be useful for you.

Do

• Try to find its nest and put it back
• It will chirp and its parents should be able to hear and find it back.

Do not

• try to keep it
• feed it with food or water

You never know when you might need this.

This was a totally random and pleasant experience for me...

Learn tips, share tips

EUFASS

Fresh graduate: 4 tips to kickstart your career

There comes a time when we say goodbye to school, graduate, and don our business suits in pursuit of a achievement-studded career. The following tips was conveyed to me by a CEO of a listed company during a informal talk, and I hope it will benefit you.

Be a Busybody:

In a big company, your role is often very specialized and the things you do will naturally be of a narrow scope. Achieving mastery in what you do is desirable, but it is also important to know a bit of what is happening around you, on a macro scale. This is to say that it is good to be a busybody, in a smart way, and talk to people from other departments. From your conversations, understand the different processes in different areas as well as their perspectives.

The advantage of being a busybody is not only some knowledge of the various operations of the company, but unwittingly you gain visibility in the organization. Senior management will come to take note of your curious antics and when the opportunity arise for a project which often needs cross-department knowledge, you will have a high chance of being considered for the role.

Balance.. Life is a marathon

.... and so is your career. Remember, your working life can span up to 40 years... or more. In the current generation, I believe many hold the dream of retiring at 40 or even earlier. Mr CEO has seen many people burnout after working day and night for the first few years of their career. In the long run, the winner goes to the one still running the race.

It is thus important to have a work-life balance. Mr CEO takes joy in spending time with his family, especially his wife whom he holds dearly.

Take care of your people

Your success depends a lot on how you treat your people.
For your staff, if they clear their KPI (key performance indicator), make sure they get their well-justified reward.

A question comes up from the audience on how does he monitor so many people. The answer to that is that he has sub-managers to monitor their respective groups. This answer is obvious in my opinion, but to really do that well is a challenge which requires both leadership and charisma

Lastly, your people also include your customers. Make sure that they are happy using your products.

Get a Mentor

Lastly, having a mentor can add to your value. It is important to get a good mentor. Good mentors hear you before saying its a stupid idea.

I personally echo this advice too. There is so much a person can understand by his own ability. Having the right mentor will speed up your development by multiple folds!


Do you have any career tips to share with our young, graduating readers?

Learn tips, share tips
EUFASS

Airbnb, Uber, Grabcar Coupon code 2016

This week, a couple of my friends asked me for my coupon code which gives them some free credits for their first booking on Airbnb.

If you are a first time user of Airbnb, Uber and grab and you would like some additional free credits, input the below codes.

Uber (SG$15 or designated amount in your country):  keithn432ue
Airbnb: (SG$27 or equivalent amount in your country currency): Drop me your email
Grabcar: keith71292


Learn tips, share tips
EUFASS

Is it ok to drink overnight milo

I offered my friend a cup of iced milo that he bought from a fast food chain in the fridge overnight. Probably with all the health buzz around and the realization that hey, we are not that young anymore (Remember those days we can survive with instant noodles and potato chips), he expressed his reservations on drinking the overnight ice milo.

I checked online, there's not much information explaining whether it is ok to drink overnight milo. But hey, common sense tell you it should be fine drinking a mixture of water, sugar, and milo powder (probably some milk elements as well). To convince myself of my common sense, I drank 100ml worth of it.

Verdict of drinking overnight milo

Well, it definitely does not taste as good as it is freshly brewed. I could taste that some of the residues are no longer mixed in the water and lingered in my mouth, but overall, you can't go wrong with a sweet drink.
Also, I am fine, No stomach issues or detectable discomfort with my human senses.

(Do note that the milo was left in the fridge for one day. If it was left out in the open or under the sun, or for extended periods, probably not such a good idea to still drink it.)

Learn tips, share tips
EUFASS

Beginner Yoga and Meditation videos I use and some tips

There has been much talk on what benefits of yoga and meditation can bring to a person’s well-being.

One year ago, I embarked on a journey to test it out. Especially in a high-pace city I am living in, yoga and meditation has presented me with a different realm which helps to completely calm the mind. Experienced practitioners of yoga and meditation will be able to relate to what I mean.

How to start:

I have listed below some of the clearer videos I found online. They provide a step-to-step narration and are easy enough for beginners.

Meditation: 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mvOFrFAvrb4
20 min meditation - can do it before bed or in the morning

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HutgMrYMbfE
10 min before sleep - can do this at least before sleeping 

Yoga: 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PUwIloJTJo8
20 min yoga quite easy and revitalizing to do in the morning 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jisa5wy7UME
Relaxing 6 min simple yoga for better sleep

Other tips:

• Both meditation and yoga focuses on deep breathing techniques which i feel is the key of making you feel better. If you are lazy to move, do meditation. If you want abit of activity, do yoga.
  
• You need not follow strictly the videos, once you learn the moves and meditation techniques, can do by yourself. I find the 20min meditation too draggy and has since meditate in a way that works for me.
  
• Wake up early to do this! You'll find it quite refreshing
  
• Discipline is important. Even if you are really tired, do a simple 5 min stretching yoga. Remember, if you know and do not do, it is as good as not doing – then there is no point knowing. This post is a call to action!
  
• There are lots of free videos available online, these videos I shortlisted worked for me, but feel free to browse other videos and find something that work for you.

Hope this was useful for you

EUFASS

The ultimate guide to Singapore travel – my recommended itinerary and tips

I was asked by a few friends on the recommended places to go in Singapore. It seems like it is high time for many people to plan for this year’s travel again!

Since the last time I blogged about Singapore travel was a quite some time back, I thought it was timely to present a refreshed version of Singapore travel recommendations again. With the rate that Singapore is changing, I guess I have to do this every year!

My humble opinion on travelling to Singapore

• Firstly, get set for the hot weather. It is not just the heat, it’s the humidity that suffocates. (Of course this is a lesser evil compared to bone-piercing cold winters.). You will come to understand why we are qualified as a tropical island J
  
• Singapore is a small island and only takes about 1 hour to travel from east to west and north to south by car.    
  
• Both English and Chinese are spoken in most places      
  
• You can choose to commute by taxi, train or bus
• Taxi - costs about $3 to start the trip, comes up to about $10 travelling within the city per trip
• Train - recommended, goes to almost everywhere, $2 per trip, can be crowded though
• Bus- used in situations when train does not go to the place you want to go
  
• Singapore's train network is called the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit)            
  
• Purchase a "ezlink"(MRT payment card) from the staff at the control station at the airport or any MRT station. This will help you save a lot of time and money versus buying individual train tickets by cash

The MRT network is not as complicated as it looks. You will get used to it in no time. 

List of things to do and places to go in Singapore

==This is where things get general and personal. People are motivated by different things, and I am sure you have your own set of interests and travelling style. I want to qualify here that my list is purely for reference for your leisure planning, and not meant to be the absolute (though surely this is supposed to be an ultimate guide). There could be things I missed out, feel free to add them to the comments section below.==

For those who are having a hard time deciding, I have also included my recommendation ratings, based on feedback from my friends from foreign lands.

Category	Attraction name	Description	Nearest MRT	Recommendation
Sightseeing (Nature)	Night safari	World's first night-time wildlife park. Take the tram and see animals in the dark	Mandai (taxi recommended)	5
Sightseeing	Merlion park	Take picture with Merlion spewing water into the marina bay with MBS is the background!	Esplanade	5
Cultural	Kampong Glam	Nice neighbourhood, learn about the Malay community,  some arabic shopping	Bugis	4
Sightseeing (Nature)	Gardens by the bay	$1Bn spent in building this garden, you wont miss its iconic supertrees	Bayfront	4
Nightlife	Clarke Quay	Dine beside the river at night!	Clarke Quay	4
Cultural	Chinatown	See some temples, chinese shops and products	Chinatown	3
Cultural	Little India	See Indian temples, walk down their street	Little India	3
Sightseeing	Sentosa	Theme park and island with lots of attractions such as marine life park	Harbourfront	3
Fun	Universal studios	Inside sentosa, mini version of Universal studios in the States	Harbourfront	3
Shopping	Orchard Road	Street of shopping malls	Orchard;Somerset	3
Sightseeing (Nature)	Botanic Gardens	Singapore's first world heritage site. Not as mindblowing as yosemite or the scenery in chile, but worth a visit if you are interested in plants or just want to take a walk. There is a national orchid garden	Botanic gardens (yellow line)	3
Sightseeing (Nature)	Jurong Bird park	Come see the birds and bird show	Jurong (taxi recommended)	3
Sightseeing (Nature)	Singapore zoo	See the panda and some other animals	Mandai (taxi recommended)	3
Culture	National Musuem of Singapore	Walk through of the history of Singapore	Bras Basah/ Dhoby Ghaut	3
Sightseeing (Nature)	River Safari	Take a river down and see animals. My friends tell me is the animals are quite lethargic, night safari is better	Mandai (taxi recommended)	3
Sightseeing	Singapore flyer	A ferris wheel to see the city. Icon in our skyline but better to see the city from Marina Bay Sands Observatory	Promenade	2

Tips on choosing the Hotel

• Getting from Changi airport to your hotel
• From the airport to hotel, I recommend taking the taxi for a stress-free ride at reasonable price.                                              
• Instructions:
  Once you exit of immigration, follow the "taxi" sign and join the line for taxis.
  No need to go to the booth to purchase any taxi services. There will be no hagglers and Changi Airport is very safe.        
                        
• My 2 recommendations are:                      

Hotel Recommendation	Description	Location	Comments
Marina Bay Sands	Iconic hotel with casino, frolick in the skypool on the top of the building and look out to Singapore's skyline	Bayfront	Either this or raffles hotel if price agnostic
Swissotel the Stamford	Great location and view of the marina bay area	City Hall	Not as expensive as MBS and one of the best areas

                                               

Of course, there are tons of other very good hotels also, here I am just highlighting my personal favourites.            

You can also choose to stay at Orchard to be close to the shopping.                        

Singapore food!

Food is very much a speciality of Singapore, being at the confluence of so many cultures around us. We have michelin star restaurants to very cheaply priced and delicious local food at our hawker centres (i.e Singapore style food court)

Must try local food	Where	Comments
Chicken Rice	Maxwell market	Ridiculously cheap for its quality and taste
Chilli Crab	Jumbo seafood	Ridiculously expensive but must try
Laksa	328 Katong Laksa	Noodles serve in a spicy coconut gravy
Satay	Telok Ayer Market (Lao Pa Sat)	Malay-style bbq meat franks
Bak Kut Teh	Ng Ah Sio Pork Ribs Soup: 208 Rangoon Road	Delicious pork ribs in peppery herbal soup
Carrot Cake	Various places	My personal favourote
Dim Sum	Tim Ho Wan	Though not authetically Singaporean, but still good food
Kaya Toast and Soft-boiled Eggs	Killiney or Ya Kun or Coffee & Toast	Our Traditional breakfast
Roti Prata	Jalan Kayu or Thomson	My sinful breakfast or supper food
Durian	Geylang/ Balestier/ Chinatown	You either love or hate it. If you love it you can be truly singaporean.

Actually I found this list which is quite comprehensive and pictures should convey better: 

               

Budget for Basic Necessities 

(All currencies in SGD)  

Food – A meal in the air-conditioned food court is around $5-$7. A Macdonalds value meal is also around that price! - $20 per day

(If you choose to eat at the casual diners it can set you back about $20/person)

Drinks - Given the hot climate, you might want to get drinks during the day, which can cost up to $2 per bottle in the city. - $6 per day          

                                       

Transport- Most Places are accessible by train and cost around $2 per trip. Assuming you go to 3 places a day , - $8 per day.

Allocate more if you want to take taxis, which starts at $3.60 and typically cost about about $10 for areas within the city and $20 to far areas such as the zoo

Accommodation - MBS is about $500 per night, Swissotel is about $200+ per night. Let me know if you want a more budget choice at around $100+, I'll help you find.

So excluding accommodation, $100 per day per person is quite reasonable for basic necessities.

               

Fun and More  

And now to the things that matter. I mean, whats the meaning of a vacation if you do not enjoy right?? According to your fun appetite, set aside a reasonable amount of budget.

Alcohol - Alcohol is more expensive  in Singapore ( way too expensive IMO). A pint of Erdinger is around $12-16 in bars in clarke quay. Look out for happy hour!!

Casino - The few things that are free.. Locals have to pay $100 to enter though (to discourage gambling).

Sentosa  - An island within our island dedicated for tourist attractions. Universal Studios Singapore is also here, with tickets at $68-$74 for a one day pass. You should be able to cover the entire USS in one full day. Besides the USS, there are also other attractions in sentosa that will require admission fees. 

Gardens by the Bay - Our proud $1 billion investment to inject greenery in the city. Some areas require a entry pass which costs $28.

Movies - Tickets are around $10 at local cinemas. Remember to book online to get good seats.

Clubbing - entry fee which comes with 1 free drink usually costs around $28-$32. 

               

Shopping: For American brands like Coach, Abercrombie, CK,etc. You can get them for really much cheaper in the premium outlets store in the US. Really, they are overpriced here... For cheap and decent styles, head over to bugis village. 

Singapore 3-day itinerary for reference

To top it off, this was my recommended 3-day itinerary I did for a friend

Day	1	2	3
Breakfast	Kaya toast and soft boiled eggs (Available in many places)	Bak Kut Teh at Ng Ah Sio	Carrot cake at hawker centre in harbourfront
Morning	・Merlion park and take picture with merlion!	Walk around little india	Sentosa
Lunch	Chicken rice at Maxwell market	Mee Rebus / Nasi goreng at Kampongglam	Sentosa
Afternoon	・Gardens by the bay ・Chill at MBS Skypool (residents only)/ or your own hotel pool	・Walk around kampong glam ・Walk around chinatown	Sentosa
Dinner	Chilli Crab at Jumbo seafood restaurant at Clarke Quay (Reservation a must)	Assorted local food at Hawker centre at Chinatown	Satay at Telok Ayer Market
Night	Walk around clarke quay or have drinks beside the river	Night Safari	Rest/Casino
Supper		Roti Prata at Jalan Kayu or thomson

Of course, there's always 101 other ways to explore our little island. 

To sum it up, I think Singapore has its tourism niche in Southeast Asia, with our unique city characteristics. 

As my friend who visited puts it aptly, "I was sold when I could breeze through the immigration and pick up my luggage with 0 wait time. Nowhere else in the world I could do that."

Come and witness the level of efficiency and developments a small and well-managed city can achieve in a space of 50 years. 

Hope this was useful for you

EUFASS