Sami - Chronologically Confused and Probably Biased Notes About Singapore

Observations and thoughts while I'm here. I'll update it at some point.

Flights

• Pack everything in the large compartments of your luggage. Anything small and/or valuable should be hidden amidst your clothing within the bag or on your person.
• If travelling with Turkish Airlines, do not bring any blue underwear, you may no longer have them on arrival. This varies on person to person, may be the product of paranoia.
• Wear comfortable clothing for the flight.
• Watch Turkish movies on flight.
• Don't eat pizza at the Turkish airport.
• 17 hour flights aren't too grand.

Singapore

• Buy water, bring it with you everywhere you go, keep yourself hydrated.
• Check some lists of laws to know, some are rather strange. For example: Connecting to an unsecured WIFI is considered hacking.
• Figure out key supply locations as soon as you can.
• Be prepared for a short period of illness.
• The weather strikes you like a hot sponge.
• You get used to the weather, but air conditioning becomes very appreciated. Sometimes air conditioning is not very appreciated.
• Everything you do or don't do is a ticketable criminal offense.
• All banknotes have the same face on them (Singaporean Uncle).
• Have cash on you, pay for everything using cash.
• Things are cheap. Except beer.
• ATM’s vary in their exchange rates, Visa Electron and Visa Debit are fine for withdrawal. Withdraw large bundles at a time.
• Guards and police aren’t as common as you’d imagine.
• Streets are less crowded than originally imagined. They are still crowded though.
• Street layouts are confusing.
• Crosswalks are placed sparsely and look dangerous.
• Milk tastes weird.
• Rye bread is nonexistent, any other bread is a luxury.
• Winter melon tea tastes like liquid popcorn in cooking oil.
• All concentrated juice looks like cleaning detergent or radioactive ooze.
• Salt is used gracefully.
• There are no potatoes.
• Everything sounds like a video game.
• Food is eaten either with sticks (and spoon) or a fork and spoon, no knives.
• Food is generally good.
• It can be warm and dark at the same time.
• The immigration office removed a paper clip from my passport.
• I wonder when we'll be paying our rent.
• No one sleeps.
• Money tends to crawl out of your pocket in events.
• I wonder how I'm going to deal with customs.
• A large European may have trouble in smaller local grocery stores. The hallways are like 5cm wide.