Singapore

Do

While you can find a place to practice nearly any sport in Singapore — golfing, surfing, scuba diving, even ice skating and snow skiing — due to the country's small size your options are rather limited and prices are relatively high. For watersports in particular, the busy shipping lanes and sheer population pressure mean that the sea around Singapore is murky, and most locals head up to Pulau Tioman, Sibu Island (Malaysia) or Bintan (Indonesia) instead. On the upside, there is an abundance of dive shops in Singapore, and they often arrange weekend trips to good dive sites off the East Coast of Malaysia.

Eat

Singapore is a melting pot of cuisines from around the world, and many Singaporeans are obsessive gourmands who love to makan ("eat" in Malay). You will find quality Chinese, Malay, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Italian, French, British, American and other food in this city-state.

Eating habits run the gamut, but most foods are eaten by fork and spoon: push and cut with the fork in the left hand, and eat with the spoon in the right. Noodles and Chinese dishes typically come with chopsticks, while Malay and Indian food can be eaten by hand, but nobody will blink an eye if you ask for a fork and spoon instead. If eating by hand, use only your right hand to handle your food, as Malays and Indians traditionally use their left hand to handle dirty things. Take note of the usual traditional Chinese etiquette when using chopsticks, and most importantly, do not stick your chopsticks vertically into a bowl of rice. If eating in a group, serving dishes are always shared, but you'll get your own bowl of rice and soup. It's common to use your own chopsticks to pick up food from communal plates, but serving spoons can be provided on request. When eating at Western restaurants, traditional European dining etiquette generally applies.

Keep an eye out for the Singapore Food Festival, held every year in July.

Drink

thumb|upright=1.5|Clarke Quay by night

Singapore's nightlife isn't quite a match for Patpong, but it's no slouch either: some clubs have 24 hr licences and few places close before 3AM. Singapore's nightlife is largely concentrated along the three quays — Boat, Clarke and Robertson — of the Riverside, with the clubs of Sentosa giving party animals even more reason to dance the night away and the casino on Marina Bay also entering the fray. Any artists touring Asia are pretty much guaranteed to stop in Singapore, with superclub Zouk (Clarke Quay) in particular regularly clocking high on lists of the world's best nightclubs and Marquee at Marina Bay Sands drawing big names. Hipsters congregate in Kampong Glam/Arab St near Bugis, while gay bars are concentrated around Neil Road in Chinatown.

Fancy cocktail bars cluster near the aptly named Club St near the CBD and Keong Saik Road in Chinatown. The legal drinking age is 18, and while this is surprisingly loosely enforced, some clubs have higher age limits. If you are asked for identification, the only acceptable forms of identification are a Singapore-issued identity card or a passport.

Friday is generally the biggest night of the week for going out, with Saturday a close second. Sunday is gay night in many bars and clubs, while Wednesday or Thursday is ladies' night, often meaning not just free entrance but free drinks for women. Most clubs are closed on Monday and Tuesday, while bars generally stay open but tend t…

Sleep

Accommodation in Singapore is expensive by South-East Asian standards. Particularly in the higher price brackets, demand outstrips supply and during big events like the F1 race or some of the larger conventions it's not uncommon for pretty much everything to sell out. Lower-end hotels and hostels, though, remain affordable and available throughout the year.

Unless you're a shopping maven intent on maximizing time in Orchard Road's shopping malls, the Riverside is probably the best place to stay in Singapore.

You will notice that hotels within certain parts of the Riverside area are much more expensive than others. Those hotels are inside the boundary of the Electronic Road Pricing area. The ERP tolls become part of their business overhead which they build into their nightly rates.

GST and Service charge are generally not included in the advertised rates. Therefore, when considering how much to allocate for accommodation, don't forget to add 19% to the advertised price (10% for the service charge then add 9% GST of the amount including the service charge).

As it is a crime to harbour illegal immigrants, hotels will need to check the passports and electronic visit passes of all guests at check-in to ensure that they are in the country legally; make sure you have a working mobile data connection or have your visit pass saved offline as you won't be able to check in without it. Likewise, for long-term accommodation, your landlord will need to check your passport and long-te…

Stay safe

thumb|upright|Forbidden items in the MRT trains and stations

Singapore is one of the safest major cities in the world by virtually any measure. Most people, including female travellers, will not face any problems walking along the streets alone at night. But as the local police say, "low crime does not mean no crime" — beware of pickpockets in crowded areas and don't forget your common sense entirely.

Stay healthy

Tap water is safe for drinking with very high sanitation standards. The hot and humid climate means that drinking plenty of water is advisable.

Malaria is not an issue, but dengue fever is endemic to the region and there are occasional cases of Zika virus. Singapore maintains strict mosquito control (leaving standing water around will get you fined), but the government's reach does not extend into the island's nature reserves, so if you're planning on hiking bring along mosquito repellent.

Respect

Singaporeans care little about formal politeness. What would be decent behaviour at home, wherever home might be, is unlikely to offend anyone in Singapore. In Singapore, unlike much of southeast Asia, women wearing revealing clothing or men wearing shorts and slippers are perfectly acceptable and only the fanciest bars and restaurants, government institutions (e.g. parliament and the courts), and some private clubs, enforce dress codes.

That said, Singaporeans tend to be more socially conservative than Westerners, meaning that public display of affection is still frowned upon: holding hands is fine, but making out in public is considered to be impolite. Toplessness for women is not acceptable anywhere, even on the beach. Most places of worship require visitors to be conservatively dressed - no bare shoulders or midriff, and no shorts or skirts above the knee-cap. The major touristy places of worship will have shawls and sarongs so visitors can cover up before entering. Many places of worship also require you to remove your shoes before you enter.

The local dialect with its heavy Chinese influences may appear brusque or even rude, but saying "You want beer or not?" is in fact more polite in Chinese than asking if you want beer; after all, the person asking you the question is offering you a choice, not making a demand.

Take dietary restrictions into account when inviting Singaporean friends for a meal. Many Indians and some Chinese are vegetarian. Most Malays, being Muslim…