Asia Travel Guide

Singapore’s postal system is predictably efficient, with letters and cards often reaching their destination within three days. You can receive poste restante beside Paya Lebar MRT . There are other post offices across the state, with usual hours of Monday to Friday 8.30am-5pm and Saturday 8.30am-1pm, though postal services are available until 9pm at the Comcentre on Killiney Road. Local calls from public phones cost 10c for three minutes, with the exception of Changi Airport’s free courtesy phones.

Singapore has no area codes - the only time you’ll punch more than seven digits for a local number is if you’re dialling a toll-free (tel 1800-) number. Many businesses have mobile phone numbers - usually prefixed 011 or 010 - these are very expensive to call. Card phones are taking over from payphones in Singapore: cards, available from the Comcentre and post offices, as well as 7-Elevens, stationers and bookshops, come in denominations of S$2 upwards.

International calls can be made from all public cardphones. Otherwise, use a credit-card phone. IDD calls made from hotel rooms in Singapore carry no surcharge. To call abroad, dial 001 + IDD country code + area code minus first 0 + subscriber number. Some booths are equipped with Home Country Direct phones . Or you can use your BT or AT&T chargecard .

If you want to email somone, you’ll have no problem in Singapore. Cybercafés are sprouting up across the island for a selection of the most central ones.

Getting from A to B is easy in diminutive Singapore. The island’s impressive bus service and slick underground rail network system - the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) - have got all corners of the island covered. Bus and MRT fares are extremely reasonable, though if you aren’t having to watch the pennies you might consider hailing a taxi in order to buy yourself some time. Singaporean taxis are ubiquitous and so affordable as to make car rental hardly worthwhile, unless you are planning to push up into Malaysia.

All parts of the island are accessible by bus or MRT - the underground rail network - and fares are reasonable; consequently, there’s little to be gained by renting a car. However you travel, it’s best to avoid rush hour (8-9.30am & 5-7pm) if at all possible; outside these times, things are relatively uncongested. A Transitlink Guide ($1.50), available from bus interchanges, MRT stations and major bookshops, outlines every bus and MRT route on the island in exhaustive detail. Singapore also has thousands of taxis which are surprisingly affordable. Getting around on foot is the best way to do justice to the central areas.