Latest
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Concert Tickets in Singapore: Resale, Scalpers and How to Avoid the Scams
Reselling a concert ticket isn’t illegal in Singapore, but many organisers void resold tickets, and scams are common: at least 722 cases and S$615,000…
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Can You Swim at Singapore’s Beaches? How NEA Grades the Water, and Where to Check
Yes, at most of them. NEA tests the water at seven popular beach areas every week, from Sentosa to East Coast, Pasir Ris and…
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Gardens by the Bay: What’s Free, What You Pay For and the Resident Rates
The outdoor gardens, the Supertree Grove and the nightly Garden Rhapsody light show cost nothing. The two conservatories, Flower Dome and Cloud Forest, cost…
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Singapore School Holidays 2027: MOE Term Dates, the Four Breaks and the Extra School Days Off
School starts on Monday 4 January 2027 and the year-end holidays begin on Saturday 20 November. In between come a one-week March break, four…
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Singapore Public Holidays 2027: All 11 Dates, the Five Long Weekends and the Best Days to Take Leave
Singapore has 11 public holidays in 2027 and five long weekends, starting with New Year’s Day on a Friday. Two holidays fall on a…
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Chicken Rice Explained: White or Roasted, Drumstick or Breast, and How to Order
Singapore’s best-loved plate is simple: poached or roasted chicken, rice cooked in chicken stock, and three sauces. A hawker plate usually costs about S$4…
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Why Your Hawker Centre Is Closed: Cleaning Days, Repair Closures and How to Check Before You Go
Every NEA hawker centre shuts for a deep clean a few times a year, usually for one to three days, and for longer when…
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Food Delivery in Singapore After Deliveroo: GrabFood vs foodpanda, and the Fees on Every Order
Deliveroo left Singapore in March 2026, leaving GrabFood and foodpanda as the two big apps. A delivery order carries a delivery fee, a service…
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Food Hygiene Grades in Singapore: How SFA’s New SAFE Grades Work, and How to Check One
The old A-to-D hygiene stickers are gone. Since 19 January 2026, Singapore’s food outlets carry SAFE grades based on their track record over years,…
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The Michelin Guide in Singapore: What Stars and Bib Gourmand Mean, and the 2026 List
Singapore’s 2026 Michelin Guide has three three-star restaurants, nine two-stars, 33 one-stars and 97 Bib Gourmand picks, most of them hawker stalls. What each…
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Cruising From Singapore: What the Fare Includes, and the Extras That Double It
A two-night cruise from Marina Bay can be advertised from about S$300 a person, but port charges, gratuities, drinks and Wi-Fi can add as…
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Singapore to Kuala Lumpur: Coach, Train or Plane, With the Time and the Cost
A coach costs the least but can take seven hours if the Causeway jams; the ETS train from JB Sentral takes just over four…
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Ferries to Batam and Bintan: Which Terminal, What It Costs and the Arrival Card You Need
Batam is about an hour by ferry from HarbourFront, which moved into a new terminal in July 2026; Bintan sails mainly from Tanah Merah.…
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Going to Thailand: The 30-Day Visa-Free Stay and the Digital Arrival Card
Since 15 September 2026, Singaporeans can stay in Thailand visa-free for up to 30 days, down from 60. Every visitor must also file the…
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Tax-Free Shopping in Japan: The New Refund System From 1 November 2026
From 1 November 2026, visitors to Japan pay the full price, tax included, and get the 10% consumption tax refunded when they leave, after…
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MediShield Life and Integrated Shield Plans: What Your Hospital Cover Pays
Every Singapore citizen and PR has MediShield Life, sized for B2 and C wards in public hospitals and paying up to S$200,000 a year.…
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Singapore Savings Bonds and T-Bills: How They Work and How to Apply
Both are backed by the Singapore Government, and both start from a few hundred dollars. Savings Bonds pay rising interest over ten years and…
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Income Tax in Singapore: The Resident Rates, the Reliefs and the 18 April Deadline
Singapore taxes residents from 0% on the first S$20,000 to 24% above S$1 million, after reliefs capped at S$80,000 a year. The full rate…
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CPF Contribution Rates in 2026: What You and Your Employer Pay at Every Age
Up to 55, you pay 20% of your salary into CPF and your employer adds 17%, on wages up to S$8,000 a month. The…
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CPF Accounts Explained: Ordinary, Special, MediSave and Retirement, and What Each Pays
Your CPF is four accounts, not one. The Ordinary Account pays 2.5% and buys your home; the Special, MediSave and Retirement Accounts pay at…
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Shopping in Singapore? | How PayNow, SGQR and Mobile Wallets Brought Cashless Payment to the Hawker Stall
PayNow launched in July 2017 and SGQR in September 2018. Together, and with a 2020 push for hawkers, they took QR payment from the…
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Shopping in Singapore? | How Credit Cards, Rewards and Contactless Tapping Changed the Psychology of Checkout
Diners Club reached Singapore in 1961 and OUB issued the first local bank credit card in 1976. Chip cards, contactless tapping and MAS borrowing…
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Shopping in Singapore? | How NETS Let Singapore Shoppers Pay Directly From the Bank Account — Without Carrying Cash
NETS was formed by five banks in 1985 and launched EFTPOS islandwide in January 1986, letting shoppers pay from their bank accounts with an…
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Shopping in Singapore? | How Cash, Coins and Exact Change Once Controlled the Speed of Everyday Shopping
Singapore issued its own notes and coins on 12 June 1967. Since then: four note series, three coin series, the end of the 1-cent…
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What Was Tuas Before Tuas? | Kampongs, Mangroves and Sea Before Singapore Manufactured the Industrial West
Before Tuas became Singapore’s extreme-west industrial and port landscape, it was a rural coast of kampongs, fishing, mangroves and sea. Its modern history is…
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Shopping in Singapore? | How iPhone and Smartphone Launch Queues Turned a Handset Upgrade Into Retail Theatre
How iPhone launch queues in Singapore moved from Singtel’s Comcentre in 2008 to telco and reseller shops on Orchard Road, then to Apple Orchard…
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Shopping in Singapore? | How Handphone Dealers, Trade-Ins and Bargaining Built the Pre-Smartphone Mobile Market
How independent handphone dealers in Singapore sold unlocked phones, parallel imports and trade-ins, and how the 2012 Lemon Law and the 2014 Mobile Air…
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Shopping in Singapore? | How Telco Shops Turned Contracts, SIM Cards and Subsidised Handphones Into a Singapore Retail Ritual
How Singapore telco shops changed as M1 and StarHub broke Singtel’s monopoly, number portability arrived in 2008 and contracts were capped at 24 months…
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Shopping in Singapore? | From Pager to Handphone to Smartphone — How Mobile Shopping Changed Everyday Singapore
How Singapore went from pagers, which peaked at 1.36 million users in 1998, to handphones, GSM texting and the iPhone, as M1 and StarHub…
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What Was Joo Koon Before Joo Koon? | Rural Jurong, Factories and the Industrial West Before the MRT Station
Before Joo Koon became an MRT and industrial transport node, it belonged to rural western Singapore and the expanding Jurong factory landscape that eventually…
