Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never been before. I'm interested in visiting, but am worried about its reputation as a place with many stringent rules and harsh punishments for citizens and foreigners alike who violate them. If you have been there, how right am I to worry? And are there any special rules or laws I might not otherwise be aware of that I should know about?

Why do you want to go to Singapore? You could go to Tysons and have a similar experience.

This tells me you’ve never been to Singapore.

Ha, been three times. Not anywhere near the top of my list for a leisure visit in SE Asia.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Singapore. It can feel a bit oppressive when you live here, but as a tourist just exercise common sense and you will be absolutely fine. Don’t bring in drugs, guns or chewing gum.

Have you lived there through COVID?

I wished I lived there during COVID. They only closed schools for 3 weeks compared to 30+ weeks in the DMV area. Singapore opened schools first, then restaurants/bars. They've got their priorities in order.

Singapore is a great place to visit. Super safe and pedestrian friendly and everything works perfectly. (I can land in Singapore and be in a taxi on the way to a hotel in about 10 minutes--that's how efficient their airport and immigration processes are.) Just don't break laws by using drugs. There are security cameras on every corner, so I wouldn't recommend other types of illegal behavior either. As others have said, just don't be a boor or incredibly stupid and you should be fine.

Gardens by the Bay, the Singapore Botanical Garden (especially the orchid garden), and the hawker centers (amazing collections of food stalls) are my favorite parts of Singapore. But they've started to focus on getting concerts and events there---Taylor Swift just finished doing 6 sold out concerts there, in a country half the size of Rhode Island.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never been before. I'm interested in visiting, but am worried about its reputation as a place with many stringent rules and harsh punishments for citizens and foreigners alike who violate them. If you have been there, how right am I to worry? And are there any special rules or laws I might not otherwise be aware of that I should know about?

Why do you want to go to Singapore? You could go to Tysons and have a similar experience.

This tells me you’ve never been to Singapore.

Eh, its not too far off.

Anonymous wrote:I live in Singapore. It can feel a bit oppressive when you live here, but as a tourist just exercise common sense and you will be absolutely fine. Don’t bring in drugs, guns or chewing gum.

Have you lived there through COVID?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never been before. I'm interested in visiting, but am worried about its reputation as a place with many stringent rules and harsh punishments for citizens and foreigners alike who violate them. If you have been there, how right am I to worry? And are there any special rules or laws I might not otherwise be aware of that I should know about?

Why do you want to go to Singapore? You could go to Tysons and have a similar experience.

This tells me you’ve never been to Singapore.

Anonymous wrote:Many wealthy Asian cities are obsessed about being "world class".
Singapore has "world class" shopping. On the cultural front it's as exciting as Dubai.

You mean similar to Tokyo or Seoul?

I've been several times. Your chances of running afoul of the government are pretty slim, absent political demonstrations or drugs (this is a mega-serious issue, by the way).

You may do something touristy like hail a cab in the wrong place or jaywalk, but they aren't going to cane you for that. Kind of like standing on the left of metro escalator and blocking the walkway kind of faux pas.

Personally I like Hong Kong more than Singapore. It feels more alive and vibrant, but both are worth visiting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Singapore. It can feel a bit oppressive when you live here, but as a tourist just exercise common sense and you will be absolutely fine. Don’t bring in drugs, guns or chewing gum.

And don't try to hail a cab or uber near a bus stop. Our cab driver told us this was strictly enforced.

Same experience. They take this very seriously.

I loved Singapore. Very clean and easy to navigate.

It's fine. Insanely safe and clean.