Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
42
affordable, y ou don 't hav e to adjust to
local driving r ules and habits, plus ther e's
no need to worr y about wher e to par k.
Still, if you must, contact
Avis
at
&
800/
373-1668;
they operate counters in all
three Changi Airpor t terminals daily 7am
to 11pm.
(
SBS;
&
800/287-2727
) or the
T rans-
Island B us S ervice
(
TIBS;
&
800/
482-5433
).
By Rental Car
Visitors to S ingapore rar ely r ent cars for
sightseeing, because it 's just not conv e-
nient. Local transportation is excellent and
5
MONEY & COSTS
Compared to its S outheast Asian neigh-
bors, S ingapore is consider ed expensiv e;
however, visitors fr om the West will find
their money still goes quite far.
The Econo-
mist
came up with a clever way to compare
the standar d of living fr om countr y to
country. The Big Mac Index is a surpris-
ingly credible way to consider the value of
the exact same item as it differs from place
to place ar ound the globe. F or example,
according to the A ugust 2008 B ig M ac
Index, the av erage price of a B ig M ac in
the United States is $3.57. I n Singapore,
the same burger is S$3.95. Conv ert that
into U.S. dollars, and it 's US$2.92—
meaning, in S ingapore y ou'll pay about
U.S.65¢ less for a Big Mac. How much do
you pay for y our Big Mac at home? H ow
about the U.K., at £2.29 per burger
gold-colored S$1. S ingapore has an inter-
changeability agreement with Brunei Dar-
ussalam, so don't be alarmed if you receive
Brunei currency with y our change, as it 's
legal tender.
At the time of this writing, ex change
rates on the S ingapore dollar w ere as fol-
lows: US$1 = S$1.49, C$1 = S$1.22, £1 =
S$2.17, A$1 = S$1, NZ$1 = S¢82. The
exchange rate used throughout this topic is
US$1 = S$1.49, which was the av erage
rate during late 2008/early 2009. B efore
you begin budgeting y our trip , y ou can
obtain the latest curr ency rates on the
Internet at
www.xe.com
.
It's not an absolute necessity to buy
Singapore dollars before your trip, because
you can find ATMs that accept cards from
the Cirrus and Plus networks at the Arrival
Halls of all Changi Terminals as y ou exit
the baggage claim ar ea. I f y ou do need
currency changed, each terminal has
3
(US$4.57)? O r A ustralia, at A$3.45
(US$3.36)?
CURRENCY FOR
SINGAPORE
The local curr ency unit is the
Singapore
dollar.
I t's commonly r eferred to as the
“Sing dollar ,” and r etail prices ar e often
marked as S$ (a designation I' ve used
throughout this topic). Notes are issued in
denominations of S$2, S$5, S$10, S$50,
S$100, S$500, and S$1,000. S$1 bills
exist but ar e rar e. Notes v ary in siz e and
color fr om denomination to denomina-
tion. Coins are issued in denominations of
S1¢, S5¢, S10¢, S20¢, S50¢, and the fat,
money-changing ser vices that operate
'round-the-clock.
In town, it's best to ex change currency
or trav eler's checks at a local authoriz
ed
moneychanger, found in most shopping
malls throughout the city. They'll give you
the best rate. You'll lose money with the
high rates at banks, hotels, and shops.
ATMS
The easiest and best way to get cash away
from home is fr om an A TM (automated
teller machine). The
Cirrus
(www.master