PS Regarding durians, our love-it or hate-it thorny local fruit, don't forget you can't bring them on the MRT (as my hubby did) and beware those Carrefour sellers who can sniff out a durian-deprived fresh-from-overseas homeboy! (as he is)
Mobile bazaar. We had a rather bizarre cellphone search given our two mobile requirements: 1) 3G (triband GSM and WCDMA) to make calls anywhere in the world, and 2) Starhub service to benefit from the phone, internet and cable triple play, as well as the free IDD connections. After three hours and twice as many stops at various dealer and company stores, we still couldn't find the right combination of phone and service contract needed. Possible stockout and shadow demand problem in Singapore? That said, folks in North America really miss out on some of the latest phones in Asia. When I left the US, Motorola's RAZR V3 was selling like hotcakes. As for me, I'd like a Nokia N70, 7370 or 6280 for Easter, please....
Banking headaches. First, after patting ourselves on the back for exchanging all our US currency for 1.60, we (of course) discovered that the Dhoby Ghaut money changers were buying at 1.61. Hey, every cent counts! Then, we found out that neither of us could apply for a credit card from the local Citibank and HSBC branches given our lack of credit and employment history in Singapore. Furthermore, Citibank had a S$15,000 minimum balance requirement to open an account. Are you kidding me?! I suspect some of this has to do with the strict banking regulations in Singapore. But still, UOB, DBS or OCBC - you've got two new customers your way.
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Ed Note: Go for 3G but with Singtel! Starhub's coverage is still spotty at best, while 3G phones now have $400+ discounts (with contract), i.e. you can get the latest Nokia or Motorola line at $200 compared to a 2G model for as much as $500. In fact, 1+ year old 3G phones are even offered free!
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