Singapore Expats

less than 2 months and i'll be in singapore!

4 years of warmness and tropical'ness and humidity'ness baby!

as for my favorite activities... drinking beer... smoking cigars... playing golf... watching baseball...

i'm sure i'll get to grips with the cost of all that in singapore somehow...

instead of scotch i should switch to coffee. instead of golf courses, i'll go to the driving range.

now... how to get free cable for ESPN and where to buy cheap montecristos/romeos...???

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

time for a quick snack...



p/s: c'mon! you didn't think...??!!

Congrats! Cigars truly cost out the wazoo, though... S$300 and up per box.

Tasty looking dog.

Cigars don't come cheap, except in Vietnam, where the street market cohibas are cheaper than in Cuba.

But to get by I use one of the swiss online shops:

http://www.topcubans.com/cuban-cigars/m ... to,17.html

Customs stops the package and I pay the duties for them, which almost doubles the price, but if you buy when they have their promotions, it still roughly 20% cheaper than in Singapore.

Conoisseurs Divan at Robertson is the place to sit and smoke or than at home. Good selection, friendly place, but prices are what you pay in Singapore.
http://www.connoisseurdivan.com/thedivan.htm

does everyone own a good humidor in singapore? shop hangs on to it?

will check out the link and keep my eyes peeled for the discount.

no harm posting it here when you come across it either!!!

The humidor I used here is called Singapore or tropical climate. I once left half a box of montercristo no4 at my inlaws before we moved here permanently, and when we came for next family visit 9 months after they were still perfectly fine to smoke.

They always have something on promotion every week or weekend. I get a newsletter email every week, and I follow when they have my regular smokes on promo, which are MC #4, MC #5 and Partagas D4.

Awwww, that dog is soooo adorable!!!!

taxico wrote:
instead of scotch i should switch to coffee.

you might want to have second thought on that...

what I know taka the shopping centra at orchard

and suntec have cigar shop

like ur dog!

I am looking to buy a box of 25 or so cigars, possibly a whole box of one brand, or a variety of good Cubans.

What would your advice be - order online from TopCubans.com or get them at a retail store in Singapore?

Also, regarding a humidor, I do not think I like the idea of leaving them out, but most of the decent ones start at $350 out here. Again, can I get a much better deal online or should I just suck it up and buy local? Which humidor is the best for price/ quality?

Lot of questions, thanks for all your advice.

welda wrote:I am looking to buy a box of 25 or so cigars, possibly a whole box of one brand, or a variety of good Cubans.

What would your advice be - order online from TopCubans.com or get them at a retail store in Singapore?

Also, regarding a humidor, I do not think I like the idea of leaving them out, but most of the decent ones start at $350 out here. Again, can I get a much better deal online or should I just suck it up and buy local? Which humidor is the best for price/ quality?

Lot of questions, thanks for all your advice.

You cannot bring in tobacco products of any kind, in any way, without paying duty on them. Your cheap Cubans will cost just as much once you pay the duty.

You can, of course, bring some in your luggage at the airport; recognizing that this is illegal, and if you get caught, there will be fines along with duty.

Strong Eagle wrote:

welda wrote:I am looking to buy a box of 25 or so cigars, possibly a whole box of one brand, or a variety of good Cubans.

What would your advice be - order online from TopCubans.com or get them at a retail store in Singapore?

Also, regarding a humidor, I do not think I like the idea of leaving them out, but most of the decent ones start at $350 out here. Again, can I get a much better deal online or should I just suck it up and buy local? Which humidor is the best for price/ quality?

Lot of questions, thanks for all your advice.

You cannot bring in tobacco products of any kind, in any way, without paying duty on them. Your cheap Cubans will cost just as much once you pay the duty.

You can, of course, bring some in your luggage at the airport; recognizing that this is illegal, and if you get caught, there will be fines along with duty.

YUPs better save all the trouble.s just went to local cigars shops in singapore buy.

That Cute dog looks like an X to me link broke I guess! Try the vinegar much better than the Kofe O. In fact today i tasted one just like a wine, though very smooth like a liquor, though i never diluted it

An update as I did buy everything online from the US, based on wanting a humidor and realising the shipping did not add much when I added boxes of cigars to the order.

Ultimately I bought a solid humidor, a few accessories and filled it with 81 non-Cuban cigars for about $1,100. Had I bought this in a retail store here I estimate it would have been about 1/3 more expensive, but it is hard to judge, as comparing Cubans with non-Cubans is difficult. The ones I got were all 90+ rated on cigar aficionado, so they are far from stogies.

The duty made up about $450 on that based on weight of the cigars. Customs did mention if you bring more than 400g of cigars (about a box of 25s) you need to apply for a traders permit. As this was news to me, they waived this rule, but the duty was no more or no less.

So given the average Cuban cigar is about $25 and I got my excellent non-Cubans for about $10, I think I did alright. The caveats being the Cuban brand and its cache, the fact I bought a humidor much cheaper than retail, and the waiving of the importers permit. Without those factors, I think the cost differentials are insignificant.

Strong Eagle wrote:You cannot bring in tobacco products of any kind, in any way, without paying duty on them. Your cheap Cubans will cost just as much once you pay the duty.

You can, of course, bring some in your luggage at the airport; recognizing that this is illegal, and if you get caught, there will be fines along with duty.