Around the world with a smartphone

THE best travel tip, if you don't know it already, is this: GPS, the Global Positioning System that can tell you where you are through the Google Maps app on a smartphone, does not require a data connection.

It is free. Funded by the US government, sure, but free for the rest of us.

This means you will never willingly get lost again in a foreign city. You will always know how to get to where you want to go. But you need to make sure you have downloaded a map of the area you are planning to travel to, before you set off.

While still in Singapore or in your hostel or hotel room that has a WiFi connection, use Google Maps to search for the area you are planning to go to. Then zoom in and out, ensuring that all nea…