As you can see from the heading, observation requires a whole night to do it, so preparations must be made to ensure that you can survive through the night.
In Singapore, warm clothing is sort of unnecessary because the night temperature is not much of a difference as compared to the daytime temperature. However, a jacket would not add much weight to your bag.
Water is a MUST. You need some water to prevent your stomach from becoming completely empty, so that, you can trick your brain into thinking that you are not hungry.
Food is also necessary, especially for those astrophotograhers. You need steady hands for equipped observation, thus you need food to provide the energy to do that. Biscuits will do. Bread will become soggy at night due to high humidity.
Money, is required, for sanitary purposes. The toilets here cost money even at night.
Star charts, of course, are needed. Bring maps up to a limiting magnitude of 5 for visual observation. For telescopic observation, maps up to magnitude 7 will do. The bad seeing conditions in Singapore allows limited observation.
Binoculars are extremely useful, even for professionals. They can show you really the beauty of the sky. Professionals need them to locate their target before using telescopes to point at it. Bring 7x50, 7x35, 10x50, binoculars. Larger bino need a tripod. Telescopes are even better.
To sum up, pack as little things as possible. You do not want to drag a lot of things home in your tiredness.
In Singapore, a highly urbanised country, it is nearly
impossible to find a location for observation. Generally, available sites
are those that are in the coastal regions or the undeveloped regions. I
recommend three sites in different parts of Singapore.
A lot of things can be observed but I will list them according to skills.
Moon - Identify the craters, especially Tycho, Copernicus and Kepler. See the shadows of the craters and large dark Mare or "Seas".
Stars - Identify the outlines of the constellations
Planets - (With telescopes) See the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. See the phases of Venus and Mercury. See the bands on Jupiter and Saturn. See the most beautiful rings of Saturn and its divisions.
Star Clusters and Nebulae - See the beautiful M41, M44, M35, NGC 6231, 47 Tucanae, Omega Centauri, M4, M6, M7,Orion Nebula, KeyHole Nebula, Lagoon Nebula........(the list goes on)
Galaxies - (telescope)See the large M31, the beautiful M104........................
Special - Shooting stars or even fireballs.
.
Generally, a good day does not mean a good night.
Predict the night weather only in the evening. If the whole day is clear
even in the evening, then good weather may persist. If there is some rain
in the day, make sure that the clouds clear after the rain and does not
come back, if so, the night may be good. If it rains periodically, stay
at home. If the rain is very heavy and after that the clouds clear, then
an excellant night sky would most likely occur. In the evening, without
rain in the day, if high clouds are seen, stay at home. If low clouds are
seen, prepare to set off. Low clouds clear easily but high clouds persist.