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Popular Local Customs | Other Local Customs Tips | All Tips (317) Contrary to belief, Singapore was not named by our "founder" Sir Stamford Raffles but by a Hindu Prince from Indonesia.
Yup, His Royal Majesty got a terrible case of traveller's luck one day and got shipwrecked. Fortunately, he landed on this island after the ferocious storm. Presumably hallucinating from the terrible experience, he saw a lion " singa " ( in his native tongue ) and named this place " Singapura " .
The good news is, the chap was really delirious, there has never been another sighting of a lion ever since. Apart from the caged lions at Mandai Zoo and the gaudy, drum-loving pride who appear every Chinese New Year to bring in Good Luck, I doubt you'll see the mammal roaming about the city. Leave a Comment
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The Fountain of Wealth at Suntec City is the largest fountain in Southeast Asia, very possibly the world. It is a ring-shaped fountain that jets water nine stories high. It was built in accordance with feng shui principals, symbolically it sits in the palm of the left hand radiating wealth.
You can walk on the walkway out to the fountain and go around the circle and it is said to give the person wealth. You must go in the right direction and not when it is shooting up water none stories high. Leave a Comment
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The lantern festival is held in mid-autumn on the night of a full moon. Lanterns are hung in the streets and at malls. There is live entertainment. Mooncakes are sold at stalls.
They are a heavy little cakes with sweet lotus seeds and eggs in the middle.
I thought they were pretty to look at but not good to eat. Leave a Comment
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We heard what we thought was a parade coming down the street. There were trucks, banners, music, people walking. As it passed we could see the hearst in the back of the line. It had a window in it so you could see the coffin.
A Chines funerary procession had just passed by us. Leave a Comment
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When I first came to Singapore, I noticed that my Chinese friends would tap their fingers on the table after a waiter would bring them something or refill their tea. The gesture is the same one you would use to signal "hit me" to a blackjack dealer (although repeated a couple of times not just once). My friend Leng explained to me that this is a common gesture to express thanks without actually saying anything. So try it if you want to show a little local cred. Leave a Comment
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All boys once they turned 18 are required to serve 2 years national service or they will be thrown in jail. The government has made it so organised that such a way of avoiding it is almost oblivious, that is unless you move out of the country and never return or if you are disabled. Homosexuals still have to serve the national service no matter how gay you are. Even transexuals have to although they do the office admin work. If you are thinking of moving to Singapore, think twice about citizenship for your child unless of course if he is willing to, that is a different story altogether. This applies if you are a Singapore citizen or PRs. Leave a Comment
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Almost all the buildings and roads you see in Singapore are built by these people. They hail from mostly India and Bangladesh although there are groups of Thai, Burmese and Chinese nationals too. The Indian's and Bangladeshis are notorious for being romantically link with Indonesian and Filipino domestic maids and often these situations ends up with more than two people being involved. Yes, there is lots of racism in Singapore like any other big city and unfortunately the main target are these workers. I saw this Chinese man who refuses to allow an Indian worker to sit beside him in the bus and he even got verbally abusive at the poor lad. Surely the worker must have stank a little but that was just so wrong! There are also many other occasions where I noticed and read about how these workers are being treated by their employers. The unfortunate ones are known stranded at the airport as soon as they get into Singapore as their employers are not there to receive them. And the living conditions they live in is just atrociously disgraceful if you even call that humane. Leave a Comment
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It is known that the education system in Singapore government-run schools is one of the best in the world. You can find many foreigners in local schools like the rich kids from Indonesia, Thailand or China. The system is based on the UK equivalent of GCSEs and during my time, English exam papers were sent to the UK to be marked. Occasionally, you get the odd white boy who stands out in school because he is just so easy to spot in a flock of asians. My best mate in primary school was Canadian and he spoke better Mandarin than I did. That's a bit scary.
The foreign expats usually sent their children to one of the many international schools although I heard the newer expats are now opting for their child to be educated in a local government school. After all, the standards are higher and you pay less! Leave a Comment
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If tou happen to be in Singapore in October, there is a good chance that you will see the streets and temples of Little India decorated with thousand of lights and tincel.
Deepavali is the festival of lights, the triumph of good over evil. During this time there are sidewalk vendors set up in the allys and sidestreets with special gifts to sell. Leave a Comment
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THE CHINESE
1) You should never buy clocks as gifts for Chinese friends (unless they do not mind). The Chinese words for "sending clocks" sound almost the same as "sending you to your grave". So, if you are intending to buy a gift for a Chinese friend, clocks should never be a consideration! On the other hand, watches are fine.
2) Never stick your chopsticks upright in your rice. Chopsticks stuck straight up in a bowl of rice resembles jossticks in an urn which is only meant for funerals. Never ever do this during a banquet or during a hosted meal. Also, never use a chopstick and point at people. It's very rude.
THE MALAYS
1) Muslims do not drink alcohol, nor do they take meat of creatures deemed "dirty" in their religion, such as pork. Other meat such as poultry and beef, has to be slaughtered under the Islamic way before they can be consumed. Restaurants with the "Halal" sign/logo (see picture) do not serve liquor.
2) Never offer to shake the hands of Muslim ladies, unless offered. This applies to guys. A simply nod of acknowledgement with a slight bow and a smile will do.
3) Never use your left hand to shake a Muslim's hand. The left hand is seen as evil and dirty and thus should never be used to shake hands, even if you are left-handed.
THE INDIANS
1) The Indian community in Singapore has 3 main faiths - the Hindus, the Muslims and the Christians. You can distinguish the Hindu and Muslim Indians by the colour of the sarong the guys wear. Hindu Indians will wear pure white coloured sarongs while the Muslim Indians will wear checkered coloured ones.
2) Followers of the Hindu faith do not eat beef as the cow is sacred in the Hindu religion while followers of Islam will not eat Haram items such as meat that has not been properly killed and animals deemed "filthy" such as pork.
IN GENERAL
Alway take off your shoes and hat/cap before entering a place of worship. You aren't allowed to wear shoes into the washroom in the mosques. They have slippers for you. Leave a Comment
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on September 16, 2004
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