25 Random Things about Singapore, and living in Singapore

Ok, so I am on Facebook a lot, a lot more than my blog, and I have been neglecting it. So sorry. :)

On Facebook I just did a "25 Random Things about ME" and I was thinking I should do it about Singapore and living in Singapore.

So here goes....



25 Random Things about Singapore (and living in Singapore)

1. Singapore is very near the equator so it maintains at 75-85 degrees year-round (nice, I know)

2. Cars are soooo expensive here, almost 3-4 times more than in the USA. They are costly to help cut down on traffic/congestion on this tiny island. And they tax you $$$ if your car is OLDER , so most folks drive cars that are less than 5 yrs old. (i've heard that they ship cars that are older to Maylasia or Phillipines)

3. I love love love my Grocery Delivery and Dry Cleaning delivery here-could be the BEST thing ever. (and just like in NYC, food delivery is vastly available---even McDonalds delivery!)

4. Most locals are bi-lingual which is amazing. They speak their own language (mandarin, malay, hindi, etc) and then they speak English. LOVE that.

5. The landscaping here is like Disney. Seriously. Everything is lush, green, trimmed, and beautiful. Along highways, roads, everywhere. No garbage on the sides of the road, no car parts, no broken down cars, no graffiti....so nice.

6. You have to buy things in multiples at the store, especially if it is an American product. WHY? Because here today....gone tomorrow. Seriously. And you never know when it will be back on the store shelves. Right now, there are no Nutra-grain bars to be found on the island. Once it was Kraft Mac and Cheese that was MIA. :) So buy in bulk, just in case. :)

7. Our meats come from Australia. No cows here in Singapore. :) And it is super expensive but really really good. And our milk/cheese etc is mostly from Australia or European countries.

8. Yes, you CAN chew gum here-you just can't sell/distribute it. You DO get used to not seeing people chewing it, and when you go back to the USA you realize how yucky of a habit it really looks like. People smack it, drop it on the ground..it's not a good habit and it really messes up roads/sidewalks/etc.

9. For a country that is SOOO clean (the streets don't EVER have litter on it)...sometimes it is hard to find trash cans here. :) hmmmm

10. We drive on the left side of the road, and it's not so hard to get used to.

11. Most locals don't seat belt kids in...you see little toddlers sitting on their parents lap in the front seat!! Hard not to yell at them to buckle them in when you drive by them!! :)

12. They have open air food court-type places called "Hawker Centers" that have amazing CHEAP local food.

13. We have the same TV shows as the states-but usually a season behind. Oprah, Ellen Degeneris (spelling?), and CSI seem to be ALWAYS on. :)

14. Having a live-in helper is the "norm". Very affordable, and all houses come with a little bedroom separate from the others that is their room. They cook, clean, grocery shop, take care of kids-whatever you need. Nice luxury. :)

15. Singaporians have their own slang, called "Singlish". Kind of a mix of English. One example is adding "Lah" at the end of sentences... "Don't worry, lah". :)

16. I love the fact that most women dress up on a DAILY basis! Yes, daily!! :) Cute skirts, dresses, etc. Cute little shoes with little heels. It takes a lot more effort, but so nice to see people dressed nicely. I noticed it more when we came back to the states for our visit the first time after moving overseas--amazing to see "slumpy" daily attire from American women. :) (I was one of them not too long ago..I can admit it.)

17. Taxis are plentiful and clean (for the most part)--well A LOT more clean than NYC cabs. :) Seriously, most are new ones and aren't stinky. Super easy to get around the island, as taxis are easy to stop or you can call ahead and have them come to your doorstep.

18. They like to serve water without ice . Room temperature. Yes, without ice. And it's HOT here?? Go figure. :)

19. When you go to the Doctor, you get your medicines right then and there. No need to go and "fill the prescription"...they do it for you. Love that. Super convenient.

20. Local cats have small stubby tails. odd looking.

21. Instead of having central airconditioning in houses, you have separate units in each room on the wall with a remote control. At first it was a pain in the neck to get used to, but now kind of nice to just turn it on in the room you need it.

22. Windows don't have screens. So unless you are ok with "things" flying or crawling in your house, you can't open your windows on nice days. I don't open ours...don't like flying crawling things in my house.

23. Gekkos are a normal thing inside and outside of homes. They eat the flying things, and are actually nice to have around(as long as they hide themselves) :) They do change colors according to what they are "on" to camouflage themselves. We have a resident one in our kitchen, comes out sometimes when I am doing dishes. I have screamed very loudly when he pops out and surprise me. :) My friend Lori tells a story of one that was IN her box of Fruit Loops here and fell out and was the color of Fruit Loops into her bowl. Now THAT would make me scream.

24. They don't have pennies here-no 1 cents. Everything is rounded up to 5cents or 10cents. LOVE THAT!! Hate pennies, think they are such a waste.

25. Singapore is an amazing safe place to live in. Kids can go out and play in the neighborhood, they can take taxis and trains to go places-all without worrying about strangers and bad people. I am SURE there are bad people here, but the laws are sooo strict that NO ONE wants to do anything bad because of the consequences. No shootings, very few killings (and if you kill someone, you die too). Wish it were more like that in the USA. Most of the USA news were hear on the radios/tv here is of guns violence, violence towards kids, etc. Sad they WE are represented like that around the world.

Well, there are my 25 random things about Singapore and living in Singapore.
Hope it was interesting. :)

I promise to try to get off of Facebook and update this more often.
But, if you are on Facebook--look me up!! And "friend" me! :)