#1 Singlish
First fact about Singapore is the language! There are four main languages in Singapore. However, there is a form of English-based creole that is used in Singapore that is usually colloquial and informal. ‘Singlish’ is essentially a truncated form of English, with borrowed words from different languages such as Tamil, Bahasa Melayu, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects.
The idea of Singlish is to get straight to the point with the least amount of words used or adding additional words at the end of the sentence to elaborate.
An example of this would be, for instance, “Are you certain you will be able to uphold this task?” the Singlish version of this sentence would be “You can meh?”
#2 Hawker Culture
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Be spoilt for choices in Singapore’s Hawker centres. One of the most popular ways of getting food are the Hawker centres as they offer reasonably priced and delicious dishes from different cultures of Singapore. It is also the perfect place to practice your Singlish with the hawker vendors while grabbing a meal with friends/colleagues.
#3 Seat Reservations
To non-Singaporeans: You might be considering making a table reservation through the phone. However, here in Singapore, there is a unique way to do it at the hawker centres. Tissue packs/ Napkins are placed on an unused table to unofficially ‘reserve’ and indicate that this spot is taken. This strange way of reserving a table is called ‘chope.’ So make sure you don’t mistake it as a free packet of tissue!
#4 Changi Airport
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Another fact about Singapore is that it is home to the “World’s best airport.” Apart from being one of the cleanest airports in the world, it is also the best in the world for leisure amenities. This includes free movie screenings, its Butterfly garden, its Sunflower garden, beautiful artistic decorations such as the ‘Kinetic rain’ and many more!
You can even shop in the newly established airport shopping mall ‘Jewel.’ There is loads to do in the airport so do make sure you explore the airport before heading home!
#5 Religions
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A known fact about Singapore is its diversity. Singapore is a multi-religious nation and has become a living example of how people from different ethnic groups and religions accept each other and co-exist peacefully. Singapore is home to 10 religions, the five major religions are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism.
The majority of the Chinese Singaporeans are Buddhist, although it is common for Chinese Singaporeans to be of Christian or Catholic faith. The majority of the Malays in Singapore are of the Muslim faith however and the increase in Chinese Muslims and Indian Muslims is on the rise. Ethnically, Indians of Singapore are most commonly Hindu believers but there is an increasing number of Christian Indians.
