Welcome! 欢迎! Selamat datang! நல்வரவு!

As my heading greets, (in the four languages spoken in Singapore) welcome to my blog of all things Singapore! Here, you will find everything you need to know about this sunny island.

My name is Sharon. I was born and raised in Singapore, but I am currently living in the Austin, Texas. Though I have only been away for three years, I find myself feeling like a tourist each time I head home for the holidays because Singapore is constantly changing. There is always something new to see and somewhere new to explore. There is never a reason to say that you've been there and seen all that Singapore has to offer, because you haven't!

The Singapore Flag (source)

Apart from educating my readers about the culture, food and tourist attractions of Singapore, the purpose of my blog is also to provide information, tips and recommendations from a local perspective - information that travel guide books and your local tour guide won't tell you.

The Singapore Tourism Board's official webpage is a great resource for in-depth information about the country's history and culture. There is also a link that shows you upcoming events and concerts happening in Singapore.

History

To start things off, this is a short summary of Singapore's history and culture. 

The earliest known historical records of Singapore are shrouded in the mists of time. But during the 14th century, this small island earned a new name. According to the legend, Sang Nila Utama, a Prince from Palembang , was out on a hunting trip when he caught sight of an animal he had never seen before. He then founded the city where the animal had been spotted, naming it “The Lion City” or Singapura, from the Sanskrit words “simha” (lion) and “pura” (city).It was during the 18th century, when modern Singapore was founded. 


At this time, Singapore was already an up and coming trading post along the Malacca Straits, and Britain realized the need for a port of call in the region. Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen and Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles landed in Singapore on 29 January 1819, after a survey of the neighboring islands. Recognizing the immense potential of the swamp covered island, he helped negotiate a treaty with the local rulers, establishing Singapore as a trading station. Soon, the island’s policy of free trade attracted merchants from all over Asia and from as far away as the US and the Middle East.

Singapore's importance as a center of the expanding trade between the East and West increased tremendously. The small sea town of Singapore soon attracted migrants and merchants from China, the Indian sub-continent, Indonesia, the Malay Peninsula and the Middle East. 


Culture, Races and Religions

Drawn by the lure of better prospects, the immigrants brought with them their own cultures, languages, customs and festivals. Intermarriage and integration helped knit these diverse influences into the fabric of Singapore’s multi-faceted society, giving it a vibrant and diverse cultural heritage. By the end of the 19th century, Singapore became one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Asia, with major ethnic groups in the country being the Chinese, Malays, Indians, Peranakans and Eurasians. 

Today, the ethnic Chinese form 74.2 percent of the Singaporean population, with the country’s original inhabitants – the Malays, comprising of 13.4%. The Indians make up 9.2 percent, and Eurasians, Peranakans and others making up a combined 3.2 percent. (source)  As you can see from my heading, the four languages spoken in Singapore are English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. There are four major races in Singapore: Chinese, Malays, Indians and Eurasians and the main religions practiced are Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. The binding language among us is English and an unofficial language called Singlish. 

Singlish is an English-based creole language with a mixture of terms from Chinese dialects and Malay. The use of Singlish is highly discouraged by the government and you will hardly find the use of Singlish in mass media, but it is spoken or at least understood by every Singaporean. It is used daily in informal conversations among locals. The majority of Singaporeans are English-educated, so English-speaking tourist need not worry about a language barrier. 

Woo hoo! You made it through all those history facts! I promise it will get a lot more interesting. And to my history fanatics, I hope that was entertaining.

To end this post, I will leave you with random fun facts about Singapore.

• It is 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of the equator, which means that it is summer all year round.

Tip: It never gets cold in Singapore. Not even on rainy days, in fact, it gets more humid. So don't even bother packing thick clothing, we love to see more skin!  
Rainy season occurs in November through December.

The Singapore Flyer (source)

• It is among the 20 smallest countries with a land area of 699 square kilometers (247 square miles)
• Apart from Monaco, Singapore is the most densely populated country in the world, with 6,430 people per square kilometer
• Standing at 165 meters tall, the Singapore Flyer is the world's largest Ferris wheel. It has the capacity to carry 748 passengers per revolution 
• There is a total of 85 shopping malls in Singapore
• In 2003, Singapore’s Changi Airport won the award for “Best Airport Worldwide” for the 16th consecutive year from the UK/Europe edition of the Business Traveler magazine
• It is home to the world's fastest texter, Ang Chuang Yang, with a record of 160 characters in 41.52 seconds
• There are more than 40,000 illegal offenses in Singapore. Among things that can get you into trouble are littering, leaving still water lying around your house and failing to lock your bike when not in use

Celebrity YouTuber, Community channel/ Natalie Tran's short video of her trip to Singapore where she summarizes her experience with the surprising number of shopping malls and illegal offenses.

Now that you have a pretty good understanding of the local culture, in my following posts, I will write about the wide range of local delicacies, transportation systems, shopping and tourist attractions and more valuable tips on how to travel within Singapore efficiently. 

If you have ever been to Singapore, please leave your experiences (good or bad) in the comment section below. If you haven't, let me know what you would like to know about Singapore, and I will definitely cover those topics in the following posts.