Singapore Local Customs

  water
by machomikemd
 
  • water
      water
    by machomikemd
  • circle
      circle
    by machomikemd
  • souvenirs galore
      souvenirs galore
    by machomikemd
  • more souvenirs
      more souvenirs
    by machomikemd
  • in food courts
      in food courts
    by machomikemd
 

Most Viewed Local Customs in Singapore

26.

Daily Customs   Singapore

Daily Customs, Singapore

 20 Reviews  Often and much you will listen of how is a Durian Fruit. Much people like it. In Singapore is in the Bugis market area a Durian seller, where you can see how to manage to open this tropical fruit-... 

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27.

Singlish   Singapore

Singlish, Singapore

 8 Reviews  Singlish, quite literally, means Singapore English-- a unique blend of the languages and dialects of the diverse ethnic groups residing here. Most Singaporeans are actually capable of speaking proper... 

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28.

HDB Housing   Singapore

HDB Housing, Singapore

 6 Reviews  Most of the HDB estates have shops at ground floor level selling day to day items that you may need for around the home. They sell a large varietyof things like foods and drinks, alcoholic... 

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29.

Weather   Singapore

Weather, Singapore

 2 Reviews   Singapore is very near the Equator, surrounded by water and HUMID all year round. Plan accordingly. Wear cool comfortable clothes and stop into air conditioned hotels or shops from time to time to... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Watch your back during lunch...

by bladedragon

Especially in CBD hawker centres, there might be someone behind with a bowl of ban mian or laksa waiting for you to move your ass out from the table.In relation to the above post about tissue paper scare crow, this is yet another CBD lunch hour custom.Yep, people will wait beside or behind you, stare at you (especially when your plate is somewhere less than half full), or even put their rice bowls on the table just beside your half eaten food to annoy you so you will eat faster and leave :D

A fine country...

by bladedragon

That can means 2 things:1. Singapore, reputed to be the cleanest country in the world2. The amazing number of rules and regulation telling you what you should and shouldn't do and how much they will be fined if they break the rules.There's fine for littering, jaywalking, spitting, smoking in public places and also S$500 fine for not flushing public toilet.Oh, and the fine for drug trafficking will cost you your life!

To queue or not to queue...

by bladedragon

People here likes free stuff (local term for it is 'kiasu'), and luckily there are lots of freebies here, we have free newspaper, free tissue, free food, free drink, etc.And like everywhere in Singapore, people queue (well except when boarding trains and sometime buses...) for freebies too.But the funny part is, sometimes when you ask the people behind, they just don't know what they're queuing for...

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Which side of the escalator...

by bladedragon

Life's moving fast here in Singapore, even when on escalator.It's a custom here that if you want to relax, take your own sweet time and let the escalator bring you to your destination, you might want to stand on the left side of the escalator.And for those who want to rush somewhere or trying to catch the MRT can walk on the right side of the escalator.

Cats without tails

by muratkorman

What comes to your mind if you see a cat without a tail? You would probably think that the cat has been tortured by a child and the tail has been cut. That was exactly what I thought until I figured out that there were lots of cats in Singapore in this condition. It was hard to imagine that any human could torture these pretty animals and cut their tails. After asking some locals, I was told that the cats here genetically don't have tails. You can still see some cats with tails just like cats living in Europe, but they are few in number compared to the tailless ones. This is just a reminder not to blame any locals for the missing tails :)

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Singaporeans love Seasonal Festivals

by bpacker

Now for a country with no seasons at all, Singapore celebrate season festivals with a vengence. Undeterred by the fact that it only rains or shine over here , Singaporeans will buy pussy willows during the Spring festival, buy real, yes, real Christmas trees that wilt in our tropical heat in no time at all during the Yuletide season and lanterns and mooncakes during the Lantern Festival. In case you're wondering, mooncakes are lard-filled orbs of bean paste and egg yolks that no healthy Singaporean would consider eating on any other month. Still, come September during the Mid Autumn Festival, they will go out dutifully, in full force to buy the best mooncakes in town and hold lantern competitions in a fairyland of lights and colour in the Chinese Garden. Why? This perhaps harks back to a time long ago, when our Chinese ancestors, filled with homesickness for their Motherland and practice...

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Hawkers

by muratkorman

Singaporeans mostly prefer eating their food from hawkers which can be described as food stalls gathered in one location. When you go to a hawker, you can choose from a wide variety of food. The prices are very cheap in hawkers. With 5 to 10 SGD, you can have a feast. The food stalls may not look so clean, but they are regularly checked and rated. You can find many hawker centers in Singapore. In HDB areas where locals reside, there is always a hawker center. If you want to mix with locals, this is the right place to start with.

Walking slow

by muratkorman

Singaporeans tend to walk slow. Sometimes you feel frustrated by a person blocking your way and moving like a snail. However, this is the general rule here. Even sometimes, you will find some locals standing in front of escalators. Gently push and move forward :)

How Singaporeans Maximize value for money

by Bonobo2005

It’s common sight to see Singaporean teenagers spending hours in outlets like Starbucks on a single drink, leaving just a bit in the glass all afternoon. This is well accepted in Singapore – and I was doing about the same on Saturday nights when I was a teenager with little money.Usually when one growes up, this behaviour changes a little bit. But many Singaporeans, especially from the lower Middle Class still rather choose higher end places and spend very little than select places that better suits their budgets. I know of European restaurant owners in Singapore who had to implement unpopular measures such as a hefty minimum expenditure to prevent such locals occupying expensive seats for a whole afternoon and/or evening on one shared glass of juice. Or ordering a cheap dish, but smuggling their own drinks inside.Yesterday I was at the top end Sky Lounge of Bangkok International...

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Open / close doors in Elevators

by Bonobo2005

I have not seen any culture besides the Singaporean where people so tenaciously operate open/close doors buttons in elevators. Suppose you get into a crowded Singaporean lift making multiple stops and you are standing at the control panel. The lift makes its first stop, people disembark and you wait until the lift starts moving again for its second stop. Suddenly you notice that everyone's getting hyper nervous and staring at you seemingly annoyed and agitated. You get the feeling that you did something terribly wrong. And you did!Singaporeans don't wait until lift starts moving again on schedule. Instead you will notice there's always a volunteer operating the contol panel who will allow you just enough time to rush out of the lift. A related annoyance for Singaporeans is that, when the lift opens at your destination, you are in the back and still have to make your way to the doors....

Local traditions and culture in Singapore

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Questions and Answers

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Q:  We are flying into Singapore and will then be travelling onto Malaysia. We would like to visit Malacca, KL and Penang/Georgetown.... 

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A: Trains quite OK. The Malaysian Railways KTM offer both day trains and night trains to Kuala Lumpur, with quite comfortable 1st class seating and sleeping cars... 

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