Singapore confuses me. It’s without a doubt a country in Asia. But it also seems to be a city and a county. Its cleanliness is far above par to its neighboring countries and the architecture is comparable to Dubai.
So, what is confusing me?
Singapore has gained a good amount of attention from the uniqueness of their various laws and punishments. I knew even as a young teen, “don’t chew gum if you ever go to Singapore.” I stored that in the vault, thinking I would never need to access it again. Little did I know…
THESE LAWS CONFUSE ME. WHY WERE THEY MADE?
- Eating raw fish while lecturing on science is illegal.
- It is against the law to speak to a donkey in Chinese.
- It is illegal to urinate in an elevator.
- It’s illegal to carry a Bible or to talk to anyone about Jesus Christ.
- The sale of chewing gum is prohibited.
- WINNER FOR MOST MIND-BOGGLING – It is illegal to walk around in your own house naked.
- WINNER FOR BEST LAW EVER – If you are convicted of littering three times, you will have to clean the streets on Sundays with a bib on saying,” I am a litterer.” This will then be broadcasted on the local news.
I hope that last one is serious.
With such specific laws, I don’t understand how, walking through Chinatown I saw the following things I would never expect of Singapore:
Haha, nice to read your post to get your insights.
All I can say is, we have a lot of rules BUT we do get around them when we can…:)
Not too sure about eating raw fish while lecturing on science and speaking to a donkey in Chinese though. Have never heard of it.
While the sale of chewing gum is prohibited, you can get away with chewing gum (if you dispose of it discreetly) 🙂
As for the littering, it’s something like a public shaming I suppose. But I can attest that it does not always get broadcasted on the local news. If it was supposed to have been, I have never seen one before.
All I can say is….Welcome to Singapore…hope you enjoyed your visit!! 🙂
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I love it! Thanks for the feedback! Do you have any suggestions of things to do? Especially in terms of night life?
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plenty!! depends on what kind of activity that you are looking for though.
If you are into the party scene, clarke quay has lots of bars or you can head to muhd sultan road.
If you are into shopping, mustafa centre is 24hrs and is an icon for night shopping.
If you are a foodie, plenty of 24hr coffeeshops around the island…:)
If you are looking for plays, esplanade or marina bay sands would have a few varieties.
Or….you can just hang out at the casinos if you are feeling lucky…haha….let me know if there are others…:)
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Great thanks! I’ll share these with my friends and we’ll look into something fun. Thinking of doing the Marina Sands Skywalk (?) for a sunset dinner as well.
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I feel like I’m flooding your mail….haha…sorry about that…
Just wanted to add that if you are into nature, you can head to lim chu kang area to visit sungei buloh nature reserve and then go around the farms in that area….or if you want to take it one step further, I used to hear of a place that you can stay overnight in the lim chu kang area. That area is mostly farms so it’s where we head for a bit of nature out of the city…
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No worries 🙂
Sounds like I’m going to have to come back to Singapore with more time! Thanks for all the info.
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No probs! 😉
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Sorry, forgot to add:
It is illegal to urinate in an elevator because we have had people do that. It’s very disgusting and smelly to walk into a lift with urine. It has happened to me before.
It’s illegal to carry a Bible or to talk to anyone about Jesus Christ. I suppose this is because we have other racial groups in singapore and this is to prevent discord among the community as it has happened in the past. But I have seen some people try to do this discreetly though.
The sale of chewing gum is prohibited. I think this was because gum was difficult to remove and could have been disruptive in some instances. I remember gum sticking to the lifts when I was younger.
It is illegal to walk around in your own house naked – as long as your doors are closed and no one happens to see you, no one will care. 🙂
But honestly, we are like any other typical asian country – just a bit more anal and cleaner…but please do come again!! 🙂
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