Quirks of Singapore
- Ria Gandhi
- Aug 6, 2018
- 1 min read
Updated: Dec 23, 2019
Some interesting (and weird) observations I made during my time here...
People use absolutely any item to save a space anywhere (for example, something as small as a tissue on a table at a hawker centre is a sign that the table has been saved while the person has gotten up). This practice is also known as chope-ing.
No napkins/tissues are available at hawker centres or small restaurants - you have to bring your own.
Cars in Singapore cost five times as much as the US because of the need for a Certificate of Entitlement ($40-50K per car) and the Additional Registration Fee (basically a car tax that doubles the price of the car).
There is nowhere you can buy or sell gum - you're only allowed to bring small amounts in for personal use.
If you even drink some water on the subway (aka the MRT), you will be fined S$500.
^And that's because:
No eating, drinking, littering, or durians (a smelly fruit) are allowed on the MRT (that's why the public transportation in Singapore is one of the cleanest in the world).
But not a single trash can is to be seen in a MRT station...hm
Lines are commonly referred to as "queues"
Most restaurants charge you for water - 50 cents for warm water and S$1.50 for cold water.
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