20 Most Interesting, Unusual and Funny Facts About ...

The territory that Singapore is made up of consists of one main island and 62 other islets. Since Singapore gained independence in 1959, it has undergone ... VAUXHALLVICTOR.FSERIES.1957-61.UKbyronsaunders47 Singapore 20MostInteresting,UnusualandFunnyFactsAboutSingapore 20MostInteresting,UnusualandFunnyFactsAboutSingaporeSingaporeisknownformanythings–innovativearchitecture,cuttingedgeskyscrapers,peacefulcoexistingmulti-culturalcitizens,mouth-wateringcuisineand,ofcoursebeingimmaculatelycleanandorganised.ItmightsurpriseyoutolearnthatSingaporeisalsoknownfornumerousfunnythingsandthecountryisfilledwithinterestingandquirkyfacts.ThisarticlewilldelveintoourfavouritefunfactsaboutSingapore,justincaseyouneededyetanotherreasontofallfurtherinlovewiththeLittleRedDot. Unusualfact1:‘FineCity’. Singapore–MarinaBaySands Singaporeiswellknownforbeingexceptionallywell-regulated,strictlylaw-enforcingandimpeccablycleanandhygienic.Itisalsoextremelysafe,mostlikelyasaresultofthezerotolerancepolicyformajoroffensesandSingaporeisoneofthehighestcountriesintheworldforthenumberofdeathsentencesmetedout.Whiletheseareusuallygiventodrugdealersandextremeoffenders,whatmostpeoplemightnotknowisthelonglistofminoroffenseandotherunusualthingsthatcangetyouafine,ajailsentenceorawarminginSingapore. Therearestrictlawsoneverythingfromchewinggum,jaywalking,littering,smokingwithin15metersofanycoveredwalkway,notflushingatoiletinapublicrestroom,bringingdurianinsidepublictransport,andevenconnectingtosomeone’sWi-Fiwithouttheirpermission.InsideelevatorsinSingaporethereisaurinedetectiondevicewhichisabletodetecturineodors,setsoffanalarmandshutsthedoorsuntiltheauthoritiesarrive.Lastly,litteringinSingaporeistakenveryseriouslyandifyouarecaughtlitteringmorethanthreetimes,yourpunishmentistocleanthestreetsonSundayswearingashamefulbibstating,‘Iamalitterer’. Unusualfact2:Interestingcurrency NotonlyistheSingaporeannationalanthemwritteninmicro-textonthebacksideoftheirSGD1000note,buttheTembusuTreethatisprintedontheSGD5banknoteisanactuallivingtreethatisstillstandingtallintheBotanicGardens.The200yearoldtreeisolderthanthe156yearoldgardenandisasourceofmuchprideforthecountry. Unusualfact3:Fastestpedestriansintheworld Perhapsasaresultoflivinginsuchafast-paced,livelycity,Singaporecurrentlyholdsthetitleofhavingtheworld’sfastestmoversorpedestriansscurryingaboutthestreets.InastudyconductedbytheBritishCouncil,observingvariouscitiesintheworld,Singaporerankedtopofthelistwithanaveragewalkingspeedofaround6,15kilometresperhour! Unusualfact4:Singaporeconsistsof63islands AninterestinggeographyfactabouttheLionCityisthatSingaporeismadeupof63tinyislandsmostofwhichareuninhabitable.TheterritorythatSingaporeismadeupofconsistsofonemainislandand62otherislets.SinceSingaporegainedindependencein1959,ithasundergonemassivelandreclamationbycreatingnewlandfromoceans,riversandlakes;andhasincreaseditstotalsizebyanimpressive23percent.SingaporehasevenbeenaccusedofbuyingtoomuchsandfromVietnam,MalaysiaandCambodiawhichhasresultedinacoupleofprotestsandblockadesonsandtrades. AnotherfunnythingaboutSingapore’sindependenceisthatratherthanhavingtofightforit,SingaporewasthrownoutofMalaysiaasaresultofdemocraticvoting. Unusualfact5:BirthplaceoftheSingaporeSling SingaporeSlingCocktail RegardedasSingapore’snationaldrink,theSingaporeSlingwascreatedfortheveryfirsttimein1915attheiconic,colonial-style,luxuryhotelRafflesHotel.Famousthroughouttheworld,thissignaturedrinkisamusttryforallthosevisitingSingapore.Firstinventedbybartender,NgiamTongBoon,thegin-basedcocktailalsoincludespineapplejuice,limejuice,grenadineDomBenedictine,cherrybrandy,CointreauandAngosturabitters. Unusualfact6:Thereisapeanutshellexceptiontothelitteringlaw Asweallknow,akeyfactabouttheSingaporecultureisstrictadherencetothelaws.Itmaycomeasasurprisethentolearnthatlitteringone’speanutshellsontotheflooroftheelegantRafflesHotelisactuallyencouraged.Noonecansayforsurewherethetraditionoriginatedbutthereareevensignsintheswankyestablishmenturgingpatron’stodropthemontothefloorwheretheyonlygetsweptupattheendoftheday. Unusualfact7:TheBukitTimahNatureReserve TheBukitTimahNatureReservehasbeenaprotectedreservefrom1883andisthelastsubstantialrainforestinSingapore.Notonlyhasthenaturereservebeenprotectedfromlogginganddeforestationbutithasoneofthemostdiverseecologicalsystemsintheworld;infactithasmoretreespeciesthanthewholeNorthAmericancontinent! Unusualfact8:Thelargestfountainintheworld ListedintheGuinnessBookofRecords,TheFountainofWealth,inSingapore’sSuntecCityisthebiggestfountainintheworld.Boastingacircumferenceof66meters,anareaof1683squaremetersandaheightofalmost14meters,thisfountainisquitethespectacle.Thefountainfeatureslaserperformancesatnightandisturnedoffduringcertaintimesofday.Duringtheseoff-times,walkers-byareinvitedtocollectthecoinsthathavebeenthrowninforgoodluck. Unusualfact9:50%urban,50%green SingaporeBotanicGardens Knownworldwideasbeingoneofthemostdenselypopulatedcountriesintheworld,Singaporeisalsorecognizedforitsincredibleinfrastructure,contemporaryarchitectureanddazzlingskyline.Surprisingly,50%ofthistiny,economicpowerhouseiscomprisedoflush,fertilegreeneryintheformofforests,gardens,rainforests,parks,naturereservesandimmaculategardens. Unusualfact10:The‘HugMe’Coca-ColaMachine Inanattempttospreadeverydayhappiness,Coca-ColahasdesignedafunandunusualvendingmachineinSingaporethatrequestsahug,ratherthanmoneyinexchangeforacanofcoke.LocatedoncampusattheNationalUniversityofSingapore,thissuccessfulmarketingcampaigncouldn’tbemorefun! Unusualfact11:Oneofonlythreesurvivingcity-statesleftintheworld Consistingofasinglecityanditsdependentterritories,theterm‘city-state’referstoasovereignstateorsmallindependentcounty.WaywaybackthisreferredtoRomeandAthens,amongstafewothers,buttodaythatnumberhasreduceddrastically.OtherthanMonacoandtheVaticanCity,Singaporeisoneofthreesovereigncity-statesleftintheworld. Unusualfact12:Highestrooftopbarintheworld Forthosewholiketheirdrinkspairedwithaview,1-AltitudeRooftopGalleryandBarinOnerafflesPlaceinSingapore,isthehighestrooftopbarontheplanet.Stretchingadizzying282metersabovegroundlevel,1-Altitudeservesuppricycocktails,anunparalleled360-degreeviewofthebustlingcityandtrulybreathtakingsunsets. Unusualfact13:WorldrecordforTheGreatSingaporeDuckRace YetanotherfunfactaboutSingaporeisTheGreatSingaporeDuckRacethatisheldeveryyeartoraisemoneyforcharity.ImaginetheSingaporeRiveratClarkeQuaycoveredintensofthousandsofbrightyellow,cheerfulrubberducksbobbingdowntheriverbanks.Everyyearmembersofthecommunityareencouragedtopayto‘adopt’aduckandraceitdowntheSingaporeRiverforachancetowinprizes.In2002TheGreatSingaporeDuckRacesetthenewworldrecordwhenover123,000duckstooktothewatersoftheSingaporeRiver. Unusualfact14:Word’stallestindoorwaterfall Notonlyarethecolossalsolar-powered‘supertrees’atSingapore’sGarden’sontheBayatrulyimpressivesightinthemselves,butthegardensarealsohometotheworld’stallestindoorwaterfall.Toweringataremarkableheightof35metershigh,thewaterscascadedownlush,verticalgreeneryandareabeautifulsighttobehold. Unusualfact15:Singlish WhilethefourofficiallanguagesofSingaporeareEnglish,Malay,MandarinandTamil;SinglishisacompletelyuniquehybridofthebunchandisfrequentlyspokenbylocalsaspartoftheSingaporeanidentityandheritage.Studiedbylinguiststheworldoveranddocumentedindictionaries,SinglishisaninfusionofallfourlanguagesandhasbecomethelanguageofthestreetinSingapore.Asofrightnow19SinglishwordshavebeenaddedtotheOxfordEnglishDictionary. Unusualfact16:SingaporewascalledSingapura FondlydubbedasTheLionCity,thisnameforSingaporeisadirectSanskrittranslationfromthewordSingapura.SingapurawasnamedbySangNilaUtama,aSumatranPrinceafterhewassurethathespottedalionontheisland.‘Singa’comesfromtheSanskritwordmeaning'lion',and‘pura’meaning'city'inSanskrit.Andalthoughimpossiblethathesawalion,aslionshaveneverlivedinSingapore,thenamestuck. Unusualfact17:NationalChildren’sDay Since1961onthe1stofOctoberinSingapore,theentirecountrycelebratesthechildrenofSingaporebyofferinggiftsandtreatstochildrenundertheageof12.TheFridayofthatweekisalsomadeintoapublicholidayandchildrenareallowedthedayofffromschoolandhomeworktoplayandrelax. Unusualfact18:SingaporeKindnessMovement Acharityhasestablishedanon-profitcampaigncalledtheSingaporeKindnessMovementthatfocusesonteachingadultsandchildrenthevaluefoundinbeingkind,honest,polite,ethicalandhavinggoodmanners.Thecampaignwasinspiredbythe1996PrimeMinister’s(GohChokTong)NewYearMessagethatemphasizedtheneedforSingaporetobecomeagracioussociety.Respectfulandthoughtfulsocialbehaviourareexcellentbackbonesofathrivingandprosperouseconomyaswellasagoodgovernment;andthiscampaignisdesignedtoinspiresuchliving.SeeingasthoughSingaporehasbeenfoundtobetheleastcorruptcountryinAsia,themovementcanperhapsbeseentobeahugesuccess. Unusualfact19:Fortheloveoftrees Withtheir‘supertrees’thatarefamousacrosstheworldandthefactthat50%oftheirlandisdedicatedtoplantlife,itshouldcomeasnosurprisethatSingaporehasaNationalTreePlantingDayonthe7thofNovembereachyear.EveryonefromthePrimeMinistertoyoungchildrenplanttreesonthisdayandthedayisenjoyedandcelebratedbyall.TreesaresuchakeycomponentoflifehereinSingaporethatSingaporeansevengivenamestotressandadoptthemtogiveasbirthdaypresentsandweddinggifts. Unusualfact20:Singaporetimezones Singaporecan’tseemtodecidewhichtimezoneitwantstobeinandthetimezonehasbeenchangedatotalofsixtimessince1905.Fortunately,asofrightnowmostSoutheastAsiancountriesareprettyevenlysplitbetweentwotimezoneswhichishelpfulintradecoordination,businessdealings,stock-marketandbanktimesandtransportlinks.HopefullythiswillmeanthatSingapore’sclocksareleftaloneforawhilelonger. Wantmoreunusualfacts?VisitSingaporeYourself! Muchlikethecolourfulandquirkyfriendthatmostofushave,Singapore’suniquetraitsandoddidiosyncrasiesonlymakethevibrantandpeculiarcountryallthemorelovable. Whatareyoustillreadingfor?BookyourtickettoTheCityofTheLion,leaveyourchewinggumathomeandcomeandseeitallfirst-handforyourself. HowtogetfromSingaporetoKualaLumpur HowtogetfromSingaporetoMalacca(Melaka) HowtogetfromSingaporetoBangkok News Yogyakarta'sNewAirportOpensAmidstCovid-19Crises InthemidstoftheCOVID-19outbreak, Yogyakarta's newlybuilt InternationalAirport(YIA) officiallycommencedoperationslastSunday,March,29. 04April2020 BangkokAirwaysTemporarilySuspendsAllDomesticFlightsfromApril,7 BangkokAirways,Thailand-based regionalairlineandthecountry'sfirstboutiqueairline,hasannouncedthetemporarysuspensionofalldomesticservicesbetweenApril7–30. 31March2020 ThaiAirwaysCancels32Flightsto12CountriesWorldwide ThaiAirwaysInternationalcancels32flightsto12countriesworldwideduetothespreadoftheCOVID-19anddecreasingnumberofpassengers.IfyouhaveticketswithThaiAirwaysforanyofthecancelledflights,contacttheairlinebeforetheendofthemonth. 19March2020 SafeTravelinSingapore ShoppinginSingapore VisatoSingapore WeatherinSingapore SentosaTravelGuide LuxuryTravelinSingapore–PlanningandBudgeting SingaporeonaBudget–BestTravelTips 13UsefulTipstoMaketheMostofYourVisittoSingapore 10HotelsinSingaporeforallBudgets 15BestIdeasonWhattoSeeinSingapore FoodinSingapore–BestDishestoTry Top–10MostColourfulFestivalsinSingapore Showmore CambodiaTravelGuide-BestTravellingTips VietnamTravelGuide ThailandTravelGuide MyanmarTravelGuide–BestTravellingTips ThePhilippinesTravelGuide MalaysiaTravelGuide SingaporeTravelGuide LaosTravelGuide IndiaTravelGuide China–WhyGoandWhattoSee:YourQuickTravelGuide