Singapore is a bustling and vibrant city that has a diverse melting pot of cultures and races that contribute to this interesting blend of distinct quirks, which makes us uniquely Singaporeans. While most Singaporeans tend to grumble and complain a lot about this little island city, deep down in our hearts, I know that we still love our Singapore very much.
One of the things that we tend to take for granted most often would be how safe it is to just walk around the island city, even when it is past midnight. Though of course, low crime does not mean no crime, you cannot deny that it is still much safer than many other cities in the world. You could just grab a cab or private hire car home at the wee hours of the morning without getting worried that you will get robbed or gunned down during your commute. And if you are bored, you could go shopping at Mustafa shopping centre that is opened 24 hours.
Singapore being a small island city means that you can travel around with ease, and even if you do not drive, you could just utilize the public transport, which makes travelling around Singapore really accessible. Unlike bigger cities, where travelling can take hours or even a day, getting from one end of the island to the other like for example, to travel from Changi to Jurong by MRT would probably take you an hour plus only.
Singaporeans take pride in their food and with the numerous choices of ethnic food, it is no surprise how one is often spoiled for choice. And when it comes to food, we are not afraid to show our love; so much so that we are willing to queue for it. And when I say queue, I mean at least thirty minutes or more. Just head down any hawker centre with famous award-winning stalls and you can see the long queue full of patrons patiently waiting for their turn. After all, as the saying goes, “Good things are worth the wait.”
As a Singaporean, I enjoy using the Singlish very much especially when communicating with my fellow Singaporean friends. Singlish is a variation of the English language that has dialects or other languages thrown into the mix. This is a language that is close to the hearts of many Singaporeans but not all. Some people actually think that Singlish is destroying our ability to speak perfect English and that is totally absurd. Contrary to belief, we are able to switch from speaking Singlish to normal English.
Last but not least, there are Singaporean traits which some people might look upon as less desirable such as being “Kiasu”, meaning afraid to lose when it comes to almost everything in life, including getting a table at the coffee shop so we actually try to reserve or “chope” seats by placing tissue packets on the tables. It is these little acts, which may be seen as weird or even barbaric to outsiders, but to me, these are the little quirks that make us uniquely Singaporeans.