Get to know Singapore -CLOSER

I came across this interesting T-shirt in Chinatown of Singapore. By looking at the t-shirt, it is basically self-explanatory, they are the "DON'Ts" in Singapore.

Let me list it out for you.

1. No Smoking -FINE $1000
2. No urinating in lifts - FINE $500
3. No Feeding - FINE $1000
4. No eating and drinking in MRT(train) - FINE $500
5. No Littering - FINE $1000
6. Not Flushing (toilet) - FINE $150
7. Possession of Fire Cracker - Cane
8. Possession of Drug 30g - Death Sentence
9. Vandalism - Jail and Cane

Is it true that there are so many rules to be observed in Singapore?
It is not true as long as you don't get caught.

Jokes aside, isn't it looks a bit contradicting of what you would have seen in travel ads that Singapore is a "FUN" city!

If you are planning to visit Singapore, don't get disappointed yet, there are still a lot of "FUN" things to do comparing to the "FINE" things.

Being a shopping paradise, you'll never be short of things to buy in Singapore, especially since Chinatown is one of the tourist attraction, there are many interesting souvenirs, clothes, accessories available.

Unlike Bangkok (in Thailand) or Bali (in Indonesia) where shops can easily slash their prices by half; in Singapore, though some discount may be offered, don't expect to get 50% discount as of the earlier.

Though prices of goods in Chinatown are normally higher compare to elsewhere in Singapore, they are not too overly inflated (though there are still some exceptional cases. DO BE CAREFUL).

Anyway, as a rule of thumb, in order to get a good bargain:

1. Even you really like an item, don't show that you are interested

2. Always ask for a discount for item you are interested even if it is shown as "Fixed Price"

3. In case the shop attendant is giving you a smaller than expected discount, increase your asking price a bit so as to encourage the shop attendant to reduce the offer price further.

4. If the shop attendant is not willing to reduce the price at all, try to walk away, in order to prevent you from leaving, they might offer you a better price.

Note: The above rules may not apply to all shops

With so many varieties of food to choose from, you'll really be spoilt for choice here in Chinatown. Instead of restricting yourself to just restaurant food, is worth trying out some of the local hawker food.

In Singapore, the best place to try out local food will be at the "Hawker Centres". They can be found in almost every corner of the island.

"Hawker Centre" is the local term used for collection of individual stalls selling food at very reasonable prices in an open-air arrangement (as in the picture above).

In Chinatown, there are 2 main hawker centres. One of them is the Chinatown Complex Food Centre @Smith Street, and the other is the People's Park Food Centre between Eu Tong Sen St. and Upper Cross St. (Check http://www.streetdirectory.com for their exact locations)

There are many food you can try in Hawker Centres, among them are:
- Char Siew Rice (find out more @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Char_siu)
- Wonton noodles (find out more @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonton_noodles)
- Fried Kuey Teow (find out more @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Char_kway_teow)
- Niang Tofu (as shown in picture above)
- Ngor Hiang (as shown in picture above)
- Fried Beef Hor Fun (as shown in picture above)

If you are trying to order a cup of coffee from the local coffee shops (called "Kopitiam" locally) in Singapore, don't ask for Latte or Cappuccino, they won't understand what you want.

In order to get a standard coffee with milk, you'll need to order it as "Kopi". Is worth mentioning here that 'milk' here refer to condense milk, NOT fresh milk (fresh milk is more expensive).

As "Kopi" are normally quite sweet, to get milk coffee with less sugar, you'll need to order it as "Kopi Siu Thai"

If you are a black coffee drinker, just simply order it as "Kopi-O".