English Compass Podcast: odcinek 2

[The plane taking off.] Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.

Hi, guys. Cześć, tu Asia Domagała, Twój kompas w świecie nauki języka angielskiego, a ta audycja ma pomóc w rozwoju Twojego angielskiego oraz umiejętności słuchania ze zrozumieniem i przy okazji, poznaniu ciekawych informacji, nie tylko językowych. Odcinki przeznaczone są dla osób od poziomu B1 w górę i są w stu procentach po angielsku. Let’s go, shall we?

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So this is the second episode of my English Compass Podcast, and this time it’s going to be about Singapore. But I will not tell you the major attractions. I will not recommend you any places to visit because I have already been to Singapore. I will not tell you what is the best daily itinerary for the city and so on, but I will firstly start with some important facts about this place and then I will focus on something different which makes Singapore quite unique. Well, some people would say weird, some people unique, some people would say special, but it’s basically about the bans and laws that are prevailing in this state, in this city. But let’s start with a few important facts about Singapore. 

So, Singapore is an independent country that is located south of the Malaysian peninsula, with English widely spoken along Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu and Tamil, and now Mandarin, as you can imagine, is one of the languages spoken in China, and Tamil is one of the languages spoken in India.

By the way, Tamil is one of the ten oldest languages in the world. It’s among such languages as Hebrew, Bosc language or Tamil indeed. So Tamil is also spoken in Singapore. But the good news is, guys, that English is prevalent in Singapore and it’s relatively, I would say, very easy to ask Westerners, Western tourists to simply move around the city.

And, thanks to the fact that English is widely spoken in Singapore, it’s very easy to blend in with the locals, making communication a real breeze or a piece of cake. So it’s truly making it a pleasure. Now, Singapore is a city state. It’s relatively small, but thanks to its compact size, I think it’s like 3 or 4 days that will allow you to navigate through the city and see the major attractions and take advantage of everything that you should.

And I’m speaking based on my experience. I’ve been to Singapore once. I spent there exactly 24 hours, and I think it was… It was just enough to see the biggest attractions, however, of course, having 1 to 3 extra days would allow me to visit more places. Now, when it comes to Singaporean weather, one thing is sure: pack for tropical weather.

Tropical weather in its glory. So you should take an umbrella. Light clothing due to high humidity and high humidity is really, really high. It’s like it’s hard to imagine if someone has never been to Asia, but it’s… It can be a pain in the neck at times. I would say scarves and light jackets would be useful for some protection and visiting some religious sites.

In some religious temples you really need to cover up your arms or your legs or your head. Now, in Singapore’s scorching weather, because it’s really it’s tropical, it’s scorching hot, you sometimes have to find a way to beat the heat, because if someone is not used to such scorching temperatures, it may be a burden. So an umbrella is one of the key solutions or simply, seeking refuge in air conditioned malls, seriously spending, like a quarter of an hour, 15 minutes in an air conditioned mall may save your ass. Simply, because you will cool down your body temperature, and then you can go outside again and enjoy the tropical weather.

Now, another thing is that Singapore is basically free from any natural disasters. It’s very unlikely for any natural disasters to happen in Singapore. It’s not surrounded by mountains. It’s not fragile to any catastrophe that could happen like an earthquake or tornado or anything similar. It’s just torrential rains that happen and it basically rains almost every day, but no natural disaster.

So it’s a very safe place in that matter. And another point I wanted to mention is indeed the safety, because Singapore is indeed known for its safety; safety, stability, low crime rate, which is really great and suitable for any kind of travelers, including solo travelers or female travelers. I felt very, very safe in Singapore, including night time. Another issue to remember is that tipping is not expected in Singapore, although sometimes service charges may be included in the bill.

So it’s good to take a look at that. Pay attention to this. Last but not least, tap water in Singapore is safe to drink, so it definitely reduces the need for bottled water when you’re there and there are also plenty refill stations available, basically, at most attractions if you walk around the city. This is some practical information I wanted to pass on.

Now, let me move on to the juicy part, which is the bans and the laws, because a lot of things are forbidden. A lot of things are prohibited in Singapore. It’s simply good to know about them. And some of them are really peculiar. They’re really maybe not weird, but peculiar. So, I think I have ten things that I have listed here.

I wanted to share them with you. So, Singapore generally attracts millions of tourists annually, among others, due to its safety and cleanliness. It’s very safe. It’s extremely safe. It’s also pretty clean. By the way, we say clean (/kliːn/) as an adjective, but the noun is pronounced cleanliness (/ˈklen.li.nəs/). So it’s not /iː/ but /e/. Cleanliness, clean and cleanliness. This is the way we say it. To ensure a smooth trip.

I think it’s really useful to be aware of some “unique” laws, “unique” in inverted commas. The first one would be no smoking in public, and it’s a pretty regular one because many areas of different parts of the world do not accept that. So really do not do that. Avoid smoking in public places and there are fines for doing that.

Of course, they’re not that high because it’s something like up to 1000 Singaporean dollars, but still it’s not allowed. So no smoking in public places. Number two: e-cigarette are prohibited. So you’re not allowed to smoke e-cigarettes. And that is much harsher when it comes to fines because it’s up to 20,000 Singaporean dollars and even imprisonment for possession of such.

So if you are a smoker or e-smoker, be aware of that because it’s simply not allowed. Number three no eating or drinking on public transportation. There are signs, pictures, slogans about that all over public transportation. So it’s really, really difficult not to see that. And they truly stick to that. So no sandwiches, no coffee, nothing. You cannot eat or drink anything on public transportation

And that is because, among others, to make public transportation a clean place, because it indeed prevents any food remains or drops of water or drops of coke, you know, being spilled on the sofas or on the floor. Again, it’s fined, not heavily, but still, you may pay a fine if you do that. Number 4: no playing musical instruments in public unless you are certified to do that.

By the way, playing musical instruments in public is called busking in English. So no busking in Singapore unless you have a special certificate so you will not come across street players or street musicians performing on Singaporean streets because it’s forbidden. Number five no connecting to unauthorized Wi-Fi networks. And that is indeed a law. And, the fine that you might get for doing that is up to 20,000 Singaporean dollars or imprisonment. 

So it’s serious-serious. Basically, if you find a Wi-Fi network, you cannot connect to that if you don’t have the permission from the owner. That’s how it works. Number six no importing or no selling chewing gum. That’s again, because they want to stick to this cleanliness on the streets and in the public sphere. So you cannot chew a gum, you cannot sell a gum, you cannot import a gum, a chewing gum, because it may potentially cause dirty streets.

That’s it. The fine you might get for that is up to 200,000 Singaporean dollars. So that’s quite a lot. Number seven no drinking alcohol after 10;30 p.m. and that’s again, there is a fine for that up to 2000 Singaporean dollars. But you may not drink after that time. It is supposed to strengthen the safety part of the city so that people didn’t drink too much after ten and they didn’t, you know, cause any street fights or any other activities that may be regarded as harmful.

Number eight no feeding pigeons on wildlife without approval. So if you see an animal, a pigeon or any other animal you cannot feed it unless you’ve been approved to do so. There are places where you can feed animals, but in most cases you cannot. So it’s also pretty crucial. Number nine is about flushing the toilet. You are obliged to flush the toilet after using it.

And again, it’s like the extreme desire to keep all places clean. You simply have to flush the toilet when you’re done after peeing or whatever you do there, flush the toilet. Otherwise, you may get a fine up to 1000 Singaporean dollars. By the way, a Singaporean dollar is a little bit cheaper than American dollar. I think it was something like 3 PLN for one Singaporean dollar.

So getting a 3000 PLN fine for not flushing the toilet. Well, I think it’s worth to remember what to do and what not to do when you’re in toilet. And the last one, the last one is, I think the most controversial one. And I also were not able to find 100% checked and verified information. One thing is sure, in the past you could not keep cats as pets in flats.

You could keep them at home if you had one, in a house, but not in a flat, but with the restriction that it was supposed to be about flats that were built by the state. So not private flats, but let’s say public flats, that the Singaporean state, Singaporean authorities decided to rent to the public. It was a little bit cheaper.

And in such an apartment, such a flat, you would not be allowed to keep a pet. The causes varied. But the reasons I found were, for example, that the common areas were dirty as a result. It was also apparently about, noise pollution. Now, it is a little bit more lenient when it comes to keeping cats.

I think you can now keep a cat, but one in this state flat and it has to be sterilized because they were also afraid that, as a result of keeping cats that were not sterilized, you know, there would be multiple cats very soon in the area. So that is something that was supposed to be avoided. Cats are now, I think, allowed to keep in a state flat, but with certain restrictions.

So this I think this is the weirdest. If I were to call one of those bans and laws weird. Really weird. It would be the one about the cats. Surprisingly, I could not find anything about dogs. Dogs, apparently. I don’t know, are cleaner. Well, they don’t make as much noise pollution as cats, but still, it’s only about the cats.

So if you moved to Singapore and you want to own a cat, or you take your own cat with you, you have to pay attention to what kind of laws and regulations are important. Yes. So the cats regulation was number ten, and this is, this is more or less it for me when it comes to Singapore.

I’m sure it’s a place worth visiting. I really liked the city. There are plenty of places to visit. Quite a number of good restaurants. It’s also a mixture of different cultures, religions, ethnicities. And because it’s so safe and because it’s so clean, it’s a really pleasant place to live. But remember about the tropical climate, it rains every day.

So it’s, it’s simply good to be prepared for that. This is it from me for today. Please let me know in the comments whether you liked this podcast and whether you have visited, perhaps, Singapore before already, and maybe you would like to share your thoughts about this state or this city. Thank you for listening guys and have a lovely day. Bye. Cheers.

[Cabin-crew announcement for landing]