88 Reasons I Love Singapore From Food to Culture

My friends and I went drinking last weekend and had a long discussion about the reasons why we love Singapore. They have theirs and here are mine.

Reasons Why I Love Singapore

• It’s where I met Fafa.
• My best friends.
• Supper sessions.
• Kinokuniya bookstore.
• Singapore Lunar New Year celebrations.
• HDB.
• Changi Airport.
• The clean, affordable and reliable MRTs.
• Small coffee shops at Duxton Hill.
• Clean and organized city.
• Ah Chew dessert.
• Quirky boutique hotels.
• Little India.

As an Indian who has never been to India, Little India Singapore is the closest version of Indian culture I have experienced so far. Here, I learned there are many types of South Indian food and many versions of Indian sarees.

Unlike many locals who prefer to stay away from it, including some of my friends and taxi drivers, I love staying in the neighbourhood (I live 10 mins walking distance from Serangoon road), with Mustafa around the corner, where can get almost anything here, 24hours 7 days a week.

I have roamed around the Little India neighbourhood at odd hours, whenever I get bored or homesick.

• Arab Street.
• Hanging out after office hours at the Working Title.
• Singapore is safe

Coming from a not-so-safe Jakarta, I truly embrace Singapore’s safety. It’s not a small matter walking alone after partying the night away and feeling utterly safe about it. I have faced Singapore at any hour of the day alone and never once did I need to be worried about my safety.

As a girl who grew up feeling unsafe on a daily basis, this alone is enough reason to love Singapore.

• The conveniences, which include post office everywhere.
• The vibrant blogger community.
• Being neighbours with Thailand.
• 24 hours Starbucks.
• Singapore Botanical Garden.
• Peranakan culture and kueh.
• The city’s skyline.
• Mind cafe and Cat café at Boat Quay.
• Drinking the night away at Clarke Quay. The clubbing scene in Singapore is pretty f-ing epic thanks to Clarke Quay, Boat Quay, St. James and many others.

• Getting silly drunk at Prince of Wales pub.
• Geylang.
• Asian deserts and the Twelve Cupcakes.
• Less than a 2-hour flight to Jakarta.
• Crab-o puff at Old Yang Kee.
• Korean Quarters.
• Roadside fortune tellers.
• Beer Fest comes with a delicious array of snacks and stands-up comedies.
• Universal Studio Singapore.
• Warm Kaya toast
• Merlion Starbucks.
• Long walks, along the river and inside MBS.
• The familiarity of Plaza Singapura.
• The potluck of cultures.
• Anything is available at any time.
• Reaching anywhere within an hour.
• Cloud Forest.
• Fast internet.
• Indian culture.
• Extended family.
• Strictly Pancake’s pancake.
• The museums.
• Koi café bubble tea with ice cream.
• My old apartment in Kentish Green.
• My landlord lady.
• The greenery.
• Sisha-ing at Blue Jaz, Arab Streer.
• Chinatown.
• CLEO magazine.
• 7-11 $1.60 chicken pau.
• The abundance of weird people.
• Bishan neighbourhood.
• Windy and gloomy days in Singapore.
• Singapore food culture. Whatever it’s you feel like eating, Singapore is ready to indulge your tastebud. And most of the time it’s going to cost you less than $5.
• Cheap Hawker food.
• To be able to blend in and be invisible.
• Gandhi’s Rassam and Bhai place’s Vadai.
• Appreciation for the arts.
• Mustafa.
• Tamil movies playing in the movie theatre.
• Drinking Teh Tarik in a plastic bag.
• The band that plays at Wala Wala at Holland Village on the weekends.
• Cute stationary stores.
• Local designers.
• Strong superstitious beliefs.
• Geylang nightlife.
• Singapore Great Sale.
• 16 Floors of Singapore National Library.

It’s such a nerd thing to say, but honestly, Singapore National Library, Borders and Kinokuniya have been the reasons I fell in love with Singapore in the first place.

• Temples.
• Fancy dinner at Wine & Co.
• BBQ chicken wings and stingray by the East Coast beach.
• Celebrating the Ghost Month.
• Sufi perfumery.
• Sim Lim Square.
• Haji Lane Arab Street Singapore Shopping Street.
• Heritage buildings.
• SEA Aquarium.
• Levi’s store that carries my size.
• Shangri-la Rasa Sentosa Resort Beach View hotel.
• Year-long celebrations of different cultures and backgrounds.
• Spending time with friends or playing PS by myself at Coffee Min.
• Being able to wear tank tops and or short shorts every day all year round.
• Local works of literature and writers.

I love Singapore. Memories tucked in every corner add another reason why I love Singapore. Why it’s home for me. Now that my last day in Singapore nearing, officially marking the end of my immigrant life here, I have started feeling nostalgic about it.

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