10 Singlish phrases I would actually use in the UK

Possibly not everyone knows that English is an official language of Singapore (one of 4.) What’s more, there is an unofficial (and sometimes frowned upon) mini-language called Singlish, derived from bits of Hokkien, Teochew, Malay, English and Tamil. Most of these words exist either to express something that does not have an English equivalent, or to say something more succinctly. Either way, it does come in handy, and it’s fun to use language that would be unacceptable or confusing back home!...

March 17, 2014 · 3 min · Mike Cartmell

Free tissue packs

This is a common sight at lunchtime in Singapore: tissue packs, often several next to each other, seemingly left behind on the table. One might, upon first encountering this phenomenon, assume this is the generous act of kind strangers. But it is not. You must not take the tissues. For they have an important message, and that message is this: Go away. Take your food and sit elsewhere, because this seat is taken....

September 30, 2013 · 1 min · Mike Cartmell

Settling in Singapore

So I’ve been in Singapore just over a week, and so far it’s going pretty great. It’s ridiculously easy to settle in here. Everything is crazily efficient and convenient. I think even if you’d never been here before and wandered around aimlessly for a whole day, you’d still find everything you needed. I kept my sim card from when I was here on holiday. I switched it over on the plane and it was working before I got off, including data....

September 14, 2013 · 3 min · Mike Cartmell

On moving

In a little over 4 weeks I’ll be starting an exciting new chapter in my life. I’ll be moving to Singapore, staying in an area called Sengkang, to be with my girlfriend Brin. And strangely, I’m not feeling nervous about it. Perhaps I will nearer the time. But I’ve had a lot of time to think about it; pretty much since I met Brin back in January (generally a good idea if you’re getting into a long-distance relationship), so I’m mainly just excited that the day is finally (almost) here!...

August 4, 2013 · 4 min · Mike Cartmell