Tag: Singapore

Cats Are Good For Singapore

Bradley Farless11 Comments

I’ve heard a lot of complaining about cats in Singapore, both first hand and second hand through friends. People seem to think they’re a nuisance and that they should all be gotten rid of.

Well, it’s true that cats can be noisy sometimes at night. They’re territorial and they like to fight. Sometimes they’re horny and they want to get laid. How can you fault them for that? It’s in their nature to do those things. It’s also true that they sometimes utilize cars as cat beds. I know from personal experience that it can be annoying to come out of the house in the morning and find a fresh set of cat tracks on the hood of a car. It doesn’t make me want to get rid of them. It certainly doesn’t make me want to do something cruel and insane like mass poisoning.

Instead of focusing on the things cats do that may annoy you, you should focus on what they do that’s good for Singapore!

First and foremost, cats are good pets. If you see a stray cat, instead of kicking it, take it home. It’s a bit costly up front, but once you get your cat used to being in your home, and fatten him or her up a bit, they’ll become lifelong companions. There’s nothing quite like having a warm cat on your lap while you watch a movie. There’s nothing quite like having all your cats waiting at the door for you because they recognize the way you walk and want to welcome you home. There’s nothing like waking up with a cat warming your head, or sleeping curled up next to you.

Every cat has its own unique personality. I never knew that before I had cats of my own.

Tangible Benefits From Cats in Singapore

Besides being great, or at least interesting, companions there are other reasons to respect cats. If you’re thinking that indoor cats are fine, but it’s the outdoor ones that are a nuisance, ask yourself this: Would you rather see stray cats or see a massive increase in huge rats in your neighborhood? Which do you think carries more disease? Heck, which carries more of the ‘gross’ factor?

Cats are natural mousers. Having cats around keeps down the rodent population. If it weren’t for cats, the rodents might overrun the neighborhoods and that would be bad, because I’ve seen rats in Singapore that were as big as a six month old cat. Also keep in mind that rats aren’t as tame as cats. The chances of your child being bitten by a cat on the playground are slim. The cat would generally run away from a human being. A rat on the other hand might be more prone to attack.

To illustrate I have some photos of a cat doing his work. I was lucky enough to see this guy cleaning up the 24 hour hawker in Pasir Ris the other night. This is in the bushes just in front of the air conditioned area of the hawker center, near where people typically park motorbikes and bicycles at night.

 

 

As you can see, cats do a good job of keeping things tidy.

A Better Option

If, however, you simply cannot stand having a lot of cats around, or think there are too many, there’s another option. Volunteer your time and money to safely and humanely treat the problem. Work with the SPCA or the Cat Welfare Society. Or, do something above and beyond. Every month, catch a cat (lure with food into a carrier) and take the cat to a vet to have it neutered or spayed. Then, care for it indoors for a week and put it back out. That will effectively reduce the cat population by potential dozens for every ‘fixed’ cat.

Summary

[Update: Just to make it clear, the pictures below are not of the same cats. The ‘bad’ pictures were taken from online news articles in Singapore. Images of similar looking cats were used to emphasize the fact that cats are cute, and shouldn’t be hurt. Thanks!]

Do Not beat up, maim, harrass, torture, or kill cats. That goes for dogs too, though it’s not so much of a problem here. Besides the fact that it’s just sick and wrong, there are stiff penalties in Singapore for that. Are cats really so horrible that you want to risk a 10,000 SGD fine and/or up to 1 year in prison? Use your head! Think of alternatives!

This:

(Source – Edit: 2016, source no longer exists)

 

 

Or this (my cute kitties):

 

 

Which Do You Want To Have On Your Conscience?

Chili Sauce or Ketchup?

Bradley Farless4 Comments

One of the things that I had to get used to when moving to Singapore was the abundance of chili sauce and peppers, and the tendency people have to eating it.  It’s included with most dishes from hawkers, or in a bottle on the table.

There are a few varieties of it.  Sometimes there’s a thick, dark brown chili paste that’s added to the dish itself.  There are also green, slightly sweet peppers that are served alongside the dish in a small cup.  Or, there are red peppers mixed with soy sauce that are served the same way.  Those are just the most common.  There are quite a few more.

Typically I’m not a big fan of chili sauce or peppers.  I think this is mostly because in the US when you get something with peppers in it or have chili sauce, it’s really really hot.  The chilis and peppers in Singapore don’t hold a candle to their heat.  This is especially true of jalapeno peppers.

However, after living here for so long, I’ve come to appreciate these peppers and the different chili sauces.  Most of them add a lot of flavor to otherwise bland dishes that you purchase at hawkers.  In fact, I think some hawker dishes wouldn’t be palatable without them.  Don’t take that to mean hawker food is bad though.  Some of my favorite dishes are from hawker stalls!

Where it gets weird for me is when I see little packets of chili sauce in fast food chains.  Or when I see a chili sauce dispenser right next to the ketchup dispenser, like at the McDonald’s restaurants here in Singapore.  People in Singapore seem to enjoy dipping their french fries in chili sauce instead of ketchup.  I can’t get used to that taste, especially since it’s a weird sort of sweet chili sauce.

The thing about McDonald’s though, and perhaps all fast food chains, is that they tailor their menus to the country they’re in.  It’s only smart.  If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to gain any market share.  For example, in the Philippines you can get a longganisa meal.  Longganisa is a local type of sausage that’s quite good!  (Click here for a recipe.)  The chili sauce is the only difference I’ve noticed with the McDonald’s in Singapore though.

I’m just glad that ketchup is still available for my french fries!

Kipling Bags

Bradley Farless14 Comments

While my wife and I were out today, we had to pass through Vivocity Mall. The monorail going to Sentosa Island departs from there. Since we were there anyway, we decided to stop by the Kipling store to have a look at the bags. My wife has been talking about wanting a new Kipling bag for almost a year. The last one she had was ruined when battery acid got on it.

So, we took a look inside, and, thankfully, almost everything was on sale. It’s the Great Singapore Sale right now! So, she found a bag she liked and while she was posing in the mirror I went ahead and browsed around a bit myself. I saw the one on the right and liked it and decided I should get one as well.

In the end, my wife wound up paying for both of the bags, as a gift, since I was covering the costs of our outing to Sentosa.

If you’re not familiar with Kipling, they’re a really good brand. Also, each bag comes with a monkey attached to it, like you can see in the photo. Each monkey has a tag on it with a name. My wife’s bag, on the left, has a monkey named Lorena (scary right?). My bag has a monkey named Clotilde on it. Sounds like some sort of heavily muscled Norse woman to me.

Regardless, the bags are nice. They’re made of a good quality and should last us for quite a few years. I want more!

Using Swine Flu to Sell Your Product

Bradley Farless4 Comments

Swine Flu has to be the most covered and most talked about event in the last two years, and it’s not even that serious. From what I’ve read, the fatality rate is only 0.1%, which is less than the fatality rate of actual flu.

It’s a new disease though, and it’s in the media limelight, so everyone’s heard of it, and the more people hear about it and ask about it, the more the media covers it. I think it’s past the point of informing people and bordering on propaganda. Sure, people should be informed, but hasn’t it gone on long enough? I even question the extra scanners that have been set up at airports and such, if the swine flu isn’t even as bad as a regular flu.

Now, H1N1 is even being used to sell products! Dettol is a common cleaning agent company here, selling everything from hand soap to floor cleaner. The following pictures are from a can of disinfectant spray, similar to Lysol.

Cosplay and Dance Routine Mascots at Tampines 1

Bradley Farless4 Comments

We were walking out of the Tampines 1 mall to take a shortcut down to the lower level and heard loud music playing and saw a crowd gathering. I ran over to see what was going on and immediately got my camera out. This is kinda weird, and not something I’d ever expected to see going on as a mall promotion. I’m not entirely sure it was the mall they were promoting, though. I saw a Tampines 1 logo on one of their suits, but the wading pool in front of them had a message about renewing energy, so it could have been a mall sponsored energy conservation promotion.

[Update: I found out that the mall has a blog and that these guys are promoting the Amore Living store on the 5th floor, which has an outdoor pool on the roof, as part of their fitness complex.]This second group surely had something to do with a toy store. I quickly took a few pictures. Then a woman asked if I wanted my photo taken with them. She looked like she was wearing a jacket with a business logo on it so I was scared she was going to ask for money. I politely said no and then quickly retreated!

Don’t Pee in the Lift

Bradley Farless2 Comments
Don't Pee in the Lift

From country to country you find a lot of laws and rules that don’t seem to make much sense to you at the time, but they’re usually laws like women having to cover themselves in public (Saudi Arabia), or it being illegal to step on the local currency (Thailand).  They even make sense, given the cultural background of the area, or in the sense that stepping on the currency could be construed as a gesture of stepping on (disrespecting) the leader whose image is on that currency note.

Don't Pee in the Lift
Don’t Pee in the Lift sign in an elevator in Singapore

I found a law in Singapore that kinda just blew my mind though.  It is unlawful to urinate or smoke in the lifts (elevators), and there are signs posted by most lifts to remind you of the fact, as seen above.  Reminding people to not smoke in an elevator is something I can understand.  It’s a matter of common courtesy to non-smokers who have to share those same elevators, possibly with children, to get home.  On the other hand, urinating in an elevator is just something that never crossed my mind.  It’s just not something I’d ever even thought of.  Are people’s mentalities really that different from country to country, that something as basic as only urinating in a toilet (or maybe in the bushes) is something a person has to be reminded of?

When I first saw these signs I was more amused than anything, but I recently stumbled across a forum where an instance of a person urinating in a lift was actually recorded on camera.  And, to top it off, it was a woman.

Saw this in Xin Ming Ri Bao (17th Nov 2008).

A Gril was caught urinating in a HDB lift and it’s caught by the hidden camera.

The girl is believe to be in her 30s.

It happen in Sembawang GRC, but not sure where. Because the offender is facing away from the camera, they can’t identify her. The newspaper report that the town council is going to put up notice with her picture beside lift of HDB (Most likely Sembawang GRC) to warn others not to do it….

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I thought only boys or some dogs will do such thing in HDB lift… didn’t know girls also so daring….

I’m actually at a loss for words on this one.  Is this just a cultural thing, or is it an individual fault?  I would typically lean towards the latter, but the fact that there are signs up means that this must happen, or must have happened before, quite often.