INSIDE SINGAPORE 🇸🇬 (Is This The Perfect Country?) 

I live in Singapore for the past 5 years. Was from another south east asia country. Regarding the rules that Singapore have and how strict they are in terms of actually taking action if someone did something wrong, I love it. It is what makes this country so safe and clean. Everything is in order. Things rarely ever go wrong. Crime rates are super low. I can go out alone as a female without worrying about my safety. In fact I forgot to think about safety until I travel to another country recently.

I as a Singaporean love the rules here! The grass on the other side is supposed to look greener, but I’ve almost never thought that about my country. I just love the safety I feel here, and that things actually get done in the political scene. It’s efficient, and in many cases, my voice can be heard if I think a system or a rule can be better modified. It just feels like that. I guess Singapore really fits me.

i am a singaporean living in japan for the last forty years.everytime i go home,singapore takes my breath away.it is so compact .everything in such a small country ,beautiful,well organised,everyone of different natio nality respecting their boundaries living in harmony and of course great food.but most of all the people understanding the limitations of a small country and working hard to maintain the stability and harmony in our country.we hope that this unique blend of culture will make us special and be an inspiration.thank u for introducing my country

Any person who can appreciate local 'Laksa' definitely is someone of 'premium' food taste. Thump up for you! 👍🏼

What do locals think about this laws? Frankly, it’s overhyped by foreigners. Yes, there are many laws, but they’re seldom enforced e.g. I’ve rarely seen people fined for chewing gum or littering. That’s because most people agree that it shouldn’t be done. So while it may be the laws that set the practice at first, now it’s just kinda second nature to most of us. And it makes our city much more livable!

I lived in Singapore from 1998 to 2003 - wonderful city - countless fond memories.

I am from Singapore working in overseas. Still I enjoyed your videos on my country and yes, its a food paradise especially with local street food on different cuisine and ethnic group. Love it and thanks 😊

Welcome to Singapore :) As locals here, we welcome all the rules and fines because it is how it makes our country so clean, safe and living harmonously with different races. You can walk around in the middle of the night (except certain dingy place / back alleys) safely without fear of getting robbed, mugged or harassed. Enjoy your stay in Singapore and the wide spectrum of food from our multi racial community.

Welcome to Singapore! As a singaporean, the rules all have one common factor, its about not hurting your fellow residents. Like you noticed, chewing gum left on public benches used to be a scourge enjoyed by a few, but the masses suffered the consequences, hence the ban. Similarly with littering, if u litter, you are hurting the common space used by everyone with your selfish act, hence a fine is imposed if u blatantly break that law in front of law enforcement (which dont really patrol the streets, since not much crime happens). From that perspective, the laws are protecting you from the selfish acts of others. So as long as you dont do anything that hurts or inconveniences others, you can do almost anything in singapore.

You guys are so amazing! Can't believe my ears when you guys pronounce names of the local food so well! 😂

I am from Malaysia living in Singapore for 12 years. Love the quality of life, efficiency, safe - regardless the time of the day, how organize it is, clean, orderly, the greenery, amazing government and loads of delicious food. The only thing I wish I can change is the weather! Too hot and humid hahaha

Welcome to SG! In general, we are very comfortable in our own skin. Many of us travel widely and are exposed to different systems and governance. We can get on with our life safely and harmoniously here. We get work done efficiently with minimum fuss and corruption. It sounds almost like a machinery but we have a social contract we can live with. Thanks for visiting us again!

Thank you so much for taking the effort to explore our city and doing such a great job in documenting it visually! We all know how troublesome it is to go around in the hot weather (especially with all your filming gear), hope you had a pleasant experience and everyone treated you well

Welcome to Singapore!!! I actually love these kind of vlogs where you really explore Singapore, not only the most popular tourist spots that everybody else always vlogged about, but you visited the neighbourhood places rich in our culture like Geylang & Chinatown and also tried the food in hawker centres which is not only affordable but also very delicious..I hope you can go to other parts of Singapore too especially the less talked about by tourists but is very much appreciated by locals. Singapore might seem expensive to some but if you planned well, you can actually save a lot of money while bringing home the most precious unforgettable moments.. also love you guys and Julia is very pretty😍😍

I am an Indian living in Australia for last 12 years (Australian now) and Singapore is my favourite city. It is 100% safe which is one of 10 factors why I rate this country/city so high

Hi Matt and Julia, Thank you both and have enjoyed your post here. Welcome back after 4 years. Chewing gum import and sales in Singapore is banned except for medical reasons. However, there is no problem bringing in small quantity but strictly only for personal consumption. We have only one city and it got to be comfortable for every residents and visitors. Let say if Londoners don't like stepping all over sticking gums in London, they can move to Manchester etc etc. Here we have no other city to go to! The strict fines for littering and spitting in public etc also serve to advertise to visitors from say third world countries who may bring their own habits here. Have a nice time here!

Oh my goodness Singapore looks beautiful. Loving all the greenery everywhere. The park you went to looked amazing. 🐱 X

I was born in the Philippines,worked in SG for 5 years and now lived in the US.I was so grateful to experienced this 3 countries.When you’re in SG,you can go to Malaysia,Indonesia and even Thailand.Enjoy your stay guys.

Welcome! I see you found the wildlife too. Those are jungle fowl, the original chicken. Like all animals in Singapore, those are protected species. Even though we are currently having a chicken shortage ... :)

Thanks for dropping by and having such positive vibes about my homeland. Hope you keep coming back.

I'm not sure why everyone seems to get this wrong. Chewing gum isn't banned in Singapore. The sale of chewing gum is banned. This means you can bring in gum from other countries and chew it in Singapore and it's fine (just don't throw or leave it anywhere since that's technically littering or vandalism). You just can't sell it to anyone or buy it from anyone else in Singapore.

Thanks Matt n Julia for visiting Singapore and largely enjoying your experience here. It is interesting you brought out the law against being naked even in our own homes. Well, we Asians are more conservative and such acts are considered “indecent exposure” when others see it. But it does not stop anyone from getting naked at home actually. You just simply have to draw your curtains and close your doors so nobody sees it. It is a small matter and there is a simple solution so we can all accept such rules. It is not “authoritarian” at all. Other rules may bother on being authoritarian, I agree. But in return we get safety, social cohesiveness among different ethnic n religious groups etc. Also, many foreigners consider Singapore as “undemocratic” simply because we have a single party which has ruled Singapore since independence 57 years ago. Although the governing party is not perfect (no party is), on balance they have managed our country well over the years, so we don’t see a need to change the government just for the sake of being democratic. “If it ain’t broken, don’t break it”. The key is that we have a general election every 5 years and if the current ruling party turns bad, we have the power to vote them out and put another party in. Enjoy all your travels and stay safe guys!!

Welcome to Singapore 🇸🇬! Glad you enjoyed our country.

What a beautiful city! I love the littering law! I am so impressed with the beauty of the city! Beautiful filming as always

Julia, Laksa is one of my fave dishes. When you said it almost made you cry, I teared up a little watching your reaction, not gonna lie. The area you were in, Joo Chiat, is where I grew up in the 60's. Welcome to Singapore, Matt and Julia.

I am a fellow Singaporean. Thank you for sharing the video clips. Hope you have had a good vacation in Singapore. Cheers!

Methinks you are already half-Singaporean, your video was quite food-centric! Literally LOL when Julia said "I'm so excited ..." in front of her bowl of laksa 😂😂.

Glad you manage to experience Singapore's public transport system. It is one of the best in the world.

Wonderful to see two young people enjoying Singapore, have a lovely adventure! 🌻🌞

Welcome to Singapore. They say you can't say you experienced a country until you've tried it's food. You certainly have experienced Singapore. Love your openness and sense of adventure when it comes to experiencing it all. My admiration and respect to you. Next...durians

As a Singaporean based in London for the past 6 years, I really enjoyed video like this. Thank you and glad that you enjoyed Singapore!

Oh how I miss Singapore! I worked and stayed there for 4 months in Sembawang

Thank you for keeping an open mind. I am a Singaporean and I appreciate these 'weird' Singapore laws! Funny thing is, I had always accepted them growing up, but I started really appreciating them after I spent 10 years living/working abroad.

"...Laksa transformed me into a better human being..." haha! I love Julia's relationship with food !!! But I am intrigued now as to what her was like before trying the Laksa for the first time ? When I have some time I'm going to watch all the videos from the beginning and write down all of Julia's favorite foods, surely it will be a very looooong list !! By the way those deep fried Curry Puff are so similar in shape to the Argentine fried empanadas although the filling is completely different. By By Until the next video

Thanks for the nice video of my country. Glad u liked our food. The only thing I wish I can change in Singapore….. is the weather. I wish its a little cooler and not so humid.

Hello from singapore :) I am from Malaysia living in singapore for the past 6 years . Absolutely love the cleanliness , safety, transportation here :) the cons is probably having my guard down to easily if I travel overseas like not paying attention to surrounding . Due to the level of safely in sg felt like every one can walk , looking at your phone head down while walking etc travel at ease .

Welcome to Singapore!! Really glad you love it here and trying out our local food ❤️❤️ Very interesting, that you love the spicy food 👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I was in Singapore in 1960... What a change!!! I love your videos so much. I was a globe trotter when I was young.. left Australia when I was 20. I'm in my 83rd year now and live in France. Watch all your videos - wonderful!

Thanks for Ur video. I am a Singaporean and we appreciate the laws here because it just makes sense. We will think through the consequences of it if it is not implemented and yes, that's why we buy into it. Chewing gums used to be legal here and it was a mess. The train and doors were vandalised with chewing gums all that made the place dirty, sticky and prob inefficient if the train or lift can't function well. So laws are meant to protect us and make us feel secure which it has since we can walk around Singapore anytime of the day without much fear of being robbed. Children are playing late at night at playgrounds. So we are thankful to the government of being strict and yet coming down to our level to engage with the communities and people to also be a listening ear for us as they have regular weekly sessions with the residents here. So thank u once again for loving Singapore and appreciating our food, culture and system!

Hey, I stayed at the same hotel during my last visit to Singapore! I love this amazing city, and that neighborhood is just so nice!

Welcome to Singapore! A suggestion for you to try out: get the road side ice cream these ice cream are usually sold in the parks, but there are also some in other places, like orchard. the ice cream is really cheap and I highly recommend you to try the ice cream wrapped in bread or the one sandwiched between biscuits

Welcome back to “Rojak*”Singapore! 1:33 actually there’s plenty of paying options besides cash - credit card, debit card, QR, etc 7:02 if you haven’t already Googled it yet, I think it is best explained here -Putu piring | Infopedia 11:50 your guess & description of Laksa is spot on.👏 14:15 IMO Boat Quay is arguably the most dramatic iconic transformation over our brief 57 years of independence. Google images of Boat Quay as recent as 1980s and you’ll see a completely different scenario. 16:05 it can get crowded if there’s events. But also because since our independence, Singapore is designed with many self-contained satellite towns / constituencies. So essentially one can find / do almost anything with each constituency. 17:00 Our laws are punitive for blatant inconsiderate non civic-minded people caught in the act. However, you will agree you hardly ever see any policemen or enforcement officers waiting to catch offenders. Yet, many still do break these laws. FYI the importation or selling of most chewing gums is banned. But if you have in your private possession (obviously purchased from abroad) some chewing gums. It isn’t illegal to chew them. Ideally it would be nice if people can be responsible and civic without punitive laws but our Govt feels to effect change quickly, people unfortunately respond when it’s punitive. We do occasionally try educating and persuasion. But Singapore can be impatient and expect things to change instantly. Like any country, Singapore isn’t perfect I HOPE YOU’LL HAVE FUN! *means mixed in Malay. Also a name for a mixed salad and/or fruits with sauce. There’s a Chinese, Indian & Malay versions. The word is also often used as a slang to refer to a mishmash of things.

Welcome and glad to hear you enjoy staying here!

So good to hear ur perspectives of Singapore and I’m so glad you’re adventurous to try our hawker food!!! Glad u enjoy SG! Welcome back!

Love your cheerfulness and positive energy, readiness to laugh and smile. Welcome to Singapore, stay as long as you like and you're always welcome!

Just got back from Singapore, 2 days ago. I love it there. The problem is, the food is so good and in expensive that I seemed to have put on a few pounds around my waist. But, I don’t know how some people can afford cars. The price of the car plus the certificate is huge… and gas is outrageous. Regardless, I love it there. I especially love to run along the bay and over the dam. So beautiful.

Singaporean here.... regarding the laws.. A lot of people look at the laws but don't focus about what it gives you. Like you mentioned, you never worry about sitting on chewing gum in public transport or anywhere. You never have to worry about an unsightly nudist neighbour showing his junk infront of your children, you never have to worry about public demonstrations interrupting road or public transport due to protests. The key is you can live life the way you want it as long as it doesn't interrupt others.

Hey Matt and Julia, thank you for portraying a pretty accurate picture of Singapore. I just like to make a small little comment, hope you don't mind. Chewing gum is not banned in Singapore per se, you can chew gums, just DO NOT spit it anywhere you wish, that's where your wallet hurts. The sale of chewing gum is what's banned, but if you have a packet of chewing gums (or two) for private consumption, you are fine. The laws are authoritarian because Singapore needs it, using chewing gums as an example, if there's no law against spitting the gums everywhere, you could imagine the mess and the costs to remove them. Consider the population density, if everyone were to do as he pleases, living here would be terrible. On the contrary, if everyone keeps to the rule, living well in Singapore is definitely not a problem.😀

Oh wow!! Singapore is beautiful and the cleanliness of the city was very apparent. I love the rules, although I am a serious gum chewer so I may suffer withdrawal. You guys' love of food is truly inspirational and you always leave me salivating for the dishes you are eating...LOL!! Great video as always. Looking forward to more.

If you want a suburban feel of SG, skip the central area, head to places like Sembawang, there are lots of hidden gems, extensive parks and connectors and some scenic views in the evening.

Welcome to spore! We may be small, but we are unique in our own ways! Happy exploring & enjoy yr stay!

I like this series very much!! ❤ Thank you so much for showing around Singapore!!

As a singaporean, i am really grateful for all of the great food great sevice awesome enviorment i just love it here

Welcome to Singapore. It is a place where you can have good food, be in a clean environment, be safe, move around the city easily and experience a melting pot of cultures. Expensive (relative to other south east asian country) yes...but it comes with a lot of other perks.

I love Singapore, one of my favourite places to visit

Great video. Singapore is so interesting to me. It is definitely on my bucket list. I like the discussion at the end of the video; it was quite philosophical. What makes an ideal society? Where does individualism ruin society and where does society ruin individualism? America ( I mean the USA) is very individualistic, and there are times I feel like no one cares for the greater common good. Now I'm going to have a bowl of ice cream because I can't have Laska. By the way, that looked so good!

Welcome to Singapore 🇸🇬 I’m a Singaporean staying in the North East! You guys should check out the neighbourhood areas also as it has nice places and affordable food! And Coney Island where u can do cycling and enjoy the beautiful scenery! The safety is tip top and healthcare also. Transportation is pretty efficient. Would love to show you around if you’re still in Singapore ❤️

Thank you for am excellent feature of my country. we are definitely more expensive than our other SEA neighbours but we are renowned worldwide for being a wondrous melting pot of immigrants. A truly multi cultural destination especially in terms of cuisine, heritage and lifestyle where people of different race truly co-exist in harmony.

Thank you for the video. I totally enjoyed it. You guys gave a positive review about Singapore. Its good that you guys enjoyed the local hawker food. Food at tourist spots are much more expensive. I also appreciate you guys venturing into our local area. Keep it up and cheers !!!

hi guys, nice to know u like singapore. maybe u can try going to the neighbourhood centers to have more great food. actually there are alot more nice places in singapore. happy exploring.

After the Philippines, Singapore prices must be a shock to you, especially if you want to have a beer in a bar :)

The thing about being fined for being naked in the apartment is that most citizens live in apartments/flats where it's relatively close to each other and where you can somewhat peer into your neighbours' apartment. So it comes down to whether you really want to see your neighbour(s) naked. On top of that, I would say Singapore is quite conservative; hence that rule

Welcome to Singapore! I think with these many rules, you are still going to enjoy staying here. There are many rules but not strictly enforced unless someone reports you or you are caught redhanded by authorities. There is an army rule in Singapore, you can do anything but don't get caught.

Your video made my day, thank you. Hope you guys are doing well. Beautiful city to say the least. 30 years ago I almost applied to work in the prison system in Singapore, they were looking for officers from Canada to teach their prison officials. It would have been a great job if single, but to uproot my family it was just to much to ask of them.

Welcome to 🇸🇬 What an awesome couple & great vlog💚

Malay curry puff is typically fried while others are baked. As a Chinese Singaporean, Malay puffs are the best! 7:41 that's just rice flour and filling in it is gula melaka (coconut palm sugar). You can chew gum, you can't buy/sell in Singapore, you can buy from overseeas for yourself but not in huge quantity, if you got checked at the custom, that's fine, it wouldn't get confiscated.

as a Singaporean Local. Welcome to Singapore! hope you stuffed your faces with food! do consider mixing all different types of food together! ( Chinese / Malay and Indian ) Also drink plenty of Sugarcane or water! prices do get cheaper in the heartlands like Ang Mio Kio or Bishan ( different view of Singapore fast life in the city ) ( Red Line MRT ) Edit : Oh and try the MacDonald Macspicy. Thank me later :D you can consider getting *Prima taste* Laksa packets from the airport or any of their outlets

Fun to see Julia when she is hungry, WHICH SEEMS TO BE ALL OF THE TIME!

“And butter chicken 🙅🏼‍♀️” that expression is so cute and funny 😆

Welcome back to Singapore. Love your expression when you are eating the bowl of laksa. BTW, about the chewing gum thing, the misconception people have is that people are banned from chewing them. That is not true. The law is that the sale of chewing gum is banned. You can still chew them if you have them. Just make sure don't litter them. Also the point about being fined $300 for littering -- while it is a law, it is very rarely carried out. But people don't litter much not because of the law, but just a social behaviour that we grow up with.

RU-vid asked me to watch this again after six months.

You both are smarter than most tourists I've seen cause you ate at hawker centres rather than restaurants. There's where the locals eat. Cheaper yet nice!

Wow, didn't expect that the Philippines series will end that fast.

Sounds a little much when you read on the law against being naked in your own home with your curtains up. But if you think about it, the flats here are pretty compact and you can literally see into other people's home purposely or accidentally, and having this law protects the people from unwanted sights, especially if you have kids at home.

Putu Piring is a Malay//Indian steam dessert made with rice flour coconut and caramel ''raw palm sugar'' known as ''Gula Melaka''.. meaning Melaka sugar.. you will find a lot of Malay sweet made with palm sugar.. Enjoy..

Hi !!! Welcome to our “FINE” country SINGAPORE. glad to see you both are enjoying yourself here with the food and the different cultures!

As a hokkien Chinese in Malaysia. I'm happy to know that Singapore is better than ever. So proud

In my fictional world, Malaysia surpasses Singapore in every area

In a way, Singapore strives for "perfection" (or at least "above-average") out of both necessity and convenience. On one hand, it's a relatively tiny country, hence very limited in terms of resources, and very vulnerable. Which means that in order to thrive, it must outshine nearby cities, attract & maintain trade, become an "everything-hub" and all that. On the other hand, Singapore happens to be situated in a geographical sweet spot which is free from hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts etc, is "summer" all-year-round and also happens to be an important nexus in the ancient Maritime Silk road. So yeah, we're both stressed and blessed by the geography. :)

What a lovely fun couple enjoying themselves thoroughly............. really positive.

I can see that the first month of laksa that u guys had a flash back memories of the previous laksa experience. Hehe...

Yes walking naked in the house in full view of a neighbor who has a line of sight would be illegal. But ironically, the government said they could not implement laws about passive smoking from your neighbours

Putu piring filling is a palm sugar.

I love the mix of people.

lovely to discover you most lovely people, thanks for sharing

So one of the reasons why you are not experiencing crowds in the city center is because city planning has been trying to decentralise the city center. You'll definitely see crowds in the heartlands like Serangoon, Jurong, Tampines and Ang Moh Kio.

Since you stay in Geylang, you should try out a smelly fried toufu eatery. It is diagonally opposite city plaza or opposite Grandlink. It is a rare food experience

Nice to see you picked up the right rucksack! A great vlog ! All the best!

You can buy Laksa paste from any supermarket in Singapore and take it back home to cook your own Laksa.

The logic behind the no-naked in your apartment is that Singapore is too densely populated, and we live in very close proximity, which means your neighbours are likely able to see what's happening through your windows. especially if you or your neighbours have young children.

Wow it's amazing you even got to try the putu piring. The filling is actually palm sugar known as gula melaka. This stall is a very famous and popular stall and I'm glad you tried it👍👍👍

Fantastic video and so glad you found the Laksa soup Julia......I want to try it !

I am very sad so many good & fantastic things are happening in Singapore but why can't my country (Malaysia) be like them.

Thank you for all you two do for us! Really love your background music!!!!😊

Great video always interesting can't wait till next one 😀 👍 thanks for sharing.

Welcome to Singapore 🇸🇬 enjoy your trip and enjoy our food

So much delicious food so little time. You described the Laksa perfectly. Even looking at the Laksa so colorful, beautiful and seeing you enjoying it bring tears to the eyes.............. and saliva gushing in the mouth lol As Singaporeans say Shiok!!

Hi Julia!!! I could feel your happiness when you slurped the Laksa soup! ❤️ Can I recommend you my favourite Laksa; it’s in Yishun, a bit far, but I swear it’s worth the trip. It’s called 928 Yishun Laksa. Btw, love love your video! You guys radiate positive and gratitude. Love it! Welcome to Singaporeeee!

Act of Chewing gum is not illegal. It’s selling that’s illegal

Locals don't go to the city areas all the time. Usually we prefer to just go to the neighborhood shopping malls and hawker centres to eat and to get what is needed. If you want local crowds, then you got to go to the town centres of Ang Mo Kio, Toa Payoh, Jurong East, etc. The crowds you used to see then were mostly tourists, and they have not returned in droves yet since the big tourist markets for Singapore like China, Japan and India are still not making it easy for their citizens to travel I guess. But I believe it won't be long before the travellers start trickling in as Singapore has relaxed its covid entry rules just about 2 mths ago. So enjoy the tranquility and lack of crowd while it lasts!