Lingua Franca

Singapore has a few official languages: English, Malay and Mandarin.  Most of the signs are in English, especially in the touristy bits. 

But...

I really think that they could do with some more checking of the business names here. I've seen a few that have made me do a double take. For example Hiroshima Handbags. I don't know about you but expensive leather goods are not the first thing I associate with Hiroshima. Then there is the ladies fashion chain - Wanko. What? Really?  Then my absolute favourite Fourskin. Their slogan is "pull it on and then peel it off". I am truly speechless. 

Once you get away from the tourist areas the English signs seem to disappear. I discovered this last night when I got off the MRT at the wrong stop.  Easy mistake as half the stations here seem to have "Boon" in their name. There's nothing guaranteed to make you feel like a foreigner more than not being able to read the signs on the shops.  And being the only european in sight.  Actually that makes it sound like I was braving the ghetto but I was really just in one of the suburbs full of HDB housing blocks but it is a weird experience to be rendered illiterate between the train station and the food court.  The locals were very friendly though and I had a great plate of satay chicken.   A large proportion of the population here live in these towers and they are like multi level villages with lots of people living their lives in the communal areas and food courts which are in most of the blocks.  I walked past one with a wedding reception in full swing in the communal area under the block. How they make this sort of living work here when it was such a disaster in almost every other place they built tower blocks is another mystery of Singapore.

I went to the Singapore National Museum today. It was very interesting and quite amazing that they can fill a whole museum with stuff about a country that's really only 43 years old. I was interested to see that the clever digital tour guide was available in English, French, Mandarin, German and Japanese.  I would love to know if the Japanese version has the same commentary as the one I had when we got to the section on the Japanese invasion and occupation. Actually it may have had no commentary at all as the nice Japanese family in front of me didn't even stop at that bit but went straight to the end of the war. I make no further comment.

I also keep seeing this ad all over the MRT and billboards in town:

If you can't read it, it's advertising "Brand's essence of chicken". What the hell is that? And would you drink it everyday? I'll get a bottle and let you know.