One Day In Singapore Trivia Quiz

Answer: An island near the Equator on the south tip of the Asian mainland

Singapore is one of the smallest nations in the world, often referred to as city-state. It is about 130 miles north of the Equator. It is a series of 63 islands but there is one "large" island of around 700 square kilometres.

Hong Kong is on an island and also the adjacent mainland in the South China Sea near the Pearl River Estuary.
Taiwan lies about 100 miles off the Chinese mainland and represents the boundary of the East China Sea to its north and the South China Sea to the south-west.
Bali is one of the main islands of Indonesia, It lies between the larger Indonesian islands of Java to the west and Lombok to the east.

Answer: False

While Singapore consists of 63 islands, the biggest is the main one where the international airport is in the north-east. The causeway I can see is one of two road connections across the narrow Jahor Strait to Malaysia. The causeway is in the north. There is a second crossing in the west. Both connections are less than two kilometres long. The number of islands in Singapore is decreasing.

This is not because they are being giving away but because Singapore has a very active land reclamation program.

The easiest way to achieve this is to "fill in" the gaps between the main island and a smaller island. In the first fifty years of the program starting in the 1960s the area of Singapore grew from 581 sq. km to 719 sq. km.

Answer: Changi Prison

Changi Prison was built in 1936. Like the airport, it is on the far eastern edge of the main island. Despite an idyllic setting the prison and the adjacent garrison were used to house thousands of British and Australian prisoners of war by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in WWII in 1942.

The prison was only meant for 600 but in 1942, 3000 civilians were kept there and 50 000 POWs in the garrison. After the war the prison was used to house Japanese officers awaiting trial. Because of its historical significance, parts of the prison were preserved as a national monument when a new prison was built on an adjacent site in 2000.

Answer: Tokyo Town

Chinatown, Arab St and Little India are all precincts in the older part of the city (no skyscrapers!) that reflect the roots of the different cultures within Singapore. Each precinct has its own distinctive architecture, and shopfronts feature food and other artifacts typical of that culture.

It seems ironic now, that Chinatown should be considered an enclave when the Chinese make up the largest ethnic group. In 2014, there were over 5.5 million people in Singapore. The ethnic breakdown was: Chinese 74%, Malay 13%, Indian 9%, other 6%. Singapore has four official languages: Mandarin, English, Malay, and Tamil with most people being able to speak English (the business language) despite it being only about 30% of Singaporeans' first language.

Answer: Gin Sling

The Raffles Hotel was named after Sir Stamford Raffles, a British Colonial officer who founded Singapore in 1820 to give the British a foothold in the region as the Dutch had commandeered the nearby East Indies (Indonesia).

The Raffles Hotel started as a beach house but in 1887, it was bought by two Armenian brothers who converted it to a high end hotel. They bought neighbourhood properties to expand the hotel.

The Gin Sling, now called a Singapore Sling, has a exact recipe including
gin, cherry liqueur (cherry brandy), Cointreau, DOM Bénédictine, grenadine, pineapple juice, fresh lime juice and a dash of Angostura bitters. It was invented around 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon, a Chinese bartender working at the Raffles Hotel.

Answer: False

The statue is a Merlion (Sea + Lion) which is the head of a lion and the body of a fish. The statue represents the city itself. The Malay term for the city, "Singapura" means Lion City. It is very unlikely early settlers saw a lion but it was probably a Bengal tiger.

The statue used to guard the entrance to the Singapore River but with the country's land reclamation program this was no longer the case. The statue, opened in 1972, was moved in 1997, by barge, closer to the river entrance within dedicated parkland. The Merlion does not appear in the literature or folklore of the region.

It was designed as a logo for the Singapore Tourism Board in 1964, trade-marked in 1966 and was used as such until 1997. Its use is still protected by legislation.

There are four other Merlion statues around the city; all needed to be recognised by the Singapore Tourist Board before being built.

Answer: Street food stands are now housed in large communal markets called Hawker Centres

In the 50s and 60s, many people who were unemployed took to the streets to hawk food to people that could afford it in the commercial areas. This was generally unhygienic with little access to running water or cleaning equipment. The government stepped in, creating large open air market-type areas usually adjacent to fresh food markets featuring stalls that could provide a wide variety of prepared food in convivial conditions. Between 1971 and 1986, the government created 110 hawker centres, and then regulated their operation to ensure food was prepared hygienically. Today if you want to try a huge variety of Singaporean cuisine at reasonable prices, head for the nearest hawker centre. Chilli Crab is the national dish and is highly recommended.

Answer: The island has been made into a resort and tourist park

Sentosa Island was first known as Blakang Mati, Malay for "Dead Back Island". The island was a military fortress to repel a sea attack from the south from Japan (The fortress was ill-equipped for the unexpected land attack from the north).

After WWII, the island was made a naval base but in 1972, the government moved the base to a neighbouring island so Sentosa, as it had become known, could be developed into a resort. The island is 5km2 and with the exception of some land retained for natural purposes, has been used to create an ever expanding resort. Originally connected to the city centre by monorail, this was disbanded to favour an express to the centre of the city that can move 4000 people per hour. The resort has 14 hotels, and has retained the southern facing beaches. Some of the resort attractions include: Tiger Sky Tower; Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom; Underwater World and Dolphin Lagoon and The Wings of Time show.

Answer: No

The national flag of Singapore consists of two horizontal bands, red over white with a white waxing (points to the right) moon crescent and five white stars.
The red band symbolizes "universal brotherhood and equality of man", and the white band represents "pervading and everlasting purity and virtue". The crescent represents the young country "on the ascendant: Democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality". The nation's ideals are symbolised in each of the five stars. The flag was adopted in 1959. The crescent and the moon in this context predate the same symbols representing Islam. The moon and star symbolism was only recognised as a symbol of Islam in Singapore in the last thirty years of the 20th century.

While Singapore has no state religion, it is very proud of its religious harmony (Though Jehovah's Witnesses and the Unification Church are not allowed to practice). The main religions, in decreasing order, are Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, with Taoism and Hinduism also well represented. About 20% of Singaporeans have no religion.

Answer: Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong

In the latter half of the 20th century, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea moved from developing countries into fully fledged internationally competitive economies. Singapore achieved this through its burgeoning financial sector and its position as a transport hub.

A government with a low-tax policy, business pro-activity, a non-welfare state and as a reputation as a very low corruption state has meant that Singapore has become very wealthy, very fast. In 2015 Singapore had the third highest Gross Domestic Product per capita in the world. On the 2014 Human Development Index, a United Nations measure of the "well-being" of a country, Singapore was the eleventh in the world and the highest ranking Asian country. Singapore is a truly vibrant country not just economically but socially and culturally. I can't wait to come back.