Hear. Here. Singapore. Episodes

The Speak Solid Singlish campaign continues with a 3-part lesson on Dating! We present a faux romcom dating scenario with "Su", as she teaches the finer points of how the local language of love is spoken. My Singlish guest vo...

Our 4-episode mini-series to help you Speak Solid Singlish concludes with "Siao" - the hokkien word for crazy. In Singlish, it's flexible - it can be a good kind of crazy, and it can be out-and-out bonkers mad! My Singlish gu...

Speak Solid Singlish brings home the bacon in this ep by teaching you how to express your shock at things you encounter, via "Wah Lau". We'll also teach you the many variants you can use for different situations. My Singlish ...

Our 2nd Speak Solid Singlish episode looks at the 3 Kias - Kiasu, Kiasi and Kiabor. Will you speak like a local just from listening to this series? Maybe, maybe not, cos this is part parody, part homage and all tongue-in-chee...

Kicking off the 3rd season of Hear Here is the first episode of a mini-series featuring the most iconic Singapore sound of all - the English-based creole language known as Singlish. With a special guest, I will teach you a ne...

What is the sound of nostalgia? In Singapore, a city remarkable for its progress since independence in 1965, you can now visit an exhibition at The National Museum of Singapore and hear one panel of the iconic Solari Board th...

One of the oldest and most beautiful temples in Singapore is Thian Hock Keng temple in Chinatown: it used to face the beach and ocean, and sailers and merchants would come to give thanks or seek blessings from Mazu, Goddess o...

The smell has been described as old socks, rotten eggs, and dead grandmothers, but for those who know, it reigns supreme with it's hard as nails spikes on the outside and custardy fleshy seeds inside. We hang out with Ah Seng...

Of all the things you hear in Singapore, the one thing that's most likely to catch your ear is the English accent here: hear comparisons to major English accents (US, AU, UK) and dive into the unique qualities that set our En...

For those thinking of visiting Singapore, our welcome mat is always out! This episode is for those who come to our sunny island, and want to know how to order coffee... like a local! Visit Singapore - Order Kopi Like a Local ...

If you're willing to go west - really, really west - you can get an awesome sunset snap at one of the iconic spots in Singapore. Keeping guard on the breakwater of the Raffles Marina is a lighthouse that keeps maritime traffi...

Singapore's border checkpoints are among the busiest in the world, with a total of 450,000 travelers every day across the 2 land crossings. Join me an hour before dawn at the Tuas Checkpoint in the west as the waves of traffi...

The oldest Hindu Temple in Singapore is the Sri Mariamman Temple on South Bridge Road, in the Chinatown district. It's famous for the annual firewalking festival and the daily poojas. More low-key and intimate is the Archanai...

Listen to the mesmerizing soundtrack of a pooja, as a nadaswaram (long horn) and thavil (double-sided drum) add syncopated beats, drifting tempos and intricate phrases to the ringing bell as devotees seek the blessing of the ...

In the heart of the downtown core of Singapore is an open field where many historical events took place as Singapore bloomed from British Colony into the vibrant, thriving, independent city-state that it is today. It's big en...

One of my favourite highlights at a Chinese Wedding Reception in Singapore is the Yum Seng, a toast to the newlyweds where going LOUD and LONG is great. If you've never been to a Chinese Wedding Reception, I'll give you a 3-i...

Has the search for the perfect sound spa for the ears finally found a winner? I visit Bukit Timah Railway Station, part of the Rail Corridor, and if you walk 500m from the road, you'll find yourself in tropical forest, teemin...

I explore a park that's right in the city, with a major expressway running along its western perimeter. It would seem a foregone conclusion that traffic noise bleeds into the park, and while that does happen, you don't notice...

Singapore has Four National Taps when it comes to water sources, and the cheapest is local catchment water, i.e. natural rainfall. Rain water is carefully diverted into the reservoirs around Singapore, and in the east, the bi...

Covering 18 hectares in the heart of the downtown core, Fort Canning Park is an unlikely candidate for a quiet spot to relax, but the trees do an admirable job of blocking traffic noise. While wandering in the area behind For...

In this ep, I visit a 132 year old cemetery surrounded on all sides by residential housing. The Japanese Cemetery Park in Hougang is a gazetted memorial park and offers a sound spa for your ears, as the houses form a sound ba...

Every Chinese New Year, lion dances take place all over the island in the 2 week festive season that starts every CNY. On Day 5, I was in Plaza Singapura on Orchard Road, and one troupe performed for hours as they performed t...

Walla is the buzz of voices created by Hollywood sound designers so a nice sonic atmos can be added to a scene where the extras had to be silent. It got me thinking - how does walla made by Oscar-winning sound designers compa...

Asian horror films like Ringgu, The Eye and Shutter revolutionized the genre, with Hollywood studios remaking these classics for English audiences. One common trope is cemeteries, which made me think: what does an actual Asia...