SHENTONISTA

“I’m from Western Japan, and I moved to Singapore three years ago with my husband who is working here now. I love Singapore, especially the food, because everything is so good, but I still miss Japan so much. It’s my favourite place to travel to.”

“I'm a food and drink writer at Timeout Singapore, which has been a really fun experience so far. It's bringing me to a lot of places, because I basically get paid to eat and drink. I’m definitely putting my waistline on the line here, but I’m always looking forward to my next meal—I live to eat.”

“Us Japanese, we have a lot of beautiful old silk kimonos. Many people don’t wear them anymore, and I hate to see them waste such good quality silk, so I started thinking about recycling these kimonos and turning them into items that we can use today, like umbrellas, fans, bags, caps, and so on.”

“In my time working in the Esports industry, I picked up the skill of shoutcasting. It’s basically game commentary for live Esports matches, and it works the same way as sports commentaries. It’s usually done in pairs with a play-by-play caster who tells you exactly what’s going on in real-time, and a colour caster who tells you their analysis of the game itself and the plays being used.”

“I’m from Lyon, France, and I’m taking a gap year here in Singapore before deciding what Masters Degree I want to pursue. I’ve been here for three months, and I love the food here. In France, I used to eat a lot of spicy Asian food, so it’s not really new to me. And I used to be a vegetarian, but I have to say satay is the best thing I’ve eaten here.”

“I’m from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, and I’m here on a holiday with my boyfriend. My boyfriend grew up here, and we made a promise to come to Singapore together 10 years ago when we were still just friends, and now we’re here together for the first time.”

“One reason why I’m in the CBD a lot is because of the running routes here. I find that they’re the best. There’s just something about the vibe here that’s not the same with anywhere else in the country. The Marina Bay area is actually my favourite. I like to run and people-watch there. It’s the one area in Singapore where you can really see a mix of people—interesting folks of different strokes.”

“To me, photographs capture a specific, fleeting moment in time, but with videography, I feel like I’m able to capture an entire memory in a single video. Both forms of art are nice, and each of them have their pros and cons, but filming is more for me.”

“I’ve been pole dancing on and off since 2010. Earlier on when I first started, I really loved doing all the tricks and getting strong, but now, I’m old already lah. I focus more on lighter dancing now, and looking pretty. Don’t need to be strong anymore, my bones cannot take it.”

“Back in 2016, my husband had a near-death experience, so needless to say, it was a very challenging and emotionally draining period for the family. However, I had to remain strong for the sake of my children, who were only 10 and six years old at the time. Thankfully, we pulled through and are happy and healthy now, but I really learnt the value of togetherness and unity through this experience.”

“I’m 61 years old and grandmother of a pair of three-year-old twins, but I’m still currently working as a civil servant, and I love to exercise and keep fit. In fact, I picked up weightlifting exactly a year ago, and now, I can deadlift 95kg, which surprised me.”

“I have a lot of close friends around the world because I travelled for a bit pre-COVID and made quite a few good friends from those trips. When I’m overseas, I usually make friends through other friends, because normally when I travel, I have friends there that I’ll visit. Just be a nice person, and you’ll make lots of friends easily.”