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Neil Humphreys

Knowing nothing of Singapore, young Englishman Neil Humphreys arrives in the land of ‘air-conned’ shopping centres and Lee Kuan Yew. 

From the aunties in the hawker centres to expats dressed as bananas, from Singlish to kiasuism, and from Singaporeans at home to Singaporeans abroad, Humphreys explores all aspects of Singaporean life, taking in the sights, dissecting the culture and illuminating each place and person with his perceptive and witty observations.

Written by someone who is at once both insider and outsider, the book is wonderfully funny and disarmingly honest portrait of Singapore and its people.

© 2008 by Neil Humphreys. Published in paper format in Singapore by Marshall Cavendish International Asia, recorded by Storyside 2019.

Storyside

Marshall Cavendish International (Asia)

Complete Notes from Singapore

Notes from an Even Smaller Island

Not rich, doesn’t own a condo, and doesn’t have any expat privileges, but nonetheless he manages to remain the same funny bloke happily living in the heartlands of Toa Payoh.

One year after his best-selling Notes From An Even Smaller Island had the whole of Singapore laughing helplessly; Neil Humphreys is still madly in love with his humble but stimulating existence on this sunny island. So much, in fact, that he now makes a living poking gentle fun at every oddball aspect of Singaporean life. In this highly anticipated sequel, the columnist with The Straits Times Newspaper unleashes a fresh selection from his popular pieces, with additional witty material on all the little wonders we have come to take for granted.

Expect to find more of his take on SPG, sex, doctors, toilets, fare cards …… all seemingly innocuous subjects but made hilarious through his witty observations. ‘Scribbles From The Same Island’ is a collection of Neil Humphreys’ column that was first published in WEEKEND TODAY on life in Singapore. Also included are several short stories specially written for this book. The 38 pieces of writing take a humourous look at how a foreigner adapts and copes with life in the lion city as well as the regular Singaporean’s reaction to his behaviour.

© 2004, 2008 by Neil Humphreys. Published in paper format in Singapore by Marshall Cavendish International Asia, recorded by Storyside 2019.

Scribbles from the Same Island

First published in 2006, Final Notes from a Great Island sees Humphreys embarking on a valedictory tour from his home in Toa Payoh before he leaves for a new life in Australia. He explores Singapore as he did when he first arrived—a newcomer on foot and inexperienced—visiting his favourite places: the countryside around Lim Chu Kang, the serene beaches of Kusu island, Sentosa, Sembawang Park, St. John's Island, Johor Bahru, and many more. Humphreys treks, cycles and even hitchhikes his way across this great island, encountering murderous dogs, dead cats, wild crocodiles and mad cyclists.

© 2010 by Neil Humphreys. Published in paper format in Singapore by Marshall Cavendish International Asia, recorded by Storyside 2019.

Final Notes from a Great Island

Singapore got sexy and the country’s best-selling author got jealous. After five years chasing echidnas and platypuses in Australia, Neil Humphreys returns to Singapore to see if the rumours are true. Like an old girlfriend getting a lusty makeover, the island transformed while Humphreys was away. Singapore is not just a sexier island, it’s a different world.

So Humphreys embarked upon a nationwide tour to test that theory. He went in search of new Singapore, visiting only locations that either did not exist five years ago or had been extensively rebuilt, renovated or revamped in his absence. From the cloud-topped heights of Marina Bay Sands and Pinnacle@Duxton to making ill-advised bomb jokes at the subterranean tunnels of Labrador Park, Humphreys walks, cycles, kayaks and swims across a rapidly evolving country, meeting Guinness-swigging aunties in Resorts World Sentosa, eccentric toy museum owners in Bugis, political activists in Aljunied and a security guard at Marina Barrage ready to ‘tekan’ anyone who crosses his path. In new Singapore, Humphreys discovers a country still grappling between the economic rewards of progress at Biopolis and Fusionopolis and the historical cost at Bukit Brown Cemetery.

With Humphreys’ characteristic honesty and wit, Return to a Sexy Island provides an insightful account of new Singapore; its best bits, it ugly bits and, most importantly of all, what it’s really like to pee in the world’s best toilet. Every Singapore resident and visitor should read this book.

© 2012 by Neil Humphreys. Published in paper format in Singapore by Marshall Cavendish International Asia, recorded by Storyside 2019.

Return to a Sexy Island

Singapore has been evolving at a blistering pace. Old Singapore is in danger of being left behind. As a result, active citizenry is taking off like never before with Singaporeans campaigning to save heritage sites such as Bukit Brown, Joo Chiat’s HDB flats and Toa Payoh’s Dragon Playground, with areas like Jalan Besar, Balestier and Tiong Bahru championed for their history. Nostalgia is spreading through the country. Old Singapore has never been more hip as Singaporeans cling to the last vestiges of what actually makes them Singaporean. The race is on to save an even sexier island. So as the nation celebrates its 50th anniversary, Neil Humphreys heads off on a tour of Old Singapore to find the sights and sounds that are at risk of being overlooked, forgotten or bulldozed. He walks, rides, swims and snorkels across land and sea, taking in distant islands and bluish lagoons. He paddles with otters, ventures into haunted hospitals and suffers an unfortunate slip with a tanned teenager in a sarong.

Written with Humphreys’ usual acerbic wit and quirky humour, Saving a Sexier Island is one man’s journey to find 50 significant places worthy of preservation. It’s a funny, insightful and unashamedly sentimental search for what’s left of Singapore’s soul.

© 2015 by Neil Humphreys. Published in paper format in Singapore by Marshall Cavendish International Asia, recorded by Storyside 2019.