LADIES, if you do not already have a serious relationship with a Singaporean and are considering one at the moment, do not be stunned should he one day ask you to buy a HDB flat with him.

HDB flats are built by the public housing authority and dot the heartlands which, in recent years, have been promoted as a tourism product to further acquaint visitors with the local culture. Visitors are not likely to miss out those blocks of pigeon-hole units containing more than 80% of Singapore’s population.

It seems these flats are so much the pride and joy of the nation they have evolved to become a tactic some locals employ to ask for their girlfriend's hand. The debate whether Singaporeans are just shy or simply unromantic aside, HDB certainly contributed more than just providing the roofs over Singaporeans' heads.