What's culture shock to you for those who live(d) in Singapore?

[ScoobyDoes]

.... why is that other's who are waiting behind me think it is OK to push in front of me to get in the door? It's only common courtesy that the person closest to the door gets on first.

Actually the courtesy is to let the person that arrived at the bus stop first and has had to wait the longest to get on the bus first, not whoever happens to be nearest the door where it stops.

I don't think that's accurate. If there are ten people waiting for a bus when I arrive should I take a poll and find out who was there first?

If there are ten people waiting for a bus when you arrive...... they are ALL at least entitled to get on before you. Theory goes that if any of them move for the bus as it arrives, they get on. It's up to them to sort out which of them was before the other but they were before you so you wait. If you turn up last and stand by the kerb where the bus happens to stop and get on, sorry that's wrong.

I'm not saying whether it works in practice or not, we are talking what's common courtesy. Simply because everybody has lost the ability to queue or consider those around them is not an excuse to what's right.

The principle still works when going for a haircut, whomever was in the shop before you gets to go first and you take note only of who came after.



Loops: the "Door Close" thing in elevators really bugged me when i moved to Hong Kong 12-years ago......... and it still does. One of those things you'll never get used to i think.

[pstanley]

MRT crowds, there is no give way, no queuing, people just crash in as soon the door opens, without letting people getting off first.

And people don't move into the centre of the train, all cramped around the doorway, so poeple can't get on to the train.

and when you ask people Politely to move, they'll just pretend they either don't know your existence, dont hear you, or simply just ignore.

Used to be so MAD about this, later on, found out, oh well, there isn't much you can do. Either you say *excuse me* and push yourself in to try to give people behind you more space to come into the train, or, you somehow become one of them, just well pretend it doesn't bother you, and that's what everyone does anywyay.

ARGH!

Every ex-pat in Singapore mentions this

We have people on the London Underground who try to board when others like me are trying to get off the train. They are usually tourists, I find that just knocking them out of the way works fine .

[lost_canuck]

Every ex-pat in Singapore mentions this

We have people on the London Underground who try to board when others like me are trying to get off the train. They are usually tourists, I find that just knocking them out of the way works fine .

I have to disagree, sorry most of them seemed to me to have quite local (london) accents after they got shoved, and then proceeded to said sorry, or berate me for stepping on their toes lived in london for 3.5 years and trust me the MRT is a walk in the park compared to the london underground. At least when they scoot in front of you or try to get past you they attempt not to shove you.

[ksl]

Personally I cannot imagine anyone getting very far on the London underground by pushing people out of the way, You only have to look at a person the wrong way in UK before you get challenged. So I believe you wouldn't be pushing very many, before you land flat on your ass, and that goes for Singapore too!

They do shove in front in SIngapore, of which i allow, it's their way of showing how impolite they are, or lack of manners and upbringing. Although I have a few times stepped in front of people trying to shove in front, if they do it in a damn rude way.

It's also the same while driving, they very rarely give way! ignorance is bliss, I guess! Or they are just too selfish to think of others, which is more likely. Because even the very well dressed and probably highly educated people do the same.

[lost_canuck]

ksl: they usually say sorry as they crash into you, not an actual shove cause they didn't use their arms, must be a throw back from football,, I thought I was going crazy when I moved to England and walking down the street I kept having people run into me, albeit accidentally (hmmm) anyway I then went to Copehagen for christmas one year, and walked around the Tivoli and the main street shopping area where there were heaps of people and not 1 person ran into me, and I never rain into anyone either.

anywho, the world is becoming the me first world, the 80s were the me generation when everyone was making money and advancing themselves and now it is the me first! Everyone seems to think they deserve to be first, first in line, first to the lights, first in the door and first out the door, sadly too wrapped up in their own little digital worlds to see anything going on around them, if they aren't on their phones, they are plugged in and tuned out,, who knew the 60's mantra would actually come true? They never tunrned on and tuned out, they were too turned on and involed with each other*lol*, but with todays gadgets we can completely ignore each other and pretend we don't even hear others as we shove our way through life.

can you tell I am an optimist?

[chixchix]

Being a Singaporean ,it seems so funny when I read what the Expats here have to say about the attitude and Kiasuism of local Singaporeans.Sad to say but often its the Chinese who react this way.

[pstanley]

Personally I cannot imagine anyone getting very far on the London underground by pushing people out of the way, You only have to look at a person the wrong way in UK before you get challenged. So I believe you wouldn't be pushing very many, before you land flat on your ass, and that goes for Singapore too!

Only the tourists ksl Most people in London know the rules on the Underground (which might be different to other countries) and just follow them. Its the tourists that don't know the rules, like letting people off a train before they get on, instead of trying to pass physically through someones body. These are the people that locals will push out of the way

PS I have lived in London for 9 years and never got into a fight for looking the wrong way at someone - its just common sense not to stare at people

[ksl]

Personally I cannot imagine anyone getting very far on the London underground by pushing people out of the way, You only have to look at a person the wrong way in UK before you get challenged. So I believe you wouldn't be pushing very many, before you land flat on your ass, and that goes for Singapore too!

Only the tourists ksl Most people in London know the rules on the Underground (which might be different to other countries) and just follow them. Its the tourists that don't know the rules, like letting people off a train before they get on, instead of trying to pass physically through someones body. These are the people that locals will push out of the way

PS I have lived in London for 9 years and never got into a fight for looking the wrong way at someone - its just common sense not to stare at people

Now I see what u mean!

[ksl]

ksl: they usually say sorry as they crash into you, not an actual shove cause they didn't use their arms, must be a throw back from football,, I thought I was going crazy when I moved to England and walking down the street I kept having people run into me, albeit accidentally (hmmm) anyway I then went to Copehagen for christmas one year, and walked around the Tivoli and the main street shopping area where there were heaps of people and not 1 person ran into me, and I never rain into anyone either.

anywho, the world is becoming the me first world, the 80s were the me generation when everyone was making money and advancing themselves and now it is the me first! Everyone seems to think they deserve to be first, first in line, first to the lights, first in the door and first out the door, sadly too wrapped up in their own little digital worlds to see anything going on around them, if they aren't on their phones, they are plugged in and tuned out,, who knew the 60's mantra would actually come true? They never tunrned on and tuned out, they were too turned on and involed with each other*lol*, but with todays gadgets we can completely ignore each other and pretend we don't even hear others as we shove our way through life.

can you tell I am an optimist?

yes I can, I have noticed the gadget freaks in another world! I do it myself, when I get tired of the staring on the MRT, just close the eyes and away! It's a stressful world for many these days.

[ksl]

Being a Singaporean ,it seems so funny when I read what the Expats here have to say about the attitude and Kiasuism of local Singaporeans.Sad to say but often its the Chinese who react this way.

Well in terms of percentages, I would say you are right, the other nationalities are rather polite, Indians and Malays. and no I'm not, being
prejudice, I am married to a Chinese!

[ScoobyDoes]

Only the tourists ksl Most people in London know the rules on the Underground (which might be different to other countries) and just follow them. Its the tourists that don't know the rules, like letting people off a train before they get on, instead of trying to pass physically through someones body. These are the people that locals will push out of the way

PS I have lived in London for 9 years and never got into a fight for looking the wrong way at someone - its just common sense not to stare at people

Completely agree. I have felt surprising at ease on the tube and there is a system, that for most part appears to work. I have far less problems getting on/off a train there than i do in Singapore..... heck it's even easier in Hong Kong than Singapore now and it wasn't like that a few years back.

Could it be that Hong Kong only separated from Britain ten years ago(nearly) so everybody still remembers how to queue whilst SG has been on it's own for far longer and has forgotten? You know we Brits have a thing about queues

[Plavt]

Some of the folks above seem to be a little out of touch; not queuing, pushing and shoving are commonplace in London; take a look at a good many bus stops and how people behave when boarding, same on the underground!

[lost_canuck]

Some of the folks above seem to be a little out of touch; not queuing, pushing and shoving are commonplace in London; take a look at a good many bus stops and how people behave when boarding, same on the underground!

I was thinking it had been a long time since they'd been there, they certainly aren't describing the underground I travelled on in london *lol*

que? orderly? I have seen the shove tactic used where they just put their shoulder into it, worse than a rock concert and it doesn't help when they can't run the system anyway. One time a women asked me if I could move so she could get on the tube, we were already packed to the rafters, to which I responded 'where would you like me to stand exactly? where that guy is? or perhaps on that woman?" she just shoved someone else and crammed her way into the corner by the door on the train, much to the chagrin of the others, andmuch tsking.

[soulkittenz]

i got a culture shock when i took my first mrt ride in singapore too... but i hear it can be worst in other countries so i'm not complaining anymore.. another thing i notice is that most ppl walking on the streets won't give way, even if they look like they're gonna walk right into you.. its like 2 ppl going kamikaze on each other and neither wants to step to the side abit to avoid collision.. but of course somehow they always avoid it at last sec

[christoscy]

This will sound really stupid to some but it makes my blood boil: people who eat lots of spicy food then sit next to you on the MRT, the other day a young man sat next to me, soon as he sat down his breath made me hold mine.
Within a minute i turned around and said to him with a smile"we had a bit of garlic this morning didn t we???"
His response brought another issue up,how some don t know how to treat people. "go sit else were if you have a proplem with it cos i don t"