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

[meiteoh]

... Unfortunately, unless you are of Malay descent, Every body on this island regardless of the colour of their NRIC or level of their EP is originally a foreigner or descendant of one.

Just to clarify something, studies have shown that the Malays are not the natives in Malaysia (and Singapore). In fact, they came from places like Acheh and Jawa to settle in Malaysia and Singapore. So in reality, they too can be considered as foreigners.

[snowqueen]

..the spicy food..the KFC chicken without gravy....the fried chicken with curry flavor...

Are you kidding? I love that! That is excellent.

i just dont like curry..lol. but i love gravy....i eat KFC with rice topped with gravy. lol

For someone from the UK, KFC is a whole different experience here. Curry flavour chicken, gravy and rice are not in the menu so it all seems a bit strange. I love gravy on chips from the local chippy and curry sauce on chips is good after a few beers although there are some people from different areas of the UK (like London) who find it repulsive that northerners (like me) put gravy on their chips.

Mmm, just thinking about it now makes my mouth water.

[patsy_sg]

Mmm, just thinking about it now makes my mouth water.

now I'm craving for it!

[hiromice]

Glad I read all these posts!

I will try to take the taxi the first few days then...btw, do they jump in front of you and push you away while getting into a taxi?

[patsy_sg]

not normally no. there are taxi ranks where most people would queue for a cab, or if you call for one they'll give you a specific taxi number.

[joliefemme536]

I wasn't prepared for all of the stares I received while there. The MRT was very uncomfortable for me due to a few of the locals staring at me for extended periods of time. I know I'm Black but surely I'm not the first black person that they've seen...

A few of the public restrooms threw me for a loop as well. There were no commodes just little holes in the ground. I was like wow! lol

The "smells" on the MRT, enough said...

[SunWuKong]

The "smells" on the MRT, enough said...

That must have been the East-West line, it has older trains. But I think its a lovely smell! I'm a farm boy and the smell reminds me of cowsheds back home! Nothing like the smell of cow shit, artificial or not, to make me reminisce. Nice of the Singaporean's to recreate that just for me.

[ksl]

I wasn't prepared for all of the stares I received while there. The MRT was very uncomfortable for me due to a few of the locals staring at me for extended periods of time. I know I'm Black but surely I'm not the first black person that they've seen...

A few of the public restrooms threw me for a loop as well. There were no commodes just little holes in the ground. I was like wow! lol

The "smells" on the MRT, enough said...

My apologies if this upsets you, but if that is your picture on your nick, then i would be be staring at you too, "You are very attractive" and I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes off you either! I'm British by the way, not that it makes much difference.

When i take my 8 year old daughter who is mixed, I get stared at all the time, again she is very beautiful and attracts photographers as well. In Taiwan photo's had been published in magazines without our permission, which i found quite annoying, and did something about it.

I'm afraid that beautiful looking women, will always get stares.

In mainland China back in 1992, Tiananmen Square, I was surrounded by farmers from the Country side, they had never seen an hairy chested foreigner, and wanted to pull the hairs on my chest!, Thank god I only had two buttons undone You get used to it, or just go up to them and say do you know me! Of course it can happen for many reasons, but don't let it get to you, be confident and go for it! Pop the question if they make you feel uncomfortable.

[joliefemme536]

I wasn't prepared for all of the stares I received while there. The MRT was very uncomfortable for me due to a few of the locals staring at me for extended periods of time. I know I'm Black but surely I'm not the first black person that they've seen...

A few of the public restrooms threw me for a loop as well. There were no commodes just little holes in the ground. I was like wow! lol

The "smells" on the MRT, enough said...

My apologies if this upsets you, but if that is your picture on your nick, then i would be be staring at you too, "You are very attractive" and I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes off you either! I'm British by the way, not that it makes much difference.

When i take my 8 year old daughter who is mixed, I get stared at all the time, again she is very beautiful and attracts photographers as well. In Taiwan photo's had been published in magazines without our permission, which i found quite annoying, and did something about it.

I'm afraid that beautiful looking women, will always get stares.

In mainland China back in 1992, Tiananmen Square, I was surrounded by farmers from the Country side, they had never seen an hairy chested foreigner, and wanted to pull the hairs on my chest!, Thank god I only had two buttons undone You get used to it, or just go up to them and say do you know me! Of course it can happen for many reasons, but don't let it get to you, be confident and go for it! Pop the question if they make you feel uncomfortable.

No offense taken

[sundaymorningstaple]

My apologies if this upsets you, but if that is your picture on your nick, then i would be be staring at you too, "You are very attractive" and I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes off you either!

ksl, I was thinking the same thing when she first started posting. Figured her boyfriend was one lucky dude! But she still hasn't confirmed if the photo is her's!

If it is your pic, then joliefemme536, you are one foxy lady!

[adibahhhhhh]

i'm a local and i do get culture shock mind you, from the rudeness and lack of common sense potrayed by most of my population.

1.) hoity-toityness of salesgirls in designer & high-end shops

- they always give you a once-over and once they assume you're not worthy of their time (think early twenties, jeans, a crumpled rock tee and messy hair) they blatantly ignore you and continue gossiping with their colleague while you're in a corner trying to figure out where the price tag's at. then you look up and see that same salesgirl pimping a bag to the most seemingly perfect woman on earth.

2.) hiring people from china who speak only 3 sentences of english

- why do they even do this? we are not a chinese country. it is unbelievably annoying. i'm sick to death of not getting what i need, be it a shoe size, a hair colour, a drink...all because of a communication breakdown. i don't even speak in an accent, and yet they don't understand basic english. shouldn't the hr people train them first? it gets even worse, sometimes a whole entire shop is filled with salesgirls from china.

3.) the mrt situation

- when i push past people to get to the center of the carriage, they throw me a dirty look and do a 'tsk'. another thing. most middle-aged chinese aunties are very fond of using the 'tsk'. makes up for their lack of vocabulary.

4.) people who walk really slowly during the rush hours of morning, lunch and evening

- people who suddenly stop walking for no apparent reason. people who swing their arms so you don't even have space to 'overtake' them. people who stand on the right side of the escalator. this bloody irks me. the escalators in raffles place and tanjong pagar mrt will be jam-packed with idiotic commuters who refuse to move along.

as for the tissue chope thing, i admit that i am a recent convert to that institution. i used to loathe people who use tissue packets to get seats but really, when you're in a crowded hawker centre, hungry as ever and the end of the lunch hour is approaching fast, a tissue packet is your friend. can't beat them, join them. sad but true.

i have traveled to melbourne, perth, japan and was pleasantly suprised. i experienced none of the above. it was the best six days of my life. i kid, i kid, but you get the picture.

[Strong Eagle]

I wasn't prepared for all of the stares I received while there. The MRT was very uncomfortable for me due to a few of the locals staring at me for extended periods of time. I know I'm Black but surely I'm not the first black person that they've seen...

A few of the public restrooms threw me for a loop as well. There were no commodes just little holes in the ground. I was like wow! lol

The "smells" on the MRT, enough said...

Get used to it. As a white guy in Shanghai I was invited to pose in family photos with people from the norther provinces... they haven't seen much in the way of white people.

[nakatago]

The "smells" on the MRT, enough said...

I'm from a third world country and the smell shocks me. Makes me want to carry baking soda/charcoal powder/alum whenever I take public transport.

[Asian_Geekette]

The "smells" on the MRT, enough said...

I'm from a third world country and the smell shocks me. Makes me want to carry baking soda/charcoal powder/alum whenever I take public transport.

I always have with me green balm (milder version of the Tiger balm). I have been known to surreptitiously dab a small amount on the tip of my nose whenever I feel as if I'm about to faint (for the record, I haven't fainted yet in my entire life) because of the smell.

[nakatago]

The "smells" on the MRT, enough said...

I'm from a third world country and the smell shocks me. Makes me want to carry baking soda/charcoal powder/alum whenever I take public transport.

I always have with me green balm (milder version of the Tiger balm). I have been known to surreptitiously dab a small amount on the tip of my nose whenever I feel as if I'm about to faint (for the record, I haven't fainted yet in my entire life) because of the smell.

The baking soda will work for everybody, not just me. The balm, not so much