The good, the bad, and the ugly in Singapore

[sierra2469alpha]

"The Train on Platform 7, to Frankston, has been delayed"

Sums it up in one for those from MEL

[Splatted]

"The Train on Platform 7, to Frankston, has been delayed"

Sums it up in one for those from MEL

Last wednesday, they cancelled 5 trains in a row on the Dandenong line headed towards the city because of the weather.

What sort of a lame excuse is that?

Trains going the opposite direction weren't cancelled, by the way.

[Splatted]

mrt etiquette aside, I find Singapore trains are WAY ahead of most public transport services in the world.

I'm currently back in Melbourne, and I'm finding not only do trains not come on time now after privatization, but are randomly cancelled with out any notice whatsoever.

You also have to walk carriage to carriage to find a seat that doesn't have a soiled patch on it.

I honestly wish Singapore bought out the melbourne public tranport system, and then we'd really see the standards improve.

Hi man in Singapore you don't need to worry about the seat at all,because it's always crowded .Yesterday another guy jumped into the rail for suicide made the whole red line stopped for 1 hour in rush hour.
For bus,I think nobody wanna keep himself waiting for 15-20 mins under the 33C hot weather,but in Singapore you have to do this everyday.You have to tolerate the hundreds of stops(every 50-100m will have one stop) too.

For tourists every city is nice because they don't have chance to experience the really life in that place

If you think I'm only commenting from a tourist perspective, you'd be mistaken. I've lived and worked in Singapore.

[familyof5]

I'm australian too, but i can't really help you too much at this point because i think a lot of what you would find 'good' or bad about singapore depends on your own circumstances......attached, single, kids, no kids, age, income, occupation blahblahblah

[Saint]

There's always going to be a bias towards the bad points being expressed on Expats forums so I wouldn't base you're decision on postings here, good or bad.

HK is only a 4 hour flight away from Singapore so take a long weekend off and try it out for yourself.

[ozzmum]

Edit: Did you have a thread on the expatsingapore forum that has now disappeared? This sounds very familiar.

No Micknlea ,I am new to this and havn't had a former post removed you must have me mixed up with someone else.

Splattered you a so right, tourists usually get to experience the "real" singapore and find out what its like to live here as an expat from day to day.

[kwokhua]

Frankly, there is not much difference between Singapore and Hong Kong, minus the weather. That's about it. If you are talking about Service Standards, it depends on your luck. I have met nasty taxi drivers in Hong Kong, just like I have met nice sales personnel in Singapore. Therefore, the only big difference that I have always appreciated living in Singapore is the multi-cultural aspect and the larger variety of food.

As for the much hyped about democracy and freedom, frankly, you won't feel like you are staying in a prison in Singapore. You are still free to do what you wanna. The only differences are that there are no demonstrations in Singapore and no porn magazines on sale openly. But do all these matter?

Of course, lastly, if you are sick of the crowd in Hong Kong, well, Singapore is definitely less crowded. Even its shopping street, Orchard Road, is not as crowded on a Saturday as compared to Lady's Street in Hong Kong on a weekday.

So, make your choice.

[road.not.taken]

Splattered you a so right, tourists usually get to experience the "real" singapore and find out what its like to live here as an expat from day to day.

Sarcasm I hope? Because this couldn't be farther from the truth.

[kaseyma]

Would make more sense if the adverb, "usually," were replaced with "rarely," or if it said "usually don't . . ."

[ozzmum]

Splattered you a so right, tourists usually get to experience the "real" singapore and find out what its like to live here as an expat from day to day.

Sarcasm I hope? Because this couldn't be farther from the truth.

Sorry, I left out the word never which was suposed to go after usually.....sorry!