How To Walk In Singapore

[ozchick]

Some of you guys may remember my thread- LEFT RIGHT OR ANYWHERE.
Funny, the rooster's son is visiting Sg at the moment. Yesterday he said in all seriousness to us, "I can't quite work out which side I'm supposed to walk on- what do they do here ?"

We just burst out laughing. What CAN one say ?!

[durain]

wait till he go to hongkong!!!

[Wind In My Hair]

Tell him in all seriousness that here in Singapore we are very anti-procedure and pro-thinking. Having to figure out where to walk all the time keeps us mentally active, spiritually fulfilled, economically robust, and politically vibrant. And when he goes back to his roost, he'll find the chickens there all so tame and trained to behave all the same way. That will be terribly stifling, so why not just stay on here, where he has freedom to dance down the street?

[micknlea]

What's wrong with HK? Even in places like Mongkok etc. I found it a lot easier to walk there than here, at least it is a pace faster.

[Global Citizen]

Maybe I'm out of touch in not having to deal with pedestrians in Singapore on a daily basis but I was there last year and walked quite a bit and mainly used public transportation like the buses and mrt and cannot honestly remember this being an issue. Please understand I'm not discounting your or others' observations here but mainly adding mine to the lot.

To expand on my observations a little further, I did notice people rushing into trains without waiting for passengers to disembark, but on all my train rides, there was always someone ready to give up a seat for the elderly or pregnant. I especially looked out for these things because I read and participate in 3 Singapore-centric expat forums and was prepared to expect the worst based on the postings I read but I was pleasantly surprised more often than not.

My mother recently related an incident where she had slipped and fallen on the road there. Fearing the worst after reading of the apathy and less than helpful attitude S'poreans display for helping others in times like these, one of my questions to her was whether she was offered any assistance when it happened. I was gratified to hear that 2 young people rushed to her aid.

I guess in the grand scheme of things, I'm happy to note that it is the minor issues that vex the spirit there and not the major ones like crime, homelessness, poverty, corruption, hooliganism, spaced out junkies and winos that are quite prevalent elsewhere. I read this somewhere once and think it's sage advice. I find I have to remind myself of it as well when I get disgruntled and discontented over things where I presently reside.

Be prepared to adapt to the envoirnment and not the envoirnment adapt to you.

edit: your- grammar

[sundaymorningstaple]

GC, If I wanted to be my normal cynical self I'd have to ask if they were Singaporeans that gave up their seats or helped your mother (remember 1 out of 4 people on the island are foreigners).

But I'm not being my cynical self today so I didn't ask.

[ozchick]

GC, If I wanted to be my normal cynical self I'd have to ask if they were Singaporeans that gave up their seats or helped your mother (remember 1 out of 4 people on the island are foreigners).

But I'm not being my cynical self today so I didn't ask.

Ooh farm-boy , you're sailing awfully close to the wind here !

[Wind In My Hair]

Did someone summon the Wind?

GC, If I wanted to be my normal cynical self I'd have to ask if they were Singaporeans that gave up their seats or helped your mother (remember 1 out of 4 people on the island are foreigners).

But I'm not being my cynical self today so I didn't ask.

SMS, if I wanted to be my normal patriotic self I'd have to point out that 9 out of 10 people who have given me their seat, opened doors for me, helped pick up stuff I'd dropped etc were Singaporeans (remember 9 out of 10 to a ratio of 3 out of 4 makes Singaporeans far more chivalrous statistically than non-Singaporeans).

But I'm not being my patriotic self today so I didn't point this out.

[Global Citizen]

GC, If I wanted to be my normal cynical self I'd have to ask if they were Singaporeans that gave up their seats or helped your mother (remember 1 out of 4 people on the island are foreigners).

But I'm not being my cynical self today so I didn't ask.

And moving along, because you didn't ask, I'm not going to tell you that they were locals. But I suspect you knew the answer to that already as it would have defeated the point of my post and observations otherwise.

[Plavt]

I think you would find Singapore a very pleasant place. This little city/state is a world center comparable with New York and London. I was struck by just how clean the city is. Public services are an example for the world in their efficiency. Permanently beautiful weather, palm trees, bouganvillias, and even the roads and buildings make it an incredible sight.

The posters above would have no difficulty agreeing. They either live there or originated from there!


Your post has been edited for advertising and the other deleted.