Why are people so rude on the MRT!! Some1 Enlighten me!

[Vaucluse]

Saint wrote:

You still owe me a beer Mr V

I do, mate, I do. Looking at the current exchange rate and value-established variables that would be 9 days salary . . . I'll see you next month.

But seriously - how's life back in Singapore? The new job? Close proximity to the in-laws?
We'll hopefully come down in the not too distant future, a beer is a done deal.

I don't know if I'd go quite that far (lol)... but we're going back to the UK today for a visit and realized I don't have a coat anymore!

It is true tho - based on the other places we've lived we'll be hanging on for as long as possible here in Singapore!

A friend's mom in college once said - If you're not happy inside - you're not going to be happy anywhere you live. A bit happy-clappy I know - but very true. I seriously cannot stand when I meet people and they bitch and moan about their TWO year posting in Singapore of all places - I mean, are you kidding me????

A very wise woman, your friend's mom.

Of course Singapore or Singaporeans are not perfect, but to crap on the lace time and again, especially if one has only been here a few months, shows absolute immaturity . . . as does a name like AK47_UK . . . maybe it is a nickname his girlfriends gave him . . . nothing like a premature ejaculation to make a man angry and frustrated.

Remember the woolly sweaters, it is almost summer

[soundmeister]

Good response, Vaucluse!

You people (who're complaining about how awful life is here) don't know what you're talking about. Try spending a week in a third world country (no shortage of them within easy flying distance) and maybe you'll appreciate the quality of life here.

[cbavasi]

Greetings from the UK (can you see the fog on my breathe... damn it's cold!) Ok so immediate observation when we landed and 15 sets of parents waiting for about 1/2 an hour for their strollers with 20+ tired children in tow and some guy yelling to get out of the way was "don't think this would happen in Singapore"... have made sure to tell my 4 year old to never leave my sight (unlike his travels alone in the supermarkets in Singapore)... but the scenery is BEAUTIFUL and I think it's the only time we've come back in 5 years where it hasn't rained. On a side note - in the car yesterday we were passing fields and my little guy was singing Baba Black Sheep and I wasn't really paying attention til he got to the last line and said "and one for the loser guy who lives down the lane.." Anyhow... will take Singapore weather, people, weird habits in a heartbeat... so give me a (virtual) slap me if I ever complain!

[mandrew]

Good response, Vaucluse!

You people (who're complaining about how awful life is here) don't know what you're talking about. Try spending a week in a third world country (no shortage of them within easy flying distance) and maybe you'll appreciate the quality of life here.

Well, if you take my factual statements about living in Singapore and intepret them as complaints then perhaps that says more about your attitude to Singapore than mine

Also the only one here comparing Singapore to a third world country is you, I would not have thought to make such a comparison.

[road.not.taken]

I seriously cannot stand when I meet people and they bitch and moan about their TWO year posting in Singapore of all places - I mean, are you kidding me????

I just think it's important to remember ~ Singapore may not be for everyone. That doesn't make them flawed, some people really struggle here, and just don't like it. My appreciation of the place is like a bell curve and I'm on the tapered off end. Too many friends have left, my daughter is 12,000 miles away, my parents are ageing. I'm ready to go.

Yes, yes, it's worse in __________________(fill in the blank) but what do you care when you have to live, every day, here?

Singapore is beautiful and green, and easy in a lot of ways, and safe, and more -- but it's not for everyone.

Having said that, I don't like whining either, and I can't stand to hear people slag it off wholesale (which is rare). There's good and bad everywhere, some days your dose of good is more, somedays it's all bad.

[ksl]

I seriously cannot stand when I meet people and they bitch and moan about their TWO year posting in Singapore of all places - I mean, are you kidding me????

I just think it's important to remember ~ Singapore may not be for everyone. That doesn't make them flawed, some people really struggle here, and just don't like it. My appreciation of the place is like a bell curve and I'm on the tapered off end. Too many friends have left, my daughter is 12,000 miles away, my parents are ageing. I'm ready to go.

Yes, yes, it's worse in The UK & the USA but what do you care when you have to live, every day, here?

Singapore is beautiful and green, and easy in a lot of ways, and safe, and more -- but it's not for everyone.

Having said that, I don't like whining either, and I can't stand to hear people slag it off wholesale (which is rare). There's good and bad everywhere, some days your dose of good is more, somedays it's all bad.

Especially when there is no bloody aircon Well there is but who can afford it these days are we really in hell, no of course not, hell is much hotter.....by the way, i keep getting this bloody spyware on my computer called digistream, have you checked it out.....ha! www.digistream.com
Talk about big brother watching ......I should be charging them for all the entertainment!

[soundmeister]

Good response, Vaucluse!

You people (who're complaining about how awful life is here) don't know what you're talking about. Try spending a week in a third world country (no shortage of them within easy flying distance) and maybe you'll appreciate the quality of life here.

Well, if you take my factual statements about living in Singapore and intepret them as complaints then perhaps that says more about your attitude to Singapore than mine

Also the only one here comparing Singapore to a third world country is you, I would not have thought to make such a comparison.

Ummm...why not? Not all of us were born in the first world you know!

Anyway it wasn't you I meant, so no need to take it so personally. But going on about pedestrians not looking where they're going and MRT commuters smelling of garlic sounds a little whiny to me.

To each his own- maybe I'm happy-clappy like the other dude said..fine!

[cbavasi]

I seriously cannot stand when I meet people and they bitch and moan about their TWO year posting in Singapore of all places - I mean, are you kidding me????

I just think it's important to remember ~ Singapore may not be for everyone. That doesn't make them flawed, some people really struggle here, and just don't like it.

Yes, yes - you are absolutely right & I certainly have been guilty of that in the past - not so much in Singapore - but certainly off and on in Jakarta. But I think that had to do more with the company I was keeping at the time. I think it's very dangerous to be in a delicate place mentally/emotionally and then be around others who are not happy too. Having moved countries/states every couple of years in my childhood certainly prepared me for this lifestyle and I sometimes forget others haven't had the same experiences. Still, I haven't been here that long and my children are still young and parents can still come visit so I'm not missing much in California (other than the ocean, Whole Foods & Target )... we'll see if I'm still whistling Dixie in a couple of years (provided we make it in this economy )

[road.not.taken]

we'll see if I'm still whistling Dixie in a couple of years (provided we make it in this economy )

What a chorus that will be with us all whistling at the same time

[winger7]

ive been to singapore a few times and took the train, didnt notice anything too rude or out of order there...maybe because i live in hong kong...try hong kong

[gillypadi]

surprisingly, my experiences with rude people on the trains tend to be with the tourist/non singaporeans who are not aware they are (1) standing in front of the doors while people are trying to get out (2) wandering aimlessly at the end of the escalator trying to find the right way out (3) expelling stale beer and buffalo wings breath in the mornings.

All I do is say excuse me or spray a bit of my lovely perfume into a piece of tissue and hold it up to my nose. Pretend I have a cold and that's it. Everyone is happy!

[snowqueen]

After 7 months of being here I have experienced some extremely rude behavour but it's not just from Singaporeans though.

Recently at Parkway Parade, I was holding the door open for my mum as she was pushing my son's stroller when 4 other white people (not sure if UK, Oz or US) walked through the door and not one of them said thank you. I just shouted after them "I'm not a f**king door wedge you know"!!. They didn't even acknowledge me.

Whilst I was pregnant I rarely got a seat on the MRT and I even had the odd auntie physically man-handle me out the way to get a seat - I would have given her the seat anyway.

My current beef is the fact that I have to wait ages for a lift at MRT stations because they are full of able-bodied young people who can't be arsed to use the escalators or stairs.

This often happens in shopping centres where I've wait for 2/3 lifts to come which are again full of people who are able to walk. I then have to take my stroller up and down escalators which can sometimes cause me to get evil stares. I just can't win.

With all the little things I've seen along the way, I would still rather be here than the UK. I consider myself to be very lucky to be here.

[road.not.taken]

I was holding the door open for my mum as she was pushing my son's stroller when 4 other white people (not sure if UK, Oz or US) walked through the door and not one of them said thank you. I just shouted after them "I'm not a f**king door wedge you know"!!. They didn't even acknowledge me.

Neither would I. You speak that way in front of your mother and your child, but the people walking through the open door are the rude ones?

[Vaucluse]

I just shouted after them "I'm not a f**king door wedge you know"!!.

Your other sign-in is Ozchick?


I'd agree with road.not.taken . . . I'm sure your son will learn only the best of manners form you . . . surely you'll receive numerous notes when he goes to school commenting on his fluency in gutter-talk.

[snowqueen]

So it's OK not to say thank you when someone holds a door open for you? Take it you are one of the rude ones then. That's the point I'm making, this isn't about an attack on me and my parenting skills.

For the record, he was 2 weeks old at the time and fast asleep. I don't think this will damage him for life. I hardly think I'm going to be in the supermarket next week and hear him effing and jeffing around the place.

There's no way I would swear in front of my child when he's in ear shot and one thing is for sure, I will make sure he grows up with manners. Like saying please and thank you, holding doors open for people, and offering his seat on public transport to elderly, disabled or pregnant people (not pretend to be asleep).

One thing I did read in a book recently is that it is rude to blow your nose in public - is this true? I find strange because it seems OK to honk the snot up your nose into the back of your throat and spit it out - or swallow it!! Yummy