Culture Shock - Arriving in singapore

[movingtospore]

- A girl with a circular vaccination scar on her shoulder, and red iodine stains dripped down her arm. It creates an impression of her having been bitten by a vampire.

This was another of the things that caught my eye when I first got here - the sheer numbers of huge, near-mutilation level vaccination scars, I'd never seen that anywhere else before

The scarring of the vaccinations is called keloid scarring and it is more prevalent in Africans, Asians and Indians due to darker pigmentation of the skin for some reason.

http://keloid212.com/

I've wondered about this too. Seen really horrific scars on many here. Nowhere else I've traveled.

[JR8]

Floss - something I never heard of until I came here. The stuff makes my skin crawl, especially the pork variety.

I hate it when I forget to tell them to leave it out.

I think it marks a step from respecting your customer, and seeking to offer value - to just want to make maximum profit possible.

I was thinking it is a kind of arrogance. But instead I think it is more ignorance, opportunism, and complacency > I'd never choose to eat at that prata stall at Raffles City again, and I will tell my friends (not least because it used to be quite good)...

Great result! (not)

[x9200]

And they will still do rather well because the service quality in Singapore is generally bad to very bad and vast majority that has to use the services does not know anything else.

[Wd40]

...and another reason is if you are located at touristy spot with lot of floating population, then you can get away with anything

[JR8]

- A person riding a bicycle against the traffic on the road (wrong side).

- People riding bicycles on the pavement and ringing their bells at pedestrians to get out of their way (is riding on the pavement legal?)

- We had some goods in storage delivered (major removals company, 4-5 hours work, 3-4 guys). I had a $50 ready in my pocket to tip them. The goods arrived, were unpacked and placed. They had my wife sign a form. Then, as we only later concluded, that was that and they had left > The opposite of 'loitering in the hope of a tip'?

- Unattended children in the swimming pool (a few seem to be), but I was a little taken aback to see one aged about three going for a swim with no one but me in sight.

- About 3/4 of the main news section of the local paper seems to be ads.

- At Burger King a man having a phone conversation by holding a c.12" tablet up to his face.

- Monks in saffron robes.

- My fingernails seem to grow extremely quickly here.

- Shop aisles are very narrow, at parts of NTUC, or Watsons/Guardian, with a day-pack on by back, and a basket in hand, I have to take care not to knock things off the shelves if I turn around (do a '180').

- I was in 'Valu$' (a dollar-shop type outlet), which is quite cramped. Two young Thai 'ladies' want to pass me. I move to the side, one passes, her hands are all up and down my arm. WAY too personal. My hand goes in my pocket, and over my wallet. I give her an 'I'm NOT enjoying this' look, and she growls deeply "I'm so sorry dalling" with more arm rubbing, before finally passing [tranny-dar now flashing red].

- At entry-phone/panel in basement car-park. Young women having a 'domestic' over the entry phone (perhaps with someone who won't let her in?). She is yelling in the enclosed entry-foyer. As I pass I ask her if she would please stop shouting. In summary: I then become the target of her bile

- Laundry poles sticking out from high-rise buildings

- The charge on my mobile lasts days longer here, than it did in Europe.

- Painted floors in car-parks (hmm, I wonder why?). As cars pass at 5mph, the squealing reminds me of American cop shows!

- Strange patterns in the grass of a nearby school playing field, sort of like this...
....... ((((((((((
........ ))))))))))
........ ((((((((((
each ) or ( being an arc of maybe 2-2.5 metres. Strimmers? Why not use a mower, it would be a damned site quicker and less noise pollution?

- Being shocked with how yellow my teeth suddenly seem to be. Is it because the UV light is so much stronger here, or what...?

- Not having to turn on any lights, in any room, during the day.

[zzm9980]

- The charge on my mobile lasts days longer here, than it did in Europe.

Stronger and more stable signal to a single tower. Pretty sure we discussed this in a separate thread a few months back Come stay near the coast. Some nights when the Singtel tower is having issues, you'll roam to Telkomsel (Indonesia). Youll find have a dozen SMSes saying "Welcome to" and singtel trying to upsell you "smart" roam, along with half your battery drained.

[Max Headroom]

- We had some goods in storage delivered (major removals company, 4-5 hours work, 3-4 guys). I had a $50 ready in my pocket to tip them. The goods arrived, were unpacked and placed. They had my wife sign a form. Then, as we only later concluded, that was that and they had left > The opposite of 'loitering in the hope of a tip'?

Spoil market one.

[Wd40]

- I was in 'Valu$' (a dollar-shop type outlet), which is quite cramped. Two young Thai 'ladies' want to pass me. I move to the side, one passes, her hands are all up and down my arm. WAY too personal. My hand goes in my pocket, and over my wallet. I give her an 'I'm NOT enjoying this' look, and she growls deeply "I'm so sorry dalling" with more arm rubbing, before finally passing [tranny-dar now flashing red].

How do you know they are thai?

[nakatago]

- I was in 'Valu$' (a dollar-shop type outlet), which is quite cramped. Two young Thai 'ladies' want to pass me. I move to the side, one passes, her hands are all up and down my arm. WAY too personal. My hand goes in my pocket, and over my wallet. I give her an 'I'm NOT enjoying this' look, and she growls deeply "I'm so sorry dalling" with more arm rubbing, before finally passing [tranny-dar now flashing red].

How do you know they are thai?

JR8 is a man of the world; didn't you get the memo?

[Brah]

s/a/the

[zzm9980]

- I was in 'Valu$' (a dollar-shop type outlet), which is quite cramped. Two young Thai 'ladies' want to pass me. I move to the side, one passes, her hands are all up and down my arm. WAY too personal. My hand goes in my pocket, and over my wallet. I give her an 'I'm NOT enjoying this' look, and she growls deeply "I'm so sorry dalling" with more arm rubbing, before finally passing [tranny-dar now flashing red].

How do you know they are thai?

JR8 is a man of the world; didn't you get the memo?

He's like the Dos Equis man! But the avatar photo is really him.

[sundaymorningstaple]

[JR8]

- We had some goods in storage delivered ... I had a $50 ready in my pocket to tip them.

Spoil market one.

I tip taxi-drivers, bell-hops, waiters, yes, and removers, if they are good at their job and not going to be blur and dick you about it makes sense.

Thats because 98% of any, never mind such lofty 'service' is such an absolute joke, that it is a joy to encounter the informed, educated, intelligent, version.

Go to a restaurant (I'm thinking esp in the US) where a waiter can run you through an entire menu, and wine list, the ingredients of each dish, the end-style, how to pair up dishes, matching drinks. A good 'on top of his game' waiter at a good restaurant, easily clearing US$100k pa (even 20 years ago).

Yes, people in Asia can't conceive such professional waiter service... but it can and does exist... they're just too cheap to pay for it...

p.s. You can get it too in Europe: Just it tends to kick in a higher $-scale (Grosvenor Park Lane, Langams etc)

[zzm9980]

I tip taxi drivers that don't piss me off, and the barrista at whatever coffee shop when they aren't blur and screwing up my order (usually only Starbucks has those blur barristas tho).

I tried to tip my movers one time, but they told me there was extra charge since a sofa wouldn't fit in the left. It was $120 more, which coincidently was about what I planned to tip. I told him he could write it up and I'd pay, or I'd give it to him as a cash tip anyway if he didn't write it up. He chose to call it in and write it up. He must have been the owner

[Brah]

Ah, tipping. I think we had a thread on that once. It's complicated here.

Tipping baristas? How do you tip them and not the cash register lackey, like at a Starbucks?

Being American I usually want to tip, but then there's the 10% service charge, and different people servicing the table.

I sued to tip taxi drivers but then they seemed like they expected it from an AM. When there's other charges, I consider those the tip.