Culture Shock - Arriving in singapore

[Hannieroo]

Ah, westerners. What else do you do?

[JR8]

Sooner you will be accused of a theft of JR8's walking stick. You already committed something illegal prior to your attempt to run over him so your credibility is rather low.

[Thx, genuine LOL moment!]

[JR8]

- I hear a 'New Orleans' style brass+drum jazz band from the street below, and think it most curious. Then I remember that such a band forms part of a local Chinese funeral cortege.

Sure enough a few minutes later, a hearse, and following band, people on foot, and then in cars, comes into sight.


- Dinner for two at a heartland hawker centre, S$5.50 (GBP2.90) = 1 x Mee soto + 1 x Chicken rice. It's good too!

- There is always a background level of noise at a food-court. Kitchen clatter + chatter. I cannot imagine there being one second that is silent.

- The same seems to be the case sitting at home. School-children out in the schoolgrounds, school alarm signals, traffic, low flying aircraft, and seemingly omnipresent (permanent, seemingly from all directions) pneumatic drills ... breaking up concrete or similar. I realize that we moved from a relatively very quiet city, so I appreciate that I will acclimatise to it in due course.

- As the military planes fly around overhead, a Woodstock-era song lyric arrives in my grey-matter inbox: 'And I dreamt I saw the fighter-jet bombers riding shotgun in the sky, turning into butterflies, above our nation'. ['Crosby Stills Nash and Young'?]

- Locals (from the majority race) staring at my wife. All in all the locals do seem to do quite a bit of full-on staring! lol... But I imagine if you asked a person why they're staring at you, they'd deny it or run a mile. Hmmm ... a different and seemingly conflicting set of inter-personal boundaries (from a western viewpoint - sort of physically closer, but socially further apart..?)

- Suspiciously cheap wine offers at a nearby NTUC. Two offers on French bordeaux wine, both 2-1, one at $25 (i.e. for 2), the other $28. Need to Google their quality, as the price is suspiciously low.

- A C130 flying low-level loops. Coming in from the north, and then veering off east.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Suspiciously cheap wine? Maybe refrigeration was down on the container on the ship?

[JR8]

Suspiciously cheap wine? Maybe refrigeration was down on the container on the ship?

Yes, I'm sticking with the 6.5% 'Old Exterminator' (or what ever it's called), until such wine offers are established as viable!

[JR8]

- Carbon-fibre bonnets, on tiny little hatch-backs.

- Young ladies in big sunglasses and maxi-dresses (like Notting Hill say 10 years ago).

- Boxes of Kleenex, in loud dayglo cloth and lace covers, glued/stuck to the passenger side of a cars dashboard.

- Recently arrived from Europe. Three weeks in-country, but day 1 in the sun, pool-side was approx 1hr from 4pm, with a short swim. It was over-cast. Next day in the shower washing my hair I realized my scalp is slightly burnt, and that was me being very careful! That said, in Europe I've seen no 'sit out and enjoy' sun, at all, since maybe last September.

Today I go out for less time, and wait until 5pm to head out. Slowly...slowly ...

- A very polite local boy (c5YO) holds open the lift door for me. I had not even realised he was in the lift or holding it for me!

- A rather punk/alt-rock looking young lady with two or three of her children, playing in the pool. She reminds me of Nina Hagen (East German punk singer), striking, rather than beautiful in a way. Or beautiful because she is so striking - depending upon how you see it. She speaks to her children in Russian. She is mid-thigh in the water, a young son jumps up and grabs her bikini, straight down, and yoo-hoo from 3m I am treated to a Full-on beaver show!!!

- Does rain clear the air. Pollen, smog? This afternoon the views were wonderfully clear and long, and into early evening the colors of surrounding building became very vibrant and rich.

[sundaymorningstaple]

The carbon fibre bonnets, etc. aren't carbon fibre at all. Its film like the sunshades you tint your windows with or cover your iPad screen with. Big pretenders, like the guys who buy a Toyota Harrier and replace all the badges with Lexus badges. (The dealership will do it for you for a couple of grand).

That Lexus/Harrier scam is stupid if you ask me. Do the changeover and then drive it to Malaysia so it will get stolen because they think it's a Lexus. How to tell the difference? Look at the mfg mark embedded in the windscreens. It's doubtful that they changed all the glass in the car as well, so if it' a harrier it will say Toyota but a Lexus will have Lexus embedded in the glass (even though Lexus is a Toyota brand - Like Cadillac is a General Motors brand not to be confused with Chevrolet, also a GM brads).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_RX Basically a Toyota Lexus is a rebadged Toyota Harrier with an additional $100G added to the price tag.

[JR8]

How to tell the difference? Look at the mfg mark embedded in the windscreens. It's doubtful that they changed all the glass in the car as well, so if it' a harrier it will say Toyota but a Lexus will have Lexus embedded in the glass

Interesting stuff, I had never heard of the Toyota Harrier.

p.s. You can imagine how the owner of a rebadged Harrier must get eaten up inside, when each time he looks out of a window he has 'Toyota' staring back at him

[sundaymorningstaple]

How to tell the difference? Look at the mfg mark embedded in the windscreens. It's doubtful that they changed all the glass in the car as well, so if it' a harrier it will say Toyota but a Lexus will have Lexus embedded in the glass

Interesting stuff, I had never heard of the Toyota Harrier.

p.s. You can imagine how the owner of a rebadged Harrier must get eaten up inside, when each time he looks out of a window he has 'Toyota' staring back at him

If he's inside the car he has ATOYOT staring back at him.

[Sergei82]

Another Singaporean fetish: what is the point of having a sports car in Singapore that make A LOT of ear-damaging noise??? You can't drive fast in Singapore, you can only make noise - that's it! Idiotically ridiculous...

[Steve1960]

Another Singaporean fetish: what is the point of having a sports car in Singapore that make A LOT of ear-damaging noise??? You can't drive fast in Singapore, you can only make noise - that's it! Idiotically ridiculous...

Status symbol or maybe pen1s extension

[sundaymorningstaple]

Or both, considering the low TFR here I would imagine they have a higher than normal incidence of ED compared with most countries.

[Sergei82]

I also thought about penis. 2 days ago one was passing by near me - I almost got deaf - it is THAT loud. And the speed was... I moonwalk faster!!! The road was congested anyway... maybe that was in order to scare away other drivers on the road?

[Wd40]

There used to be a white Lamborghini Gallardo in the Signature carpark. I wonder who owned it

Here's the pic I had taken from my office desk. And you say CBP is not a plush location ?

[JR8]

I also thought about penis. 2 days ago one was passing by near me - I almost got deaf - it is THAT loud. And the speed was... I moonwalk faster!!! The road was congested anyway... maybe that was in order to scare away other drivers on the road?