Five years in Singapore - reflections

[JR8]

There is nothing there I associate with Singapore. What I see rather, is how Singapore would like to project itself .


A tourism ad with the by-line 'get lost' [ooh edgy] from a country so completely dorky even chewing gum is illegal.

[nakatago]

There is nothing there I associate with Singapore. What I see rather, is how Singapore would like to project itself .


A tourism ad with the by-line 'get lost' [ooh edgy] from a country so completely dorky even chewing gum is illegal.

The 'get lost' slogan doesn't come as dorkly edgy to me. It comes off as defensive, haughty and arrogant.

"Oh you think Singapore is dull?!? I'll f***ing show you!"

They should have stayed with "Uniquely Singapore" or "Your Singapore." They could have also bought the rights to that time lapse video that was making the rounds a few months ago or that video of a guy running all over Singapore (he started in Pulau Ubin). Those videos showcased more of Singapore aside from just Haji Lane/Arab Street and the MBS pool.

[JR8]

[
The 'get lost' slogan doesn't come as dorkly edgy to me. It comes off as defensive, haughty and arrogant.

"Oh you think Singapore is dull?!? I'll f***ing show you!"

They should have stayed with "Uniquely Singapore" or "Your Singapore." They could have also bought the rights to that time lapse video that was making the rounds a few months ago or that video of a guy running all over Singapore (he started in Pulau Ubin). Those videos showcased more of Singapore aside from just Haji Lane/Arab Street and the MBS pool.

Hmmm ...
It comes over to me, as trying to be clever (edgy), 'get lost' being the 10%/kiddy version of telling someone to eff off. So, SG as a gritty place, to go off-piste and go a bit wild and do gritty/edgy things ...

Why doesn't it market itself for what it actually is? Really boring and safe. Miles of shops. Very expensive. A vassal state of America (oops sorry, not much STB mileage in that one).

[Mi Amigo]

maybe its a secret message for the FTs coming in from Australia?...you know like barnsley

I LOL'd at that

[AngMoG]

[
The 'get lost' slogan doesn't come as dorkly edgy to me. It comes off as defensive, haughty and arrogant.

"Oh you think Singapore is dull?!? I'll f***ing show you!"

They should have stayed with "Uniquely Singapore" or "Your Singapore." They could have also bought the rights to that time lapse video that was making the rounds a few months ago or that video of a guy running all over Singapore (he started in Pulau Ubin). Those videos showcased more of Singapore aside from just Haji Lane/Arab Street and the MBS pool.

Hmmm ...
It comes over to me, as trying to be clever (edgy), 'get lost' being the 10%/kiddy version of telling someone to eff off. So, SG as a gritty place, to go off-piste and go a bit wild and do gritty/edgy things ...

Why doesn't it market itself for what it actually is? Really boring and safe. Miles of shops. Very expensive. A vassal state of America (oops sorry, not much STB mileage in that one).

Just watched it... I don't know... what even...

Well, enough people are "getting lost" out of Singers these days, so their wishes are coming true

SG is small and boring. Seriously, there is not a whole lot to do here, and if you do try to have fun, it will most likely cost you quite a bit. Anything worth visiting for tourists can be seen in 2-3 days. Not sure how they think they can compare with Oz even.

[Wd40]

I dont understand why they need to defend the fact that Singapore can get boring much more quickly than Australia or NZ. Its a fact that you can do more things if you live in a place like Dunedin in NZ than in Singapore.

My colleague from previous company relocated there recently and has already posted on FB some breathtaking photos of scenery, she lives near a beach and she posted photos of seals visiting the beach. Hiking trails, she is learning horse riding and the place where Hobbit was shot.

Singapore in comparison is indeed dull and boring and the adventurous should know this and consider it before coming here.

Singapore should be appreciated for what it is and people do appreciate it for what it is and have been staying here for years(ask sms )

[zzm9980]

There is nothing there I associate with Singapore. What I see rather, is how Singapore would like to project itself .


A tourism ad with the by-line 'get lost' [ooh edgy] from a country so completely dorky even chewing gum is illegal.

The 'get lost' slogan doesn't come as dorkly edgy to me. It comes off as defensive, haughty and arrogant.

"Oh you think Singapore is dull?!? I'll f***ing show you!"

They should have stayed with "Uniquely Singapore" or "Your Singapore." They could have also bought the rights to that time lapse video that was making the rounds a few months ago or that video of a guy running all over Singapore (he started in Pulau Ubin). Those videos showcased more of Singapore aside from just Haji Lane/Arab Street and the MBS pool.

It was a good video, but could do with a bit less of the fake tilt-shift induced blur/bokeh:
https://vimeo.com/49753231

And itwas made by dirty FT. An Australian.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Here you go. Enough to keep you occupied for 52 Sundays?

http://travel.cnn.com/singapore/visit/5 ... 012-799107

[nakatago]

There is nothing there I associate with Singapore. What I see rather, is how Singapore would like to project itself .


A tourism ad with the by-line 'get lost' [ooh edgy] from a country so completely dorky even chewing gum is illegal.

The 'get lost' slogan doesn't come as dorkly edgy to me. It comes off as defensive, haughty and arrogant.

"Oh you think Singapore is dull?!? I'll f***ing show you!"

They should have stayed with "Uniquely Singapore" or "Your Singapore." They could have also bought the rights to that time lapse video that was making the rounds a few months ago or that video of a guy running all over Singapore (he started in Pulau Ubin). Those videos showcased more of Singapore aside from just Haji Lane/Arab Street and the MBS pool.

It was a good video, but could do with a bit less of the fake tilt-shift induced blur/bokeh:
https://vimeo.com/49753231

And itwas made by dirty FT. An Australian.

And irony ensues...

[Barnsley]

maybe its a secret message for the FTs coming in from Australia?...you know like barnsley

naughty naughty young lady!!!

[morenangpinay]

maybe its a secret message for the FTs coming in from Australia?...you know like barnsley

naughty naughty young lady!!!

why thank you for calling me young

[stiwi]

Everyone will have their own perception on living in Singapore. Mine after spending here almost 3 years is that it is 1st world country in terms of prices but often 3rd world experience. However I don't fully blame Singaporeans for this. People who are tremendously lowering the quality of services here are Chinese, Indians etc.

Unfortunately I agree with most of what has been written here.

As for the OP's listed pros, I could perhaps deny most of them:
- I have yet to see kindness of people here. They are super kind when you spend $. That's obvious. Apart from that no one smiles here gratuitously. Kind of emotionless people.
- the food at hawkers centres albeit good is nothing to speak about in terms of quality of ingredients used and high dosage of MSG. In short unhealthy. Almost everything is fried or deep fried, fresh green produce is almost non existent.
- although Singapore is efficient generally speaking, considering the amount of hours people spend at work it should be even more efficient. Problem is people "spend" time at work as their working hours aren't really efficiently used and it is not just my opinion. Boss leaves first, right?
- climate although hot and pretty much the same year round, miss a very important factor: sun. I would love to see more sunny days, where sun shines from sunrise to sunset... and to actually see the sunset... Weather is pretty dull IMO.

The major con not listed would be complete inflexibility in terms of everything:
- go to restaurant 9:45pm, cannot
- go to bar and order a bottle of spirit at 02:45am, cannot
- go to club, at 03:00am music is switched off, not even 1 minute more or less, regardless of how many people are inside
- go to bank, ask for something and they don't know the answers or provide wrong answers, or each branch/person has its own version

In Singapore everything works if it is according to the script, but once you put a virus into the script (question they don't know how to handle), you will see how hopeless and helpless people are. Lack of being creative is amazing.

I don't know how much truth is in this, as I don't have kids yet, but I heard from other parents that apparently asking questions by students is treated like insulting the teacher. It wouldn't surprise me though if this would be the case after reading this.

[Saint]

And here we have the half yearly Singapore bashing thread, oh joy. Most of you have been here quite a few years and you still moan about the same things. As I've said many times, Singapore's way of life has been around well before we all arrived here (even SMS!) and will be around well after most of you leave. Everything that gets mentioned over and over again on here really doesn't bother me anymore, why should it?

I've always advise people moving to Singapore for the first time that the most important thing to bring with you is a sense of humour otherwise you will not survive long here. It's not the UK, it's not the US, it's not NZ, it's Singapore!

[JR8]

And here we have the half yearly Singapore bashing thread, oh joy. Most of you have been here quite a few years and you still moan about the same things. As I've said many times, Singapore's way of life has been around well before we all arrived here (even SMS!) and will be around well after most of you leave. Everything that gets mentioned over and over again on here really doesn't bother me anymore, why should it?

I've always advise people moving to Singapore for the first time that the most important thing to bring with you is a sense of humour otherwise you will not survive long here. It's not the UK, it's not the US, it's not NZ, it's Singapore!

Yes but ...
If the government has run an ad campaign for decades to try and change a certain behaviour, then who are we to say that that behaviour is irrelevant, or does not exist?

[AngMoG]

tl;dr a (wannabe) first world country with a third-world mentality.