Does Singapore have any soul? (cost, pros, experiences, time)

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by Hermosaa

I just got back from Singapore, it was my first time. I am actually surprised. I didn't expect the people to be amiable. I personally do not like Chinese people from China and Macau because they are very rude but Chinese Singaporeans are very different. The drivers were very friendly, they were the first ones who made conversations with me asking where I come from and so on. One even gave us some Chupa Chups candies while the last driver even told me to always ask for a receipt in the taxi and went out of his way to get an airport cart for our bags. I am also surprised that even cab drivers can all converse in English.

I like Singapore because there are different kinds of ethnicities. It is more diverse.

I love the cleanliness in Singapore. I love the discipline of the people, no cutting in line etc. Over all, people are cultured.

Yes I often say Singaporeans are unfriendly but they can't be that bad, or maybe HK is really bad. There are some good, charming things about them. There's nothing in the world like a Singlish accent.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by OZpharmer

Can the majority of the Chinese Singaporeans speak Mandarin Chinese?

Yes Singaporean school-children are required to learn a 'mother tongue', Mandarin, Malay or Tamil. Most Singaporean Chinese elect Mandarin, but they can technically choose the other two but seldom choose Tamil. English is the language of instruction in all other subjects.

[Hermosaa]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Yes I often say Singaporeans are unfriendly but they can't be that bad, or maybe HK is really bad. There are some good, charming things about them. There's nothing in the world like a Singlish accent.

Singlish accent for me is the same as Honglish or any Chinese person speaking English. The Singaporeans can speak English but the accent is still the same as any Chinese person speaking English. I wonder why .. I heard students talking to eachother in English so it is quite weird because it seems like it is really their language yet the accent sound so Chinese. In the Philippines, we don't really speak English when we talk to friends or classmates as we use our own dialects yet there are Filipinos who have American accent when they speak English.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by Hermosaa

Singlish accent for me is the same as Honglish or any Chinese person speaking English. The Singaporeans can speak English but the accent is still the same as any Chinese person speaking English. I wonder why .. I heard students talking to eachother in English so it is quite weird because it seems like it is really their language yet the accent sound so Chinese. In the Philippines, we don't really speak English when we talk to friends or classmates as we use our own dialects yet there are Filipinos who have American accent when they speak English.

Singlish is nothing like mainland Chinese or HK people speaking English. It's heavily influenced by Malay and even Tamil as well as Hokkien. All Singaporeans speak with the Singlish accent when speaking English.

Most Filipinos have Filipino accents. Maybe they think they sound American but they sound Filipino.

[Hermosaa]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Singlish is nothing like mainland Chinese or HK people speaking English. It's heavily influenced by Malay and even Tamil as well as Hokkien. All Singaporeans speak with the Singlish accent when speaking English.

Most Filipinos have Filipino accents. Maybe they think they sound American but they sound Filipino.

Majority of Filipinos have a Filipino accent however there are also many especially from the capital that have an American accent. Once I was talking to an American guy when I was still living in Portugal and he thought I grew up in the America because he said I talk like an American. He was surprised when I told him I've never even been there yet.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by Hermosaa

Majority of Filipinos have a Filipino accent however there are also many especially from the capital that have an American accent. Once I was talking to an American guy when I was still living in Portugal and he thought I grew up in the America because he said I talk like an American. He was surprised when I told him I've never even been there yet.

Of course maybe a few. A Singaporean girl I've known since we were little used to speak in a psuedo-American accent.

Some of the more educated Singaporeans, especially if they've lived in the UK or were educated there, speak with a psuedo- British accent or an accent resembling it.

[justanokie]

I spend more time in Singapore when I am outside the US than any other country.

I think Singapore suffers from the same thing that grips any of the top major cities around the world that I have been to. Any large city that has a large business center I find to be "souless" and cold. Its the nature of the business. For Singapore this envelopes the whole nation because thats all there is, there is no escaping it unless you leave Singapore. So I dont think its so much a Singapore problem as it is a big city problem. Very few have are fortunate enough to have the assets to break away from this like Rome or San Francisco does. Impossible to visit those cities and claim they dont have soul.

I also find that if you get out of Orchard Rd and Marina Bay you will find some of the friendliest and most accepting people as you will find anywhere else.

Still given all this I dont see how you could say Singapore is souless, anymore so than say New York or Tokyo is. Not many places have such vibrant enclaves of ethnic groups as you find in Singapore. Stroll down Arab St and pick up some new clothes, walk through Little India and buy some curry or checkout a temple, visit Chinatown and pick up some souvenirs for family back home, go to Geylang and checkout one of the few places left where you can glimpse the old Singapore. Have a few meals in each one of the above. Then come talk to me about Singapore having no soul.

Singlish is nothing like a Chinese person speaking English, lol. Thats ridiculous.

My aunt is Filipeno, has lived in the states for 30+ yrs and still has a strong accent. I knew lots of Filipenos in Hawaii and I think most of them had at least mild accents.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by Great_Jack

It's not just only Singaporean that appear to have this kind of character, many other local in high developed cities in Asia like Seoul,Tokyo,Taipei,Hong Kong,Beijing are also appear to have some kind of lifeless characteristic.

In order to get the "soul" or essence of any of these cities, one needs to get away from the high-skyscraper/central business district/tourist belt, and get into the neighborhoods, where things are on a much more smaller scale.

[Spudee]

I am the original poster and my wife and I have just returned from our 8 day visit to 'Singers'. It seemed to us this time that the City/State was busier than ever. However, having said that, we soon realised that school holidays were on and there were kids everywhere; that might explain the hustle and bustle going on. We also continued to marvel at the growth of the country; there seems to be construction work going on everywhere. And without a doubt, Singapore has the most efficient, clean and safe rapid transit system (the MRT) we have experienced. Always on time, clean and graffiti-free, if very crowded. However, our time there was spoiled somewhat by the terrible smoke haze we experienced for all but the last 2 or 3 days of our stay. Not very happy with our Indonesian friends but enough said about that.

We generally found the people friendly and helpful if seemingly always in a hurry. But I guess that is just the pace of life there. We also got the impression that there is something of a drive to 'succeed' in Singapore and this was obvious by the number of 'tutorial' companies in shopping centres and kids working on assignments in Starbucks during there vacation that we saw. But more power to them! Most of these appeared to be of Chinese ethnic background. Not sure what that might say about the ethnic breakup of the country - are the Chinese the commercial nucleus of the country and if so, where do Malays and Indians fit in?

This time we also made a conscious effort to move away from the 'tourist' areas and out into the 'burbs. This was really interesting and we think our sojourns helped us to find a little of the 'real' Singapore. Some days we just jumped 'the rattler' out of the CBD and wandered the back streets and suburban shopping centres. This was great and there was definitely a different feel and pace out there. We especially enjoyed an afternoon and early evening in the old Katong district near the East Coast seafront. Some beautifully renovated Peranakan (Straits Chinese) houses, traditional corner restaurants and a few antique shops. A completely different vibe to the nearby business and commercial centres of the big city; almost like something of a time-warp! And a lot less expensive drinking and eating there than in the more popular locations. We would thoroughly recommend a visit to Katong. People were much more friendly and tolerant towards us and we had a great time.

So, overall I would have to say that if you look for it, Singapore certainly has a soul. I must also say that you can soon pick up that Singaporeans are a very patriotic, if not chest-beating, homogenous lot. And it is very obvious to any observer that they just love family and children!

[Dd714]

You want to find the soul of Singapore? - spend an evening at the Orchard Towers.