Singapore Expats

For many years here back in the 70 & 80, it was only the TVs who had any dress sense!

alittlerisky wrote:the girls!

I have never seen so many pretty and well-dressed ladies in my life.

Go to Japan and see how it compares.

zzm9980 wrote:You need to visit some more places They do generally dress nice in CBD, but some of the fashion you see in the heartlands... oh boy.

+1 - CBD has become much better over the past few years

Brah wrote:

alittlerisky wrote:the girls!

I have never seen so many pretty and well-dressed ladies in my life.

Go to Japan and see how it compares.

Or Shanghai during summer

Brah wrote:Go to Japan and see how it compares.

Ginza on a Saturday afternoon: Most pleasant for a little 'window shopping'

More seriously the typical Japanese lady has sophisticated dress-sense, and the result of dressing well and modestly (or at least, in a 'grown-up' way) = less is more.

Amusing thread. Hmm. Will save the grammar discussion for the opposite thread as their trouble with collective nouns drives me to distraction. However, as I don't speak I word of mandarin, I suppose I have no right to gripe.

What do I like? Definitely not the food. I don't mind SE Asian cuisine but in Singapore - I find it's prepared so poorly - take Thailand any day over the local fare.

I would say, though, I like and admire their ambition. As much as it goes haywire at times. The reality is, in Europe, North America - those days are gone for us for the moment. Nobody builds crazy, ostentatious buildings anymore just because they can. They do here, and across Asia. And I like and admire that energy and ambition. When then never-ending construction isn't driving me mad anyways.

sundaymorningstaple wrote:

Mi Amigo wrote:Edroche, can I just say that your new avatar looks really sinister and gives me the willies? Calmday's was just creepy but yours is something else...

I think it looks like every yapping four-footed ankle-biter. I like dogs. Ones that go WooF!

Yeah, I like dogs too, but this one looks like a Jack-Nicholson-in-One Flew-Over-the-Cuckoo's-Nest kind of hound.

Edroche wrote:Would be interesting to find out what other expat folks like about Singapore.

I'd echo / add the following:

Changi Airport (esp. T3).

Tax regime.

CPF - I like the fact that my money stays assigned to me and is not shared out amongst (albeit deserving) other people, leaving potentially nothing for me when I retire (as in many other countries).

Little India for atmosphere and food, but for the most part I think the food here is disappointing and highly overrated.

Safety when walking around at night, etc. (although it's probably not really as safe as we all assume).

Er... That's all I can think of. A lot of the other things that I thought were positives when I moved here have now moved into the other category; I won't derail the thread by listing them here.

- Hiking around McRitchie reservoir.

Monkeys, snakes, monitor lizards, and all manner of stuff you hear but never quite see. It's quite a hike, but you can make combinations of various tracks for a desired distance. Maybe 80% of it is in the shade, but a brisk walk of an hour or two and you will seriously feel it by the end (I always ended up glowing red), and that was before the c2 mile trans-hill walk home.

Take a ruckie with plenty of bottles of fluids. Wear good trainers or light hiking shoes, the paths can be uneven.

It's pretty full-on for a languid city-dweller, so take it easy first time you try it, until you have a feel for it.

The plus side? You pass surprisingly few people and you really do feel far removed from the city hubbub. You will pass a few others, and a few people on mountain bikes... otherwise you will have most of it to yourself.

- The other thing I enjoy up that way is the nurseries at Thompson/Olive Roads. Best place I could find to get some good plants for the balcony. Anyone want a tip of my favourite one (I think there are four in a row and I browsed them all), just ask, HTH.

- I also liked the Yong Tau Foo stall in the food court at Raffles Hospital. Every other time I went there the Malay auntie would exclaim 'What, you don't want mee!!? <cackle>', clearly an old line of hers; still funny though as it was a little cheeky/unexpected from a scarfie

1. kaya toast - done the old fashioned way

2. excellent transportation options

3. very good infrastructure

4. lower taxes

5. good hub for international flights

Mi Amigo wrote:

sundaymorningstaple wrote:

Mi Amigo wrote:Edroche, can I just say that your new avatar looks really sinister and gives me the willies? Calmday's was just creepy but yours is something else...

I think it looks like every yapping four-footed ankle-biter. I like dogs. Ones that go WooF!

Yeah, I like dogs too, but this one looks like a Jack-Nicholson-in-One Flew-Over-the-Cuckoo's-Nest kind of hound.

'Jack Nicholson' thats hilarious. Glad you like it

Brah wrote:There was a monitor lizard the size of a small dog traipsing around Robertson Walk a while back. I should upload the pictures I took of it.

Not sure how they'd react if one crossed their path up close.

The below video might answer your question. Check this bad boy out, got this on the iphone a year ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiBCXy3I ... e=youtu.be

Brah wrote:

alittlerisky wrote:the girls!

I have never seen so many pretty and well-dressed ladies in my life.

Go to Japan and see how it compares.

Yer... been to Tokyo... but the girls there... I wouldn't call "well dressed"... they are just completely strange. OK, they do take alot of care about the way they look, but dressing up like Little Bo Peep takes a certain kind of nutcase.

I work in CBD... so maybe I do lack a wider experience. And I've only been here a month.

Edroche wrote:

Brah wrote:There was a monitor lizard the size of a small dog traipsing around Robertson Walk a while back. I should upload the pictures I took of it.

Not sure how they'd react if one crossed their path up close.

The below video might answer your question. Check this bad boy out, got this on the iphone a year ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiBCXy3I ... e=youtu.be

The first one I caught in my back yard (seems it liked my dogs dry dog food and was living in the monsoon drain at the edge of the road so would come up at night to feed). Eventually the dogs barking got me curious and eventually I caught the critter. It measured 6' from nose to tip of tail. About 2 years later I caught a 2nd one that measured 4'6". The first one went to the Singapore Zoo and the 2nd went to one of the ponds just down the street from me on the old Seletar Golf Course. I understand a lot of the ducks on the pond disappeared in the ensuing months as well. I had an Indian neighbour who tried to get me to give him the lizard, but my wife said, NO! because he'll kill and eat the lizard. Oh, one other interesting fact about monitor lizards, they can also climb trees if necessary. Their talons look like eagle talons and are just as sharp.

alittlerisky wrote:

Brah wrote:

alittlerisky wrote:the girls!

I have never seen so many pretty and well-dressed ladies in my life.

Go to Japan and see how it compares.

Yer... been to Tokyo... but the girls there... I wouldn't call "well dressed"... they are just completely strange. OK, they do take alot of care about the way they look, but dressing up like Little Bo Peep takes a certain kind of nutcase.

I work in CBD... so maybe I do lack a wider experience. And I've only been here a month.

It's all about personal preferences. My POV, when it comes to the girls, is directly opposite to yours. It is a disaster area. Of course there are some pretty girls and some that can dress up classy and aesthetically and even some combining both but majority dress up all the same with no sense of good taste. A hello kitty society with too much pink and glittering stuff all over their outfits. On top of this they can not walk with even some basic grace.

x9200 wrote:

alittlerisky wrote:

Brah wrote: Go to Japan and see how it compares.

Yer... been to Tokyo... but the girls there... I wouldn't call "well dressed"... they are just completely strange. OK, they do take alot of care about the way they look, but dressing up like Little Bo Peep takes a certain kind of nutcase.

I work in CBD... so maybe I do lack a wider experience. And I've only been here a month.

It's all about personal preferences. My POV, when it comes to the girls, is directly opposite to yours. It is a disaster area. Of course there are some pretty girls and some that can dress up classy and aesthetically and even some combining both but majority dress up all the same with no sense of good taste. A hello kitty society with too much pink and glittering stuff all over their outfits. On top of this they can not walk with even some basic grace.

Reminds me of hordes of girls in CBD here wearing really elegant office dress and elaborate make-up, paired with stilettos, but they hunch as they walk. Erm.... not pretty.