SINGAPORE: A European woman took to social media to share that, out of all the places she and her partner visited in Asia, Singapore stood out to her as the rudest.
“Singapore was, hands down, the rudest place we visited in Asia,” she wrote on the r/SingaporeTravel subreddit on Sunday (Feb 15). “And before anyone jumps in: No, this wasn’t just us being difficult, clueless, rude tourists. We travelled through China, Japan, and Malaysia with zero issues. Singapore was the outlier.”
In her post, the woman claimed that many of the staff members they encountered were “disrespectful and, honestly, sexist as hell,” as they would talk over her and only address her partner.
“I’d ask a question, and they’d answer him instead, or just cut me off completely. Female staff, especially, would be all smiles and friendly toward him while acting like I didn’t exist.”
Basic manners, she added, also seemed surprisingly scarce. Greetings such as “hi,” “thank you,” or “bye” were often met with blank stares or silence. On several occasions, she said they were even waved off with a curt “yeah, yeah” hand gesture, leaving her with the impression that they were somehow being a nuisance.
“It’s like we were being annoying just for existing. Being polite almost seemed to make people feel more comfortable treating us poorly.”
She also alleged that locals treated people differently depending on gender and ethnicity.
“We noticed this not only in daily interactions but even on our flight back with Singapore Airlines, with staff clearly prioritising white passengers and men. We were treated kindly, but seeing it while others were spoken to more abruptly or ignored, it made us uncomfortable.”
