Like many countries, Singapore is not without its fair share of complaints, with one of the most common ones being how expensive it can be to live in the city-state.
A travel content creator recently cited that as one of the reasons why she disliked the country.
TikToker Grace Cheng, otherwise known as @gracietravels, recently posted a video explaining why Singaporean wasn’t in her list of favourite countries.
Source: TikTok
Apart from the high costs in Singapore, the TikTok user also cited other reasons such as rude locals and how Singapore looked “super westernised”.
In a video posted on Wednesday (18 Jul), the Seattle-based Grace claimed that she encountered rude locals from the start of her trip.
@gracietravels im sorry Singapore 😥 #singapore #sinagporetiktok #traveltips #travelfyp #thetruth #traveltiktok ♬ love nwantinti (ah ah ah) – CKay
While taking a taxi from the airport, she claimed that the driver did not smile at her and her travel group.
She also complained that the driver did not help her load her luggage into the car and barely made any attempts at a conversation.
“The only time he talked was to ask how much money I made,” Grace alleged.
Grace went on to say that Singapore is “super westernised” and that she didn’t feel like she was in Asia while travelling in the country.
She added that she was unsure if this was because there were a lot of tourists during her trip or because of the high number of expatriates.
Source: TikTok
Either way, she did not feel like she was in Asia at all.
Grace’s next — and arguably main — gripe with Singapore was that “everything here is so expensive”.
Recounting her stay at Marina Bay Sands, she said the room alone cost her a fortune.
She failed to understand the hype surrounding the hotel and its infinity pool deck, saying she has stayed at better hotels that are worth their prices.
Source: TikTok
The complaint extended to food, which Grace claimed was usually overpriced.
According to her, she had trouble finding a restaurant that had decent food at a reasonable price.
Source: TikTok
As such, she often had to resort to hawker centres instead.
The final reason that Grace gave for her dislike of Singapore was that it felt artificial to her.
Based on her observations, everything was “man-made” and created for entertainment.
This led her to compare it to Las Vegas, and even then she felt it was “not quite there yet”.
However, she did compliment Singapore’s gardens, saying that she loved exploring them.
Source: TikTok
That said, she still felt there was no “natural substance” to Singapore.
In saying so, she issued an open question to viewers:
What do you actually do in Singapore besides eat and shop?
Naturally, Grace’s video caught a great deal of attention, attracting opinions from both ends of the spectrum.
Some felt it was a no-brainer that she would find the accommodation expensive when she chose to stay at the five-star Marina Bay Sands hotel.
Source: TikTok
Others implied that Grace’s expectations might have been a mismatch as they never expect taxi drivers to load their luggage into the car.
Source: TikTok
At the same time, there were many tourists who agreed with Grace, like this Australian who claimed they spent S$80 on brunch for two people.
Source: TikTok
Having attracted so much controversy, it did not take long for Grace to make another video, this time to clarify her initial statements.
In regard to comments on her hotel choice, she explained that she understood that five-star hotels would cost more.
However, what she was referring to was the lack of value she got for the price she paid.
Source: TikTok
During her last trip, she had chosen to stay there to see what the hype was all about.
To her dismay, she found that the hotel was crowded wherever she went, the service was lacklustre, and her breakfast was not worth the money.
In contrast, she found JW Marriott to be a better option, as she praised it for its views, good service, and “spot-on” food.
Source: TikTok
She also clarified her stance on hawker centres, saying that she actually prefers hawker food and that she visited them lots of times.
That said, she doubled down on her stance that there is nothing to do in Singapore besides eat and shop, adding that there were locals who agree with her too.
Do you agree with Grace’s opinions, and if not, why so? Let us know in the comments.
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Featured image adapted from TikTok.
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