These are a few of my least favorite things...

A few days ago I posted about some of the things in Singapore that I'm really going to miss.  Not to be a negative Nelly...but there are certainly some things about Singapore that I will definitely NOT miss so thought I'd share those with you.  I would normally feel like I'm complaining but I had a going away brunch this past weekend and most of these came up from the group of expats that I was with so feel a bit better that it isn't just me...

~Poor customer service...I've been pretty lucky in most of my dealings in stores and service providers (cable, power, etc) regarding the quality of customer service.  However, Singapore is not known for the stellar customer service...especially in restaurants...  You typically get dishes served at different times (like 10 minutes apart)...forgotten items that have been ordered...just general unfriendliness.  I really think that part of the dining experience is the service that you receive so am looking forward to some great waiters/waitresses when I get home...and am sure they'll be tipped accordingly!

~Slow walkers...holy cow!  People here in Asia walk...so...slow...  It is to the point that I honestly wonder how some of them ever get anywhere...at...all!

~Lack of charity...I know that there must be charitable organizations here but they are not very visible.  It seems like a lot of the social issues get swept under the rug and appear to be hidden.  It almost seems like Singapore doesn't want to air it's dirty laundry.  And there have been a few instances where the locals just simply don't help out...my personal trainer got in a motorcycle accident last year and was laying on the road with a huge gash in his leg and no Singaporeans stopped to help...only tourists...and he is Singaporean!  Just this week I was putting all of my spare Singaporean change into a donation box for the local SPCA...I had a lot of change so it took a few minutes and the entire time there were locals staring at me like I was loopy.  

~Horrible public restrooms...9 times out of 10 they are not well maintained here...they are not air-conditioned (which is horrible when the temps rarely drop below 80 degrees)...and they are not well located (lots of restaurants don't have their own restrooms so you have to take a bit of a walk to find one).

~Not giving way...I have no idea why but more often than not when you are walking down the sidewalk you'll see a group of 3-4 people coming toward you.  One would think that since there are 4 of them and one of you they would give way to allow you to pass...not so much here...I typically will just step out of the way but I have had many days where I have stood my ground and just bumped into people...only to get a look of utter shock.  Come on people!

~Always being around people...this isn't a constant thing but living in a big city means always being around people.  Even simple things like returning to your apartment means being greeted by your doorman...don't get me wrong...they have always been super nice but sometimes it is good to just have some peace and quiet.

~Insanely high prices...remember the dish-rack incident of 2009?  If not...check out that blog post...I'll be glad to be back in the land of reasonable and competitive pricing...bring on Target!!!

~Lack of amazing restaurants....I think I'm a bit spoiled living in the big D and having so many awesome choices for food.  There are a lot of okay places to eat here but very few that completely blow me away and make me say...let's go back!

So...these are a few of the things that I will not miss when I leave here.  Again, I hate to be negative but I do think that part of the experience is the entirely well-rounded one that includes both the positives and negatives.  But...to end on a positive note...a few more things that I will absolutely miss...
~insanely cheap massages...especially the awesome acupressure (aka - foot massage) that I typically reward myself with each week
~super cheap but super tasty sushi from the grocery store
~Sunday morning walks at East Coast Park or along the river
~funny conversations and misunderstandings with taxi drivers...