The Sichuan Earthquake
– Cooler Insights: In Media Relations, Timing is Everything
– Singapore Alternatives: Criteria of Good Political Leadership
MSK WKS Debacle
– The Online Citizen: A psychological perspective
– Sheep City: Seventy-seven days of nothing
We Don’t Need No Regulation
– Sam’s thoughts: Freedom in the Net (pun intended)
– BHP: Past, Present and Future in the Real and Virtual World
Healthcare
– Random Rants: Means Testing (3)
ERPains, Trains & Automobiles
– The Online Citizen: Reducing commuting time – national effort needed
Transport Reforms Announced? Same ‘ol, same ‘ol
– A long and arduous road of an entrepreneur: Another Reason To Get A Car
Lemons for Money
– Hard Hitting in the Lion City: The Great Singapore Fire-Sale Part II
– The Void Deck: Indonesia Really Dowan Fren Temasek
Singaporeans are fed, up with progress!
– this lush garden within: More reasons for leaving Singapore
– Simply Gab: More Govt Lapses [Thanks Gabriel]
Daily Discourse
– Lushhome: An underground reservoir?
– Alice Cheong in Wonderland: Buy food from street hawker?
– To PM Lee Hsien Loong: The Taiwanese Mochi Merry-go-round – Organisers found
– My Very Own Glob: Smartypants Singtel
Life, the universe and everything
– Mindblogging Stuff: Star Wars according to a 3-year-old
The Singapore Daily 
I hope you like this story! I am a white guy (Caucasian) living in Singapore. I’m a foreigner, and I speak with an American accent. When I arrived at Changi airport from the US last Sunday and told a taxi driver that I wanted to go to NUS, the driver asked me if I wanted to take AYE or SLE. I think this was an intelligence test, designed to see if he would be able to cheat me on the taxi fare or not. Curious about his odd route choices, I responded, “Please take the shortest route.” He said “OK, Sir. Welcome to Singapore.” Then proceeded to wind his way all over the place before going to NUS. I kept quiet to see exactly how much money he would cheat me for. The fare was about $10 more than it should have been. In this case, I said nothing more. I was willing to pay the $10 to see how taxi drivers in Singapore treat white tourists. They should be warned about this at the airport. Soon, Singapore will be one of those countries where people are warned about scamming locals, the same way Singaporeans are warned about the same thing in nearby countries. It’s really quite shameful. The driver said “Thank you, Sir, have a nice stay in Singapore.”
You should have reported him.
I don’t think reporting him would help the underlying problem, that is, Singapore’s overly materialistic and uncaring culture. You can’t fine people into being kind. It’s a much bigger problem than one taxi driver.
Hey Ian, you could have given the $10 to those poor old folks selling tissue paper on the streets instead.
I would like to give the driver the benefit of doubt. The fact that he asked which route you would like to take showed that he probably did not want any misunderstandings to arise. You had a choice, but you left it to him to decide. The shortest route may not be the fastest and what he thought was better might not be what you had in mind. So, I feel that it is unfair to label him a cheat as such and draw sweeping conclusions about Singapore.
I have traveled widely in the US, Canada, Asia and Australia and have encountered cab drivers and locals who tried or had taken me for a ride too. I treat them as human nature, not country-specific problems. And it’s definitely a waste of time money to test these people just to prove I am right.
I hope you like this story! I am a yellow guy (chinese) visiting the UK. I’m a foreigner, and I speak with a Singaporean accent. When I arrived at Heathrow airport from the Singapore last Sunday and told a taxi driver that I wanted to go to Imperial College, the driver asked me if I wanted to take M-6 or wind through the city. I think this was an intelligence test, designed to see if he would be able to cheat me on the taxi fare or not. Curious about his odd route choices, I responded, “Please take the shortest route.” He said “OK, Sir. Welcome to London.” Then proceeded to wind his way all over the place before going to IC. I kept quiet to see exactly how much money he would cheat me for. The fare was about £10 more than it should have been. In this case, I said nothing more. I was willing to pay the £10 to see how taxi drivers in London treat Asian tourists. They should be warned about this at the airport. Soon, London will be one of those countries where people are warned about scamming locals, the same way Londoners are warned about the same thing in nearby countries. It’s really quite shameful. The driver said “Thank you, Sir, have a nice stay in London.”
Moral of the story: Work it through Ian, it’s there…trust me. IMHO this bags the dodo award post for 2008. These mother fuckers think they can come to our country and start imposing their own values and standards on all of us like Imperial days.