American tourist complains Singapore is too expensive, but gets told off by netizens
A video of a tourist complaining about Singapore’s high prices has drawn a mixed reactions from netizen.
TikToker @withtawakkul, whose name is Tareq, shared the 51-second video on Aug 8 about how he paid $4 for a packet of Burger King fries and $20 for a 10-minute Grab ride.
“Send me home,” he says in the video recorded near Our Tampines Hub.
He shows the area he is in, which he describes as, “pretty nice but not worth the price”, and notices a Mercedes-Benz at a traffic junction before the video ends.
The on-screen title of the video says, “Don’t come to Singapore”, with a couple of emojis suggesting it is said in jest, while the accompanying captions reads, “Don’t come here if you’re under 40”.
Not realistic to compare prices in S’pore with those in neighbouring countries: Netizens
Tareq’s video has racked up more than 284,000 views, 17,000 reactions, and 750 comments.
Several netizens agreed with him about Singapore being expensive though there were those who criticised him for not researching the cost of living here.
“People say Singapore all expensive but I love Singapore for me the price still I can manage because I’m hard working,” said one TikTok user. “Do you do your research before coming? It’s one of the expensive cities,” another said. Yet another said: “Bring more money next time.”
Some netizens pointed out the mistake of tourists coming to Singapore and expecting prices to be similar to those in neighbouring countries.
“I’m sick of tourists coming here thinking just because it’s Southeast Asia, it’s gonna be cheap,” said one. “Don’t come to Singapore expecting Southeast Asian prices. Try comparing Singapore costs to New York, Paris, and London,” another said.
Others said he should have taken public transport if he was on a budget.
“Why take a Grab when you have the option of buses and the MRT?” said one. “Our private transport is very expensive. The trains are pretty good. They go everywhere you need to,” another said.
In a subsequent video posted on Aug 9, Tareq discouraged viewers from using Grab in Singapore, urging them to take public transport instead.
There was also plenty of advice from netizens on where to get a good, inexpensive meal.
“Just go to a hawker centre, bro, a lot of cheap food and worth it,” said one.
Some were critical of his choice of cuisine. “You came to Singapore, one of the best foodie places, to buy burgers?” said a netizen. Another said: “Bro came all the way to Singapore to eat Burger King.”
One netizen was amused that he assessed Singapore merely on the price of fries and a Grab ride. “You came to Singapore and measured the whole country by the price of Burger King fries and Grab? That’s not seeing Singapore. That’s seeing your receipt,” said the netizen.
There was a TikTok user who even fact-checked his claim that his fries were overpriced: “I just checked. Singapore Burger King price is 25 per cent cheaper than the US and up to 50 per cent cheaper than the EU.”
And there were those who wanted to apprise him of what really is expensive in Singapore.
“Who’s gonna tell him how much cars cost in Singapore?” said one. “Wait till you try buying a house and a car here,” another said.
However, there were those who felt that there was nothing wrong for him to rant about Singapore’s prices.
“Don’t scold him. We always complain about our food prices also. Other people say us, suddenly you all cannot tahan,” said a netizen.
Not everyone was hard on him, though. There were offers from netizens to show him around Singapore.
“Do you have friends here? Do you need someone to show you around?” asked one of these.
Despite the comments and his request to be sent home, Tareq had some kind words for the country in a reply to a comment.
“Singapore is a million times better than the US,” he said.
Explore more on these topics
See something interesting? Contribute your story to us.
