Having travelled to 33 countries, a tourist and TikTok user @gracietravels shared why Singapore is not on her list of favourite countries to travel to.
"There is just no natural substance to the country," Grace said as she listed all the reasons why Singapore did not make the cut.
Needless to say, responses to her video have been divided, but those who share similar views, chimed in to support her take.
Locals are rude
According to Grace, one gripe she had was that she did not have pleasant encounters with Singaporeans.
"I'm not sure if it's a me thing, but locals are pretty rude," she said, without mincing her words.
She proceeded to share an unpleasant encounter she experienced with a local taxi driver as soon as she arrived at the airport.
Grace said the taxi driver did not smile at her and her travel companion.
She was also made to put her luggage in the trunk by herself.
The only conversation they had, she claimed, was when he asked how much money she makes.
Doesn't feel like Asia
Grace's next reason was that Singapore feels "super westernised".
She said she did not feel like she was really in Asia when she was in Singapore, though she was unsure if it was because there were a lot of tourists and expats living around the area she visited.
Shortly after making this claim, Grace revealed that she stayed at Marina Bay Sands during her time here.
Everything is expensive
She went on in the video to state that everything in Singapore is expensive.
As an example, she said her hotel room in MBS cost her and her companion a "fortune".
Expressing her incredulity, Grace said she did not understand why people are obsessed with the five-star hotel and its trademark infinity pool, given its exorbitant price.
In her opinion, there are better hotels that are actually worth paying for.
Image via @gracietravels/TikTok.
Grace also claimed she had trouble finding a restaurant that was not "overpriced" and had "decent food", making her turn to the hawker centres to settle her meals.
Image via @gracietravels/TikTok.
No natural substance
Grace then asked, as she shared that everything in the city-state is man-made and created just for entertainment: "What do you actually do in Singapore besides eat and shop?"
"I feel like it's the Las Vegas of Asia but actually not quite there yet," she said.
"There's just no natural substance to the country".
Despite all the criticism, Grace finds Gardens by the Bay "pretty" and that she loved walking through everything.
She also encouraged locals to provide her with feedback if they disagreed with what she said.
You can watch the TikTok here:
@gracietravels im sorry Singapore 😥 #singapore #sinagporetiktok #traveltips #travelfyp #thetruth #traveltiktok ♬ love nwantinti (ah ah ah) - CKay
Mixed reactions
Grace's video garnered mixed reactions from commenters.
Some agreed that Singapore feels "artificial".
One commenter suggested that Grace could have explored the rest of Singapore before making a conclusion, to which she revealed that this was her second trip to the city-state.
Meanwhile, other commenters disagreed with Grace's view, expressing their love for the little red dot.
How to read her take and respond
Looking solely at the TikTok by Grace and the responses it elicited, it could be surmised that there are merits to her views, but she could have explained further what she meant.
For example, the video could have brought up another Asian country as comparison, especially one where the location made her feel like she was "in Asia".
Given that she has travelled to 33 countries before, she could have drawn from her wealth of experiences from elsewhere.
Moreover, she could have also acknowledged that between the high-end restaurants in Marina Bay and hawker centres around the island, there are many options in between the extremes that are value for money and affordable, and highly accessible.
The same would have applied to hotels as well.
Lastly, she could have also explained what constitutes "natural substance" in a country, especially one in Asia, or at least pit Singapore against a city of comparable size elsewhere that has an equally robust tourism sector.
Top image via @gracietravels/TikTok.