Quora Answer: What is the Most Absurd Question Someone Has Asked You about Singapore, or Life in Singapore?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “What is the most absurd question someone has asked you about Singapore, or life in Singapore?”

I travel often for work, particularly in the earlier days, when I was still building my business network and my primary industry was the maritime industry.  I have been to New York more times than I have been to Malaysia.  In that time, I have a low opinion of the US, having been to over a two dozen cities in a dozen states, East Coast, West Coast, and the Gulf.

My impression is that the people selected to man the borders, the first impression visitors get of the US, are selected from the most ignorant, the most jingoistic, the most bigoted of the country.  This, from a nation of over 350 million people, many millions of them undoubtedly cosmopolitan, entrepreneurial, intelligent and resourceful.  I would speculate it is because the better candidates have better options, and they are left scraping the bottom of the barrel.  This is regardless of whether they are TSA, CBP or USCG.

Questions asked form me have included the following:

“Which part of China is that?”

“We are not part of China.  China is 4,000 km to the north.

“Is that next to China?”

“No.”

“How come you don’t look Chinese?”

“Because I am not?  We have a lot of other types of people here.”

“You speak very good English for an Asian.”

“Being a British colony for almost 150 years must have helped.”

“Is it true you eat dogs?”

“No.  But we have hot dogs. Does that count?”

“Is it true you get caned for chewing gum?”

“No. Chewing gum is not an offence.”

“Do you have drug lords?”

“That is the Golden Triangle, 2,500 km north.”

“Are there still pirates?”

“Only online.”

“Are you sure you are not from China?”

“You got me there. What gave it away?”