Note to Singaporeans: Staring is rude

Singaporeans stare. Not just catching a furtive glance at you when you're sitting opposite them on the train. They fully have both eyes on you. That's not the bad part. The bad part is when you catch them staring at you, they don't look away! They continue on in their staring ways...it's very very disconcerting, and very very strange, and very very very rude.

So the other day, I was riding down a very long escalator to the MRT station, and I caught this guy (middle aged) on the corresponding escalator going up staring at me. When I caught him staring at me, did he look away? No! Well actually, he looked away for a bit, but when he thought I had stopped looking, he was back staring at me again. This was like....for the whole escalator ride, which would have been about 45 seconds.

Finally, I got so fed up at being gawked at, that I turned around (because we'd passed each other at this stage) and waved and smiled at him. At first he had this surprised look on his face...but after that, he smiled and looked sheepish....then disappeared from sight.

So very strange.

(Oh, the other day, I caught someone's eye on the train, and she smiled at me, without me smiling first!! A miracle! A miracle! The government campaign has worked!! =p)