Not too long ago, my family and I took a trip to Hong Kong in a tour group. It was my first time there and Hong Kong is a really nice place, with great food, shopping and friendly people in general. After touching down, the tour guide took us to the hotel to check in and to take a short rest as we were early for lunch. As it was June, the weather was scorching hot and I was feeling uncomfortable and sweaty all over. Hence, I decided to take a quick shower and change into my bermudas and slippers before heading out again.
As we were walking along the streets of Hong Kong, I started to notice that there were some people who were staring at my brother and I who were in slippers. As Chinese Singaporeans, we looked almost like the locals but we were unsure why people were staring and after a while we started to feel a little uncomfortable. I was starting to question whether I had something on my face or if I had worn my shirt in-side-out. After getting on the bus, the tour guide could sense our discomfort and he explained to us the reason for the glares and we finally understood why.
In Singapore, people wear slippers everywhere they go. Even along Orchard road where you would think that people should be well dressed, you would find a larger number of people in slippers than in shoes or any other footwear. However, according to the tour guide, people do not wear slippers to move around in Hong Kong as wearing it would mean that you are poor. Apparently, your appearance from head to toe is very important in Hong Kong and after the tour guide made this point, I did notice that people there really do make an effort to dress up.
The next day, my brother and I were in bermudas and shoes to avoid the stares.
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Dear Ruisheng,
last year, i went to hongkong as well. I think i also wore slippers but i didn't notice people staring at me about my slippers. Perhaps you visited different areas from me. I went to the market districts and maybe there, wearing slippers wasn't so much of an issue.
I did just like to add another culture difference that i noticed from hongkong and singapore. While in singapore, jaywalking is quite common, people in hongkong are very law abiding when it comes to crossing the road. Even with the busy lifestyles they have, I find that people in hongkong are very patient when it comes to traffic. Did you notice the same thing in hongkong?
Hey ruisheng,
I was in Hong Kong last year and like jiawei, did not notice people staring at me with my slippers as well. However, I did hear stories about how hongkongers used to be snobbissh and have bad service maybe 10 years back. If you are wearing slippers and bermudas, they will totally ignore you even when you visit their shops, as they think that you must be poor and cannot afford to pay for the serivces. It was totally different when I visited the place last year. Most of them actually offered excellent service. I do agree with you that Hongkongers tend to be better dressed than Singaporeans. I even see people with boots and fur even when I visited them during the summer with a scorching weather of more than 38 degrees celsius.
Singaporeans are known to be underdressed and in slippers and bermudas or shorts everywhere they go. It might be due to the hot climate here that everyone is underdressed. However, being underdressed for some occassions may seem rude or showing disrespect to the host of the event. Therefore, I feel that when visiting certain place like places of worship, Singaporeans should dress appropriately.
Hey Rui Sheng,
Yes ! I agree with you that Singaporeans wear slippers wherever they go. It is like a such a norm to us.
I went to England during summer, and I was wearing slippers when I was out on the street. Sad to say, people were staring at my feet! They just feel that slippers should be worn at home or in their garden and not on the street. I was reminded by my aunt about it. Hence, I have no choice but to purchase a pair of plimsolls there.
Sometimes, we do assume that our culture and lifestyle is similar to theirs. However, that is only our assumptions. Reading up forums and finding out the cultures from friends who have been to such countries seem to be important. It helps to prevent us from embarrassment.
Hey Jiawei,
I'm sorry but i didn't really notice this point about them jaywalking, I was probably too concerned with my dressing after the incident.
Anyway I just wanted to say that when I was walking along "Nu Ren Jie", it was pretty funny when I noticed 2 other people walking ahead of me in slippers and straight away I knew they were Singaporeans.
I went Hong Kong last year with my family. It was a ‘free and easy’ trip so we had to follow the map and take train around Hong Kong. Since we have to walk long distance and shop from morning to midnight, my family and I wore sport shoes. So I did not realize that wearing slippers is not the usual thing in Hong Kong.
In Singapore, wearing flip-flops or slippers is very common, especially among youngsters. Youngsters can wear them to market, hawker centres, beach, malls in town, posh restaurant and etc. Basically, they are found everywhere. But, to what you mentioned, the locals in Hong Kong see people who wear slippers as poor. This contributes to the cultural difference.
When I was in Hong Kong I noticed another cultural difference. One afternoon, as the weather was very warm, my family and I decided to go into a cafe (茶餐厅) to have some cold drinks. Once we were sat down, the waiter brought us a cup hot Chinese tea each. I felt strange as we have not order anything yet. Later I realized that actually the tea is for washing of utensils. In Singapore, we do not observe this practice.
Different countries have their own unique culture norms. Hence before travel, it is better for us to know more about the country’s culture.
Hi Ruisheng,
I think that not only people in Hong Kong tend to be more well-dressed, other countries do so too. Maybe most Singaporeans don't really look into dressing (they are some who really can dressed up too!)
I still remember during my trip to Germany last summer, my friend also encountered this similar incident. He was wearing slippers out and he went into a shoes shop. The salesgirl greeted at him and eagerly to serve him but once she saw he was in slippers, her expressions totally changed. We saw it all. To them, we may seem underdressed, but to us, it is just a common sight.
I feel that different countries have their characteristics on their own culture norms. Thus, it is good for us to know more about the culture of the particular country that we are going to avoid any misunderstanding or embarrassment .
Hello R
I had the same experiences as Jiawei. I went to HK about the same time as you (July 08) with a group of friends on a Free & Easy Tour. Like you mentioned, the weather was scorching hot, and my group of friends and I were casually dressed in bermudas and slippers on most days of our trip.
I really didn't notice any weird disapproving stares from the locals. I guess maybe I was either not culturally sensitive enough, or maybe I was distracted by the galore of good bargains and tasty food to be concerned about how people saw me. Ha Ha!
Similarly, I also had the same encounter as you. While walking along "Nv Ren Jie", I could immediately identify the Singaporeans from their dressing. I guess dress codes also form an important component of a particular country's culture? It leads me to wonder whether the casual dress code that is adopted by many Singaporeans is doing us any favours?
Hopefully, Vivian would see this post. After all, she was from HK. Maybe she would be able to give us some insights on the culturally accepted dress code accepted by Hongkongers (some find the term Hongkies offending, so I shall use the former).
Guang Yi
Hey Ruisheng,
Thank you for sharing this with us. If I were in Hong Kong before I had heard about this, I will most probably wear slippers too.
I agree with Xinyu about the customer services over there. I heard stories about the staff in shops not being too friendly to customers who could not converse in Cantonese. I was expecting improvement in this especially when Hong Kong is trying hard to woo tourists. Recently, as I was transiting in Hong Kong, I was treated the same way as I enquire about the products in English. Personally, I feel that staffs working at any Airport should have excellent customer services so as to build a good impression on visitor.
Hey Ruisheng,
I think the point about wearing slipper seems to be a common trend in Singapore. When you go out into the street, even places like orchard, you will realize that many people are in slippers. Majority of them are relatively well dressed. However, when you look down at their feet, it’s a disappointment.
Perhaps it’s the hot weather in Singapore that “created” the slipper trend. However, in my opinion, it is important to dress properly as our first impression by others is usually the way how we dress. At the same time, we cannot always assume that our lifestyle and culture are similar to that of other countries. For instance, in Singapore, the ladies can dress up anyway they wish to without attracting much attention from the public. Such practice is prohibited in the Middle East countries. Therefore, it is important for us to know some basic culture of the country to prevent any conflict or embarrassment.
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