- Joined
- Sep 11, 2010
- Messages
- 41,922
- Points
- 113
Yishun again?! Very xia suay!
Connor, a travel vlogger from Australia, visited a residential estate in Singapre. PHOTOS: COZZAU/TIKTOK
Ivan Lim
PublishedMay 5, 2026, 11:42am
An Australian tourist has drawn mixed reactions online after posting a video of himself walking through a residential estate in Yishun and remarking that it looked nothing like the glitzy Singapore depicted in Crazy Rich Asians, prompting netizens to explain what he was seeing.
Connor, who goes by @cozzau on TikTok, shared the 44-second video on May 3 with the caption, “This is how Singapore really is.”
“This is how most of the country I’m assuming lives. Not that Crazy Rich Asians type,” says Connor as the video shows the rear service area of an HDB block.
Based on the surroundings, Connor was likely walking around a residential estate along Yishun Street 72, near Northpoint City.
“Why do you need a clothesline when you have a heater?” he says, showing an air-conditioner compressor with laundry strewn over it, most probably slipped off from bamboo poles on higher floors. He then suggests it might have been left there by a homeless person.
As he walks along the back of the block, he comments that the place is “filthy”, before saying: “You can tell by even the way people are looking at me like I am the first westerner to come through here in a while, especially with a camera, my god.”
The video then cuts to another scene showing Connor exchanging greeting with a staff member at a bakery and other members of the public. The reel ends with him saying: “Friendly people here.”
The reel was a snippet from one of Connor’s travel vlogs on his YouTube channel, in which he claims to have survived “Singapore’s most dangerous hood.”
Netizens pointed out that he picked the “worst” place in Singapore for his reel.
“Bro chose the worst, so it’s not what Singapore really is,” said one TikToker.
“Yes, that is the gutter of Singapore. Each of these units cost a million dollars,” said another, referring to the price of HDB flats. In June 2025, a jumbo executive HDB unit changed hands for $1.28 million, setting the record for the most expensive HDB flat in the estate.
Others pointed out that there are good and bad places in every country.
“No one really hides this side. It’s just that tourists don’t usually go here. But there are quite a few expats living in these areas,” explained a netizen.
“Yes, actually all countries have their nice and ugly sides,” said another.
Others netizens were more welcoming, with some inviting Connor to their area and even offering to bring him around.
“I recommend going to the newest estates, such as Tengah, Tampines Boulevard, Punggol Northshore,” said a netizen.
Some netizens, however, did not take too kindly to the video.
“Don’t you love it when a third worlder American talks about other countries?” said one netizen. (Connor is from Australia.) “Just a white sour grape,” another said.
One westerner took exception to Connor’s suggestion that he was the first westerner to visit Yishun in a while.
“I assure you that you are not the first Westerner in Yishun recently. There are westerners that live in Yishun. I am in Yishun every few days,” said the netizen.
Stomp has reached out to Connor for comment.
https://www.stomp.sg/trending-now/a...-filthy-not-crazy-rich-asians-type?ref=search
Australian tourist explores Yishun HDB estate and calls it ‘filthy’: ‘Not that Crazy Rich Asians type’
Connor, a travel vlogger from Australia, visited a residential estate in Singapre. PHOTOS: COZZAU/TIKTOK
Ivan Lim
PublishedMay 5, 2026, 11:42am
An Australian tourist has drawn mixed reactions online after posting a video of himself walking through a residential estate in Yishun and remarking that it looked nothing like the glitzy Singapore depicted in Crazy Rich Asians, prompting netizens to explain what he was seeing.
Connor, who goes by @cozzau on TikTok, shared the 44-second video on May 3 with the caption, “This is how Singapore really is.”
“This is how most of the country I’m assuming lives. Not that Crazy Rich Asians type,” says Connor as the video shows the rear service area of an HDB block.
Based on the surroundings, Connor was likely walking around a residential estate along Yishun Street 72, near Northpoint City.
“Why do you need a clothesline when you have a heater?” he says, showing an air-conditioner compressor with laundry strewn over it, most probably slipped off from bamboo poles on higher floors. He then suggests it might have been left there by a homeless person.
As he walks along the back of the block, he comments that the place is “filthy”, before saying: “You can tell by even the way people are looking at me like I am the first westerner to come through here in a while, especially with a camera, my god.”
The video then cuts to another scene showing Connor exchanging greeting with a staff member at a bakery and other members of the public. The reel ends with him saying: “Friendly people here.”
The reel was a snippet from one of Connor’s travel vlogs on his YouTube channel, in which he claims to have survived “Singapore’s most dangerous hood.”
Netizens said he picked the ‘worst’ place to feature
The reel garnered over 155,000 views, 5,000 reactions, and 140 comments within two days of being posted.Netizens pointed out that he picked the “worst” place in Singapore for his reel.
“Bro chose the worst, so it’s not what Singapore really is,” said one TikToker.
“Yes, that is the gutter of Singapore. Each of these units cost a million dollars,” said another, referring to the price of HDB flats. In June 2025, a jumbo executive HDB unit changed hands for $1.28 million, setting the record for the most expensive HDB flat in the estate.
Others pointed out that there are good and bad places in every country.
“No one really hides this side. It’s just that tourists don’t usually go here. But there are quite a few expats living in these areas,” explained a netizen.
“Yes, actually all countries have their nice and ugly sides,” said another.
Others netizens were more welcoming, with some inviting Connor to their area and even offering to bring him around.
“I recommend going to the newest estates, such as Tengah, Tampines Boulevard, Punggol Northshore,” said a netizen.
Some netizens, however, did not take too kindly to the video.
“Don’t you love it when a third worlder American talks about other countries?” said one netizen. (Connor is from Australia.) “Just a white sour grape,” another said.
One westerner took exception to Connor’s suggestion that he was the first westerner to visit Yishun in a while.
“I assure you that you are not the first Westerner in Yishun recently. There are westerners that live in Yishun. I am in Yishun every few days,” said the netizen.
Stomp has reached out to Connor for comment.
https://www.stomp.sg/trending-now/a...-filthy-not-crazy-rich-asians-type?ref=search
