Where does your bag go when you sit down on public transport?
In Singapore, most opt to keep their bags sandwiched between their legs on the floor or on their laps.
However, it seems that the common habit most Singaporeans don’t think twice about has pleasantly surprised a Chinese national living here.
In a video posted to Xiaohongshu, the woman — who resides in Singapore — shared that she noticed this detail while taking the MRT recently.
“Even when there were plenty of empty seats nearby, people still kept their backpacks by their feet. The seats remained unoccupied, yet no one used them for their bags,” she wrote.
“The best kind of consideration doesn’t come from being watched or told what to do. It comes from simply thinking about the strangers around you.”
Some foreigners who came across the post agreed with her, stating that one of the reasons they feel comfortable living in Singapore is because of its “rules and order”.
Some others added that unspoken rules such as these make things less stressful, as people are aware of what is expected of them.
Singaporeans also shared their views on the topic under the video, expressing mixed reactions.
One comment read: “That’s just how it is here, everyone follows the rules.”
“Sometimes I’m used to standing even when there are many empty seats, unless I’m very tired or I’m going to a place that’s quite far away,” another netizen wrote.
A person who disagreed with the woman’s views commented: “How many days have you been here? There are so many people cutting in line, not queuing, kids standing on the seats, talking loudly, and people taking up seats with their backpacks.”
Some comments also pointed out that people are often well-behaved on public transport as they risk being filmed and bashed online if they do something wrong.
Meanwhile, one commenter gave a more practical view: “If there aren’t many people, I will put my backpack next to me. If it gets crowded, I will put the bag behind me.”
[[nid:742964]]
bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
Read the full article here
