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Pedestrian Courtesy in Singapore
- sundaymorningstaple
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I am not talking a large backpack, something like this....

My pack never hits people in the face, I'd have to be sitting on their knee to do that!
I agree with the principle on large backpags like this
You can't keep that on, it'd take up too much room.
If you think about it, due to the way a train works, people tend to stand with their feet apart a bit for balance, therefore, the requirement for room on the floor is greater than the requirement for head space as their heads are stationary looking at a Samsung Galaxy Tab or ipad/iphone. this means if you put your bag on the floor, you are effectively taking up much more premium room than if you put it on your back.
Still, I wouldn't be so inconsiderate to stand next to someone in a seat and I'm conscious where I put my bag, in a crowded train people have to deal with it, the floor space rule above applies. I still believe my back is the best place for my backpack!

My pack never hits people in the face, I'd have to be sitting on their knee to do that!
I agree with the principle on large backpags like this

You can't keep that on, it'd take up too much room.
If you think about it, due to the way a train works, people tend to stand with their feet apart a bit for balance, therefore, the requirement for room on the floor is greater than the requirement for head space as their heads are stationary looking at a Samsung Galaxy Tab or ipad/iphone. this means if you put your bag on the floor, you are effectively taking up much more premium room than if you put it on your back.
Still, I wouldn't be so inconsiderate to stand next to someone in a seat and I'm conscious where I put my bag, in a crowded train people have to deal with it, the floor space rule above applies. I still believe my back is the best place for my backpack!
nutnut
- sundaymorningstaple
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The best part of temporarily wearing on the chest is that you don't need to figure out how to have either eyes in the back of your head or a close proximity detector or rear-view mirrors in the outside corners of your glasses. 

SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers
Not to mention that it can be a very good habit in crowded places outside Singapore. Learned it fortunately soft way in Chatuchak in Bangkok after discovering half of my bagpack pockets half opened, probably seconds before somebody emptied them.sundaymorningstaple wrote:The best part of temporarily wearing on the chest is that you don't need to figure out how to have either eyes in the back of your head or a close proximity detector or rear-view mirrors in the outside corners of your glasses.
Yeah I never wear a backpack in foreign countries or crowds for exactly that reason. It's hard to tell the difference between being jostled and being ripped off.x9200 wrote:Not to mention that it can be a very good habit in crowded places outside Singapore. Learned it fortunately soft way in Chatuchak in Bangkok after discovering half of my bagpack pockets half opened, probably seconds before somebody emptied them.sundaymorningstaple wrote:The best part of temporarily wearing on the chest is that you don't need to figure out how to have either eyes in the back of your head or a close proximity detector or rear-view mirrors in the outside corners of your glasses.
- the lynx
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Agreed. Another way to counter that is to put up the rain cover and keep important things in inaccessible parts of the bag. I always do that when I carry mine on backpacking trips.x9200 wrote:Not to mention that it can be a very good habit in crowded places outside Singapore. Learned it fortunately soft way in Chatuchak in Bangkok after discovering half of my bagpack pockets half opened, probably seconds before somebody emptied them.sundaymorningstaple wrote:The best part of temporarily wearing on the chest is that you don't need to figure out how to have either eyes in the back of your head or a close proximity detector or rear-view mirrors in the outside corners of your glasses.
In my opinion this is the common urgent warning sign of being robbed/pick-pocketed. I'd extend it slightly further, being jostled but as often as not there is adequate space for no one to have to jostle you*.poodlek wrote: Yeah I never wear a backpack in foreign countries or crowds for exactly that reason. It's hard to tell the difference between being jostled and being ripped off.
*Edit to add: So more often than not my initial reaction has been irritation and the thought 'Why are these fools jostling me!?' And if you're not quick on the uptake it's too late. Oh and don't trust women more than men, women seem to be the more common perps, especially those with children in tow.
Last edited by JR8 on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 4:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If the bag was causing others discomfort and you had the power to change that, but wouldn't, of course you are a douche.nutnut wrote:I am not talking a large backpack, something like this....
Smaller bags like this one above are easy to hold by the side or in front.
What was most frustrating about my encounter with that moron was that he failed to see the question was never about his 'rights'. He was indeed allowed to wear the backpack. The issue was about graciousness, common courtesy which clearly his parents never taught him a thing about.
You have to pity such people, as they usually have a poor EQ..
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