I always joke with friends and family at home that I have lost my hyper awareness for my surroundings. This is only the case for the world’s safety country/place! I never walk around at what I call the “dead hours” of the day (3-6 AM), but if I had to, I would not hesitate in Singapore. It really is as safe as it is described to be!
Speaking of safety, I have a funny anecdote about personal belongings. When I am at NEU (or anywhere in fact), I never leave personal belongings out of sight as more than likely it will get stolen. The biggest shocker and adjustment for me about Singapore was the concept of “choping” or “to chope” where a packet of tissue paper is used to reserve seats. At SMU’s library, students do not chope with tissue papers. In fact, they use valuable items such as, textbooks, bags, and even, laptops to chope seats! At first, I had the hardest time “choping” because there still was that lingering fear, but eventually, I started doing it as well.
I would say though, something that I observed personally so take it with a grain of salt if you disagree, but I noticed that cars seem to have right of way here. Pedestrians almost always have the right of way in the States, but I have noticed that in many instances, cars will not necessarily stop for people at small roads that do not have blantant signage indicating “stop” (or something of that nature). So safety tip number one in Singapore is do not jaywalk (well, it is forbidden and it punishable in the form of fines) and be weary when crossing streets, particularly smaller streets.
And last but not least, when traveling outside of Singapore, safety is a must! I guess it is easy to take safety for granted in the safety country in the world, but being aware is definitely important while traveling.
