Etiquette in Asia: taxis and tips

Problem
Taxis won't stop.

Answer
In America and Europe you beckon towards yourself. in Asia you wave your hands palm downwards like patting a dog showing a driver where you want him to stop. Watch other local people hailing taxis and you will get the idea.

Drivers in Singapore don't expect tips and  you should not give them.

In countries where there is a no tipping rule such as New Zealand and Singapore and China, follow local customs. Otherwise you are seen as condescending, offering bribes, jumping a queue.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, author and speaker.

How Do You Operate Hazard Warning Lights To Signal Your Car Or Vehicle Is Stationery?

Hazard Warning Light on car. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problems
How do you signal that your car or vehicle is stationery?

Why would you need to? On suburban roads you are supposed to park in the direction of the traffic so that drivers can see your tail lights (reflectors). But on a motorway vehicles are coming up fast and need warning to slow down and pass when safe to do so, or stop.

On a motorway you need flashing lights to warm that you are not moving.

a) If you have to stop on the hard shoulder of the motorway because of a fault in the car.

b) If the driver or passenger is unwell.

c) If another vehicle ahead has an accident.

d) An obstruction such as a living or dead animal.

e) A police block.

f) A traffic jam.

g) A criminal trying to rob you has stopped your car with a fake accident or simply by running in the road.

Stories
In the UK the worst accident for several years took place on the motorway. Apparently a large lorry (Americans say a truck) was stationery for more than ten minutes. A minibus appears to have come up behind it and pulled out, hitting another large vehicle. The two lorry drivers survived, but eight passengers in the minus died, leaving another four badly injured. Details are still emerging. Whoever was right or wrong, if anybody, the fact remains that if you are stationery, you want to warn others, to protect yourself and them (and third parties).

You need to know how to signal you are stationery, something rarely needed, if you are a driver, and / or have a new car.  As a passenger you need to be able to do the same, in the case of an accident, if the driver is unconscious or their arms are broken or trapped or they are in shock and can speak but can't move. This applies whether or not you can drive.

I asked my family how to operate the warning device on the car.

"Its a round red button with a black warning triangle, on the dashboard."

Story
My 1984 Motorway Accident
I remember being in shock when my car was hit in 1984. A man came running up to ask, "Are you OK."
"Yes," I said.
"You're lucky," he said.  "Not a scratch on you. But you can't drive. You'd better get out of the car."
"I can't move," I said.
"You are in shock!" he said.
"Yes," I admitted. "I can't move at all. I think you'd better call an ambulance."

The car was immobile. I was immobile. I thought I was OK, just breathing shallowly and fast, but I could not move. I later discovered I had broken ribs.

My 2013 Motorway Accident
I have written about this twice in earlier posts in 2013.

Tips
The week before a journey, check you are familiar with lights and dimming lights, operating the warning lights, the location of the warning triangle in the car. When loading the boot (Americans call it the trunk) be sure the warning triangle is not under the suitcases, perhaps, if you have a passenger, or think you are most likely to be accessing it safely from the passenger side, accessible on the left hand side, the passenger side.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4829456/Polish-born-drink-driver-31-court-M1-smash.html
http://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/lighting-requirements.html
https://mocktheorytest.com/resources/when-can-you-use-hazard-warning-lights/
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/alive-after-motorway-accident.html

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Secrets of Singapore Buses - driving you loopy!

Some buses are easier than others but most are easier than you think.
This picture shows the handy information sign overhead on the 184 from Bukit Panjang DTI (meaning Downtown Line first stop). It continues along the main highway via Downtown line railway stations Cashew dt2  and Hillview Dt3 and Beauty World to Clementi to Clementi CC (Community Centre).

The word Clementi is on the front of the bus.

Problem
I visited the Clementi Community Centre for a Toastmasters International meeting. When I came out I expected to find my return bus stop on the other side of the road.

As in the UK and other places in Singapore the numbers of several buses are on the post of the stop as well as given in detail in the bus shelter over nearby seats.

I asked the driver of the ext bus which stoppef where i could find my bus. He pointed over the road.

I replied, that.s where i got off. Now i want to go home in the other direction.

He explained, "It is a loop".

On the retun I had only a printout of the girst half of the route. On my outward journey I had looked out of the winow on my left on the pavement (in the USA you call it sidewalk). I watched the stops' names and looked right for landmarks as well as signposts trying to visualise the city state map.

In the evening it was dark outside and the windows were misted and I was on the wrong side of the bus.

However, when somebody rang 'bus stopping' on a button above my head I realised that the stop buttons are not only on the pillars beside the doorways. You can reach them from other sears without having to leap up well in advance and risk being thrown off your feet standing as the bus swings around a corner or brakes for your stop.

In addition the bus stppoing overhead panel alternates with the name of the next stop.

Story
When I first came to Singapore in the 1990s I always took the MRT rather than the bus. Back in the bad old days fewer buses were air conditioned.

But now that I have had to take a bus which goes door to door to some locations instead of taking three train lines and changing twice at train stations with long underground walks at stations plus, staircases or escalators of lifts, plus a longer walk at both ends, I have started to appreciate buses.