Woman walks home alone for 4 hours at night from Boat Quay to avoid $50 Grab ride: 'Not my smartest choice'

A woman walked 14km from Boat Quay to her home for four hours past midnight to avoid paying for an expensive Grab ride.

The content creator, Denise, shared about her journey in a TikTok video posted on Monday (Sept 21).

"It was one of those random decisions that sounded like a good idea at that point of time because Grab was so expensive," she said, adding that the the cost of the Grab ride to her home in the north-east was about $50.

Starting at Boat Quay, Denise reached Bugis at around 1am.

"I've actually always wanted to try home alone late at night just for the experience. There's actually something really different about walking around Singapore late at night," said the TikToker.

She shared clips of the journey in the video, from the quiet streets of Bugis, a darkened Aperia mall near Kallang and lively supper spots.

"I passed by several supper spots that were still open, stopped for an iJooz when I got a thirsty and I just took my time walking through the streets."

She passed by Kallang Bahru, Potong Pasir and Woodleigh as well as Nex mall in Serangoon.

But it wasn't all smooth-sailing, as she felt afraid when passing by a cemetery in Hougang.

Her shoulders also started to feel sore from carrying the handbag and she began to feel tired by the two-hour mark.

"Lowkey tempted to Grab back, but I didn't [want to] give up," she wrote in her caption, reaching home at around 4am.

"Overall, it was surprisingly peaceful and it made me appreciate how safe Singapore feels, even at night."

Denise added that Singapore is relatively safe for side quests such as these, but reminded everyone to still beware of their surroundings.

"Definitely not something I'd encourage doing regularly."

This was perhaps not her smartest choice, but that it was quite an experience, she said.

The video has gone viral on TikTok, with over 84,000 views as at Wednesday afternoon, more than 2,200 likes and over 200 comments.

In a new TikTok post on Wednesday, she said she understood why some netizens expressed concerns.

"Being alone at night, especially as a woman does come with risks," Denise said. "But you can be careful and still be adventurous."

She said that she made sure to stay aware, trusted her instincts and took comfort in the fact that she could always stop or take a Grab if she really needed to.

"Finishing 14km was never more important than getting home safely."

Denise, whose TikTok page centres on travel and lifestyle, posted the video as part of a series called Detours with Denise, where she documents the adventures she has gone on as part of her career break.

In a separate video, she has also posted about walking 36km coast-to-coast across Singapore "for fun".

laili.abdeen@asiaone.com

一名女子为了避免支付昂贵的Grab打车费用，在午夜过后步行14公里，从驳船码头步行回家，历时四个小时。

内容创作者丹妮丝在周一（9月21日）发布的TikTok视频中分享了她的经历。

“当时Grab的车费太贵了，所以我觉得这是一个不错的选择，”她说，并补充说，Grab到她位于东北部的家的费用大约是50美元。

丹妮丝从驳船码头出发，凌晨1点左右到达武吉士。

“我一直很想尝试一下深夜独自在家的感觉。在新加坡深夜漫步确实有一种非常不同的体验，”这位TikTok用户说道。

她在视频中分享了旅途中的片段，从安静的武吉士街道，到加冷附近昏暗的Aperia购物中心，再到热闹的夜宵场所。

“我路过几家还在营业的餐馆，渴了就停下来买了瓶iJooz饮料，然后就悠闲地在街上漫步。”

她途经加冷峇鲁、波东巴西和兀里，以及实龙岗的Nex购物中心。

但旅途并非一帆风顺，当她路过后港的一处墓地时，感到害怕。

由于提着手提包，她的肩膀也开始感到酸痛，两个小时后她开始感到疲倦。

“其实有点想把东西抢回来，但我不想放弃，”她在配文中写道，当时她大约凌晨 4 点到家。

“总的来说，这里出乎意料地平静，让我更加体会到新加坡即使在夜晚也如此安全。”

Denise补充说，新加坡对于这类支线任务来说相对安全，但她也提醒大家仍然要注意周围环境。

“我绝对不鼓励经常这样做。”

她说，这或许不是她最明智的选择，但却是一次相当难忘的经历。

这段视频在TikTok上迅速走红，截至周三下午，观看次数已超过84000次，点赞数超过2200次，评论数超过200条。

她在周三发布的一条新的TikTok帖子中表示，她理解一些网友表达担忧的原因。

“晚上独自一人，尤其对女性来说，确实存在风险，”丹妮丝说。“但你可以既小心谨慎，又能享受冒险的乐趣。”

她说，她时刻保持警惕，相信自己的直觉，并且感到安心的是，如果真的需要，她随时可以停车或叫辆Grab。

“完成14公里赛程远没有安全回家重要。”

丹妮丝的 TikTok 页面主要关注旅行和生活方式，她发布了这段视频，作为名为“丹妮丝的奇遇”系列的一部分，该系列记录了她在职业空档期进行的冒险经历。

在另一段视频中，她还发布了自己“为了好玩”而步行36公里横穿新加坡海岸的视频。

laili.abdeen@asiaone.com