Saturday, 06JUN98

Well, the long wait is over--Veronica and Greg are on the road again! After a rigorous and comprehensive written examination probing the depths of our knowledge of the minutia of Singapore Traffic Law, we are happy to report that we demonstrated sufficient knowledge for each of us to be deemed worthy and granted a driver license. Of course, if we rack up 12 demerit points in the next 12 months, our license will be revoked and we will have to pass both the written AND practical (driving) examination. Actually, given how difficult the Singapore government makes obtaining a driver's license; the level of driving on the roads is pretty poor. One of the major "Rules of the Road" seems to be: don't let that pesky little white line tell you where to drive, feel free to use the entire road as your lane. Drivers will drive with the white line running between their tires for mile after mile (or, kilometer after kilometer).

Our car is an 8-year old Ford Laser in a very attractive shade of refrigerator white. Since they drive on the left side of the road, the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. For those who haven't ever thought about it, that is the exact opposite of the U.S.A. While we've been getting use to it, we still turn on our windshield wipers when we want to turn on the blinkers and people would be wise to stay away from the left side of the car when we drive. Remembering which side of the road we should be on after a turn is also a little tough. Thankfully, many roads have arrows painted on them, minimizing (theoretically) that little problem. We are hoping our ability to drive in the US isn't damaged too badly.

In addition to making it difficult to get a driver's license, the Government makes it very difficult to get a car. Suppose you decide you want to get a car. Before you can buy one, you need to obtain a "Certificate of Entitlement", or COE. This is a piece of paper that gives you permission to buy a car. Each month, the government holds an auction to distribute this month's allotment of COEs. The auctions demonstrate the

laws of Supply and Demand: if a lot of people want a car this month, the price goes up; if no one wants a car, the price plummets. Generally, a lot of people want a car. Recent prices for COE were about S$35,000-S$45,000 for a 1.6 liter car (more for larger cars, less for smaller cars). After spending that, you have permission to buy a car. Once you've settled on a car, be sure to save 140% of the purchase price for taxes. A co-worker has just bought a new Honda Accord for S$138,000 (approx. US$86,250+), which was considered an incredibly good deal. Last year, another coworker paid S$146,000 for her new Honda Civic. If you want to drive downtown Monday-Friday during the day or on Saturday morning, you will need to buy a daily permit (a couple of bucks a day). That system is being replaced with Electronic Roadway Pricing or ERP. This is, basically, electronic tolls for driving on certain roads at certain times. Every car is equipped with a little box in which the driver inserts a smart card (a credit card-like thing that you buy with a preset dollar amount) and every time you drive down one of the streets, it will deduct the toll automatically. The idea is to limit the number of cars on the road, especially in the downtown area; I guess it works (Singapore has far less cars in the downtown area than other cities out here, but it is still too many). A final comment car related comment: Gas (or, petrol) prices are higher than in the U.S., we just filled up our tank and paid S$1.16 per liter (roughly US$2.85/gallon) for the cheapest stuff.

Greg has also found himself on the road in a different sense. He's started travelling to the other SAS offices in the region. So far, he's been to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia twice. A trip to Bangkok is also coming up. Veronica will also find herself on the road in the next month or two. All of this travel has allowed us to bring you the following:

WORD PROBLEM:

Greg goes to Malaysia on business and exchanges 50 Singapore dollars (S$) into Malaysia Ringett (RM$) at the airport at an exchange rate of: S$1 = RM$ 2.28. While in Malaysia, Greg pays for two taxi rides at a total cost of RM$58.60. He also charges his hotel bill on his credit card. When his credit card bill arrives, he sees that his RM$383.13 hotel bill has resulted in a charge of US$ 103.82. He has to pay his credit card bill with US$. When the finance department goes to pay his expense report, what exchange rate should they use to convert the total RM$441.73 in Malaysian charges. Keep in mind that they will reimburse him in Singapore dollars. Show all work and provide an explanation of your answer. (And you told your teachers that you would never use algebra in "Real Life"!)

Our social life has picked up a bit and our eternal salvation hasn't even been involved. Veronica has found some walking partners in our apartment complex and started exploring the surrounding hillsides. We've also had dinner with some other Americans here in Singapore (friends of friends back in the U.S.). We were even invited to an exclusive private viewing and reception at the Singapore Art Museum. It was just us and 300 of our moving company's closest friends.

Well that's about it from Singapore for now: we heading out to the car to drive aimlessly through the island and maybe find a nice place to eat.