We Passed!!! Yippee!!!!

It's great having a car again. Playdate drop offs and pick ups are easier and quicker, those runs to tennis lessons, dance classes and bringing the groceries home in the boot instead of dragging them in a trolley - it's all wonderfully liberating.



However......lurking on the horizon was "The Driving Test". As British Driving License holders, to drive here we needed to pass the Basic Theory Driving Test to convert our license to a Singaporean one. We had 12 months from our arrival date to pass this.




The road system here is loosely based on the British system and they even drive on the left, but it's all the subtleties that are different. We had to learn the parking restrictions, bus lane times, road signs, lane positioning, braking distances etc - there are numerous slight differences and we had to learn them all to pass the test. Those that just assume they can do it because they've been driving for years invariably come unstuck and with a pass mark of at least 90% required, some serious studying was needed.



First I went to Borders and asked for a copy of the highway code. They sold me a book which, on close inspection, appeared to be a version from about 1950. The photos were of cars that were almost vintage and it had useful advice such as "most cars today have signalling devices but in broad daylight, hand signalling is more readily seen and understood". I'm not sure we learnt a large amount from this, but it did provide some entertainment.



A friend then gave us a more modern copy of the highway code and, more interestingly, a book of 600 multiple choice, genuine test questions which got us thinking (and worrying). Many were straight forward, but there were a number of highly ambiguous ones such as:

"You are some distance from a set of traffic lights on green. Do you
A: Speed up,
B: Maintain your speed and be prepared to stop
C: Take your foot off the accelerator?"

Some distance - I mean, what is that? 10m, 100m, 300m ...? You also need to know that roads here are often quite straight and you can see the lights (which are green for several minutes at a time) a long way ahead .

With such a vague description, what do you do when your licence to drive and right to freedom are at stake? Well, it is not A, obviously. The answer is clearly B but... no it’s not. It is C! Honestly. David tried it the next time we saw a green light. He immediately took his foot off the accelerator and gradually ground to a stop around 200 metres short of the junction!

Try this one:
When driving, the distance to look ahead should be:
A: Twice the speed you are travelling.
B: Three times the speed you are travelling.
C: Four times you are travelling.

Think about it. What does it mean? We do not know....and is it metric or imperial? mm, cm, inches, metres, furlongs? Answer: B. Don’t ask why!

One more...this is fun.

From the driver’s seat, the actual width of the road required for your vehicle is:
A: wider than what you think you will need
B: not as wide as what you think you will need
C: just as wide as what you think you will need


Doesn’t it depend on what you think you will need? Apparently not. It’s B



We spent hours pouring over bizarre test questions saying things like "I'm sure that's not how I was taught to drive" & "that's just wrong" or trying to decifer some puzzling wordings with double negatives. We tested each other on car mechanics, driving techniques, bus lane hours, braking distances, police hand signals, road signs and markings, all in the hope that we could get 45 of the 50 questions right.


Our test date was booked and last Tuesday we headed off to the test centre. It was all very nerve wracking. I felt as if I was 17 all over again and hardly told anyone of our test date - I couldn't face saying we'd failed, if that happened...which seemed inevitable! We went in at our appointed time and were given a briefing. Then it began.


We had 50 minutes to do 50 multiple choice questions of which, we had to get a minimum of 45 correct. When we were happy we'd finished, we pressed a button on the screen which then told us immediately if we'd passed or failed and we could then leave the room. I think about 40 of my questions were very straight forward and obvious. One I wasn't sure about and the rest I was fairly confident but not 100%. I ran through them all again, felt more certain on a number of others and did the missing one. One last run through and I spotted (and corrected) a silly error and decided there were only 3 I wasn't totally certain about, so hoped that meant at least 47 were right. With my heart pounding I pressed the Finished button. I PASSED!!! I resisted the urge to leap up and down and shriek and instead just breathed a huge sigh of relief and left the room. I'd been there about 20 minutes or so but I could see David, who was on the other side of the room, was still working.



He emerged about 5 minutes later. He'd also had a few suspect questions (each terminal has a different selection) but had also passed. I was so relieved as I had visions of not being able to get another test date before we'd been here a full year which would mean having to stop driving in a month's time. Worse, I would find myself walking past the car in the car park every day and not being able to drive it until I passed.



Relieved to have the test out of the way, we returned today to apply for our new licenses as the queue was too long last Tuesday. I think we'll keep the old highway code for fun and right now it's on the bookshelf next to a Jeremy Clarkson book - somehow, that just seems appropriate!

Year of the Ox

No sooner had we seen in 2009 than it was time to see in The Year of the Ox.

Here in Asia, this is a very big event and greater in celebration than either Christmas or our calendar New Year. Leading up to it, red lanterns were hung everywhere and there were numerous decorations, predominantly in red and gold, often symbolic money bags of all shapes and sizes. In addition, there were cut outs, models and pictures of oxen all over the place. Many houses placed small orange trees bearing fruits in pots on either side of the front door, as oranges are symbols of gold and hence, prosperity. Sweets and special food were abundant in the supermarkets, many things in red and gold wrappers and oranges were piled high. It was like the Christmas build up in the UK, except I could just admire it all without needing any of it. None of the panic of "ahh, brandy butter - I haven't got any...do we need a chocolate log?...."

The children’s school did performance assemblies in the last day before the long weekend and virtually all the children went to school in Chinese clothes and everyone was involved in the songs and performances. Hannah adores her little dress and keeps putting it on, but I'm not sure we will see Adam's outfit getting much more use.

Here are Hannah and her class all dressed up for the assembly.

Another custom is the handing over of oranges. David was presented with 2 (they are always given in pairs) by his office cleaner. He should have reciprocated by giving her two (different ones) but hadn't got his stash sorted at that stage. However, when another staff member presented him with 2, he did have the original two to give back. We're not sure if this is the correct protocol, but it seemed to work. Oranges went back and forth and apparently if you retain them for a long time, they bring extra good luck and good fortune. Some people keep them until they're no longer orange, if you follow my meaning, leaving them adorning the office desk until they're grey and hairy. David also handed out ang pows (red envelopes containing money) to the office staff, as is the tradition here.

We all learnt that it is important to clean your house out before CNY and that it should be swept and cleaned on New Year's Eve. It's important not to sweep on New Year's day though, in case you sweep out the good fortune for the coming year. To accommodate the clearing out sessions, our condo management provided special large bins (skips) for anyone wanting to throw out their sofas or beds etc. Local families then spend the two days visiting each other and having celebratory meals. Everyone wears new clothes, more oranges are exchanged and children are given Ang Pows.

Much like Christmas in the UK, everything closes over the 2 day holiday and almost everybody takes time off. Whilst for many people here, Christmas is just another public holiday rather than something they celebrate, CNY is like that for us. So, along with many others - mostly the expats - we used the long weekend to take a break and headed off to the Malaysian Island of Langkawi.

It was peak season, much like going away at Christmas in Europe, but we had found a nice hotel set in rain forest gardens right on the beach. It was very close to nature, so close in fact, that on one morning the local "spectacled lemurs" (cute monkeys) provided some entertainment when they formed a raiding party at the breakfast buffet. It proved a little too close though, when our "cabana" was invaded by a swarm of bees, but with the help of the staff wielding spray and plugging a small hole in the floor, they eventually disappeared.

We returned to Singapore refreshed and revitalised and the following weekend went into the city centre here to watch the "Chingay Parade". This is a huge parade of floats, dancers, dragons, stilt walkers, lion dancers etc and we'd bought our tickets back in October to ensure we had seats and didn't have to wait for several hours beforehand on the pavement. They were worth every penny.

We had to arrive an hour or so before, so we photographed many floats and participants in costume, then were entertained by lion dancers before it all began. After passing through a security check worthy of Heathrow to get to our seats, it finally started. Music and firecrackers followed by dancing and displays and a parade of incredible floats. There was a vague story line in amongst it all, but we didn't follow it. After a fireworks finale on top of the City Hall, we headed home, but for those that wanted to stay, there was then a street party that continued into the early hours. Maybe it's our age, but our ears were still vibrating to the music and fireworks from the parade for some time after. Next time, we're taking ear plugs.

The following week, we also went out with the office staff and their partners to celebrate with a New Year "toss up". This is the event where certain foods are served and then after being sprinkled with a dressing and given a blessing, everyone tosses the food up with chopsticks wishing good fortune, health, prosperity, big bonuses etc to each other. Unlike last year, this year, we knew not to hurl it up to the ceiling and make a big mess!

During the time from the new to full moon, many businesses have their premises blessed by lion dancers, who perform a ritual dance to the accompaniment of drums and cymbals, present ang pows to the management and peel an orange, leaving the segments arranged in a special symbol. They travel from event to event in open topped trucks, flags waving and drums beating and banging cymbals and for just over 2 weeks, there seemed to be the constant sound of drums and cymbals in the air, and we watched several that occurred when we happened to be passing shops or restaurants.

With the arrival of the full moon the other day, festivities finally came to an end and the decorations have all been taken down for another year. It's quite an assault on the senses, and after the parade, music, drums and cymbals, I think my hearing is now finally returning to normal.

I will, eventually, post a couple of pictures of the children and the Chingay Parade, however, David took the best ones and they're still on his camera. He's started using the motor drive sports setting on his camera to ensure at least one great shot - I mean, why take one photo when you can take 10? He also plans to edit them on his camera before downloading them. It may be sometime, but one day, there will be photos on this entry!

It's July - and I've finally added the photos!