If you’ve ever driven in Manila, you know that it wavers between heaven and hell, with very little middle ground. Hit the streets at the right time for your chosen destination, and you’ll encounter smooth traffic flow, with few stops. Start your trip when traffic’s peaking, or throw in a few road repairs, and you can finish reading a novel before you get there.
Is it the same everywhere else in Asia? We decided to take a look at two extremes in Southeast Asia—Bali vs. Singapore. Rustic tropical island vs. high-tech futurama. Would driving be any better in these two places?
Bali, Indonesia
Bali equals paradise in the minds of most people. However, people usually think of it in the romantic-getaway sense, not the driving-pleasure sense. Surely many small islands contain adrenaline-rush roads, but utilitarian asphalt strips nestled in a tropical haven doesn’t seem to be one of them. In this case, that preconception turns out to be true.
Deriving nearly all of its income from tourism activities, Bali’s four-wheeled transportation is also geared for such. Tourist mini-buses and Asian Utility Vehicles like the Toyota Kijang dominate the local roads. The Tamaraw is the Philippine version of the Indonesian Kijang. They’re identical except for the Indonesian being right-hand drive, and the animal on the badge has antlers and not horns. Other AUVs abound, like the Mitsubishi Freeca and Isuzu Kuda–that’s the Adventure and Highlander to us folks.
Most of these tourist vehicles are less than 5 years old, and are comfortable (meaning, airconditioned and well-cushioned). Don’t expect a Rolls Royce to pick you up from the airport—even if you’re staying in one of the five-star hotels. Luxury sedans are a rare sight in Bali, as there’s no reason for keeping an S-class or LS430 in such a small place. One end to the other of the island won’t take more than three hours, while one tourist spot to the other usually takes less than one.
Not surprisingly, Bali’s roads are mostly two-laners, expanding to four when approaching major structures like the airport or downtown Denpasar. We were pleasantly surprised to find the roads well-paved, with quick-flowing traffic except around major tourist spots.
Locals forego four-wheeled transport altogether. They get around on scooters and motorbikes. They zip about heedless of other traffic, passing on the left, right, before you, behind you—anywhere they can squeeze in. Traffic lights are few and given only a token obedience. For more upscale locals, mini-offroaders like the Daihatsu Terios and Suzuki Katana are the vehicle of choice.
The result of all of this: mildly chaotic traffic, but no jams thanks to the relatively few cars and smooth roads. Yes, it’s paradise, but not for driving; leave that to your friendly cab or tour bus driver.
Singapore
With only 3066 km of road network, and literally all of it within city limits, Singapore wouldn’t seem to have the ingredients to be a driver’s paradise. Yet the Lion City does quite well, in the sense that order and smooth flow reign at all times—rush hour here can still be called rush hour!
The city does this by keeping the number of cars strictly limited. Singapore requires any potential car owner to cough up cash for a Certificate of Entitlement, which is basically the right to buy a car. This usually costs USD16,000 to 22,000. This is on top of the already exorbitant prices that dealers charge, also due mainly to government taxes. Have your eye on that new Civic, sir? That’ll be USD 60,000 please. How about a brand-new Corolla, ma’am? Just USD 50,000.
Despite these prices, Corollas and Civics hardly dominate the roadways. Rather, new Merc S-class sedans (around USD180,000) and BMW 7-series (USD 190,000) charge around the city. Based on our informal scouring of the roads, another popular car is the Lexus IS200 (USD 88,000). The combination of striking looks and the Lexus badge is proving to be irresistible to our Sing yuppies. Singaporeans apparently subscribe to the European idea of a good car: a large premium-badged barge, or sports saloon with a powerful engine.
Badge worship seems to be quite prevalent in this town, with most of the prestige brands well-represented in traffic. Still, cars that offer value for money are still the best-sellers. The 2001 Nissan Sentra is the best-selling car in Singapore, moving about 9500 copies per year. It retails for USD43,300, and its main weapons in the compact wars against the Corolla and Civic is a bigger size and additional interior features.
Singapore roads are smooth and well-paved, so sensibly most Singaporeans have stayed away from large SUVs and pick-up trucks. You’d still see compact SUVs like the CRV but they’re nowhere near as popular as they are in Manila. There’s still the odd Range Rover here and there, and should you want to try out your 4×4’s capabilities, you can drive over the border to Malaysia, where 4×4 trails abound and mud-plug to your heart’s content.
There are hardly any twisty or entertainingly treacherous roads here. The only treachery comes from street names. Streets are confusingly named, with Orchard Road, Orchard Drive and Orchard Link Road all clumped together in one area.
Cab drivers are familiar with the confusing street names, but even they have an electronic aid called the Cablink or Cabline. This enables a passenger to call for a cab on the phone by giving his location and time he wants the cab. The cab company’s computer will then locate an available cab. The request shows up on a monitor mounted on the cab’s dashboard. When the cab driver confirms his availability, the passenger is given a confirmation and the cab’s plate number. All this in less than a minute. And the cab shows up promptly, to the minute also.
Spanning most major roads are arches that are actually not pedestrian flyovers. Rather, they’re part of the Electronic Road Pricing that charges a specific amount whenever you pass through one of those arches. You might get there faster by passing ERP roads, but it’s going to cost more. Singaporeans, including cabbies, seem not to mind paying the ERP, and it’s but invisible to them already. (Norway has a more advanced system in the planning stage, which will monitor your car’s location using the GSM module on your phone and charge you accordingly.)
Singapore is actually a city-driving paradise, with smooth traffic and virtually hazard- and crime-free. However, you would want to stretch the legs of that IS200 every so often, wouldn’t you?
So have we discovered driving paradise? Neither one qualifies, actually. But you can certainly feast on your eyes on the traffic in Singapore.
By Jason Ang | Photos By Jason Ang
Originally Published May 2001
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