Chrysalis on Love: Driving Me Nuts

For someone like me who is so accustomed to Singapore’s efficient public transport system, the need to drive to run the simplest of errands is, needless to say, the hardest to get used to.

Sure, I already had my Class 2 license which I had routinely achieved after I graduated from university. But being fresh into the working force, having a car was certainly not at the top of my priority list.

Okay, the truth is: There isn’t a real need to own a car and be able to drive, is there, in Singapore?



But it’s a totally different story in Australia where I currently reside with my hub and three kids. Arriving in Melbourne heavily pregnant with my third child two years ago, I wasn’t exactly gearing up to drive around to explore the sights and sounds of Victoria. After the youngest one K turned two months old, the hub suggested that I should start getting behind the wheel.


This marked the start of my love-hate relationship with driving, which has also taken my insecurities for a whirlwind spin.


Maybe it was the postnatal hormones talking but I was petrified at the thought of getting lost in a foreign country. Plus, I have not driven in a decade since getting my license and my motor skills and sense of direction were practically non-existent.


Before I could stage a louder protest, the hub began to assure me by saying that Victoria is very easy to drive around due to its grid system. Whenever you missed a turn, you could try turning into the next road or lane and more often than not, you would be able to get yourself out of trouble, he said.






It's been one year since I had started driving in Melbourne, and I have to agree with the hub. Roads are wider and Australians are, by and large, patient drivers.

I could count only twice when I had been honked at – once for failing to give away to the vehicle on my right in a roundabout (they have many in Australia!) and another when scaredy-cat yours truly hit the brakes when making a right turn, frustrating a car full of hoons (a term used in Australia and New Zealand to refer to people who are engaged in anti-social behavior) behind me.


Now, back to my love-hate affair with driving...


On one hand, if I could help it, I would prefer to be the passenger, not the driver. Multitasking is definitely not my forte. “Watch your steering, don’t veer. Check your mirrors every few seconds. Don’t just look in front. Check your blind spot, only turn your head a bit, not too much!” barked the hub. Just too much to process for someone who knows she isn’t cut out to be a pilot by a long shot.



On the other hand, being able to go places on my four wheels is liberating. After being stuck at home for a year (my hub had the use of the car until recently when his office moved to the city and it was cheaper to take the train), I suddenly found my wings and also became Minister of Home Affairs with an actual portfolio. Previously, I was a minister only in name. I didn’t have to grocery shop nor pick up the kids. The hub did everything as he had our all-important Ford Falcon.



Now things have changed dramatically, and for the better.


I now know where to get the cheapest meats and vegetables. The Vietnamese coffee stall owner has seen me enough to strike up a conversation in halting Mandarin and Cantonese. And whenever I feel like it, I can head to the shopping malls where previously the thought of lugging a bulky stroller up a bus or a train was enough to put me off going out. Venturing further is now within my reach and my goal now is to explore new places for shopping, food and play.



Long gone are the days where I find myself excusing my way out of driving. I guess what they say is true however cliché it sounds: To get over your fears, you need to face them head on. And that’s what I did and boy, am I glad I did.