u/Opposite-Status-5553

Hello! I am from Singapore, and my friends and I just scored tickets to go to a Radiohead concert in 2027, specifically 4 May in Perth and 31 May in Sydney. However, because the dates are so far apart, I can only choose one of the two dates. I cannot afford to stay in Australia for a full month to attend both concerts.

Anyway, since I will be travelling southward, I thought it'd be a good opportunity for my wife and I to travel to the North Island in New Zealand, since 1) we already visited the South Island in 2022, and 2) we have friends in Auckland and Wellington.

I'd like to know:

1. How many days is the average road trip itinerary to New Zealand's North Island to see the sights? We like cafes, food, mountains, lakes, simple, easy hikes, etc. I definitely want to visit some filming locations from The Lord of the Rings.
2. Do you recommend us to go to New Zealand before Perth (late April), between Perth and Sydney (early, middle, or late May), or after Sydney (early June)? We like cooler weather but not too cold also. We are from Singapore, after all.
3. Should I fly into Wellington and drive up towards Auckland, or vice versa?

Also, I recently got my driver's license and am fairly comfortable with driving about 2-3 hours in a single stretch, if that helps with the itinerary at all.

Thanks!

Hello! I am a two-month P-Plater and was just involved in a near accident. No damages and no injuries, just overstimulated nerves as I am typing this. I do acknowledge that I made a mistake, but I also feel like the other party was in the wrong too (if you want to read what happened, I will try to describe it below).

Main question: Since it's my first near accident, how do you guys usually get over it? What was your first near-accident like? Or has any of you swore off driving altogether?

Sorry, I am just a bit anxious at the moment.

If you are curious as to what happened, here's a brief description:

I was driving my family car through a private housing estate. I am very familiar with this area because I grew up here and used to cycle through all the time. Like many private housing estates, there were only two-lane roads (one per direction), and all the cars were parked on my side, the left side of the road. This meant that, in order to proceed, we usually have to weave in and out, sometimes drive on the 'wrong' side of the road and 'hide' between parked cars if we see vehicles coming in the opposite direction. OK? OK.

It was 630pm, and there were many cars driving through the private housing estate in the opposite direction to my right (it's a populalr short cut). As such, I 'hid' behind a parked car on the left side of the road along with another car behind. We wanted to wait until the lane cleared before pulling out.

To our surprise, the last car driving in the opposite direction was courteous enough to stop in such a way that allowed us to drive through! I was so grateful! I decided to pull out of my 'hiding spot' behind the parked car and accept the gap that this nice driver had created for me.

Suddenly, a car almost runs into mine as I was pulling out. Apparently, while we were hiding behind the parked car, this other car (it's a green car) saw the opportunity ahead and decided to go for it and 'cut the queue', so to speak. He nearly ran into the side of my car, and there was a loud, prolonged horn.

I admit: I am partially at fault. When I was emerging from the 'hiding spot', I did not fully check the lane behind. I just assumed that everybody behind me would 'queue up'. If I had checked, I would have noticed the green car coming my way with the intention of cutting ahead. However, I can't help but feel that the green car should have slowed down and queued up behind us as we made our way through the gap created by the nice driver.

Again, nothing happened. No crash, no injuries, no nothing. It's just my first near-accident and I'm a bit shakened.

Hello everyone! I will be starting my first Camino (Frances) in a little more than a month. The plan is to fly into Madrid, make my way to Ponferrada, walk the last 200KM over 10 days, reach Camino de Compostela, then take a train back to Madrid.

Here's the problem: while I've managed to book the train from Santiago de Compostela back to Madrid, the train tickets for Madrid to Ponferrada was not avaialble for booking until now—and it's bad. My flight lands in Madrid at 1:30pm on 17 October, but the last train that departs Madrid for Ponferrada is 1:40pm. I will not be able to make it for obvious reasons.

Now I am looking for alternatives. Is it a good idea to take the ALSA bus? I am looking at 17 October, and there seems to be a bus that goes from Madrid-Barajas Airport T4 to Ponferrada at 3:45pm and 4:45pm. These will take about 5.5 and 6 hours respectively.

• Are these the best alternatives? Are there no other options?
• If I land at 1:30pm at the airport, will I be able to make the 3:45pm bus? Or the 4:45pm?
• I haven't taken long-distance buses in a long time, but do these take breaks in between at rest stops for us to grab food? Or do I need to pick something up at the airport after I land?

Hello! I am a one-month old driver still on my P-plate. My lifestyle doesn’t necessitate a car of my own, but there have been times over the last month when I’ve utilised GetGo—so far, so good. No complaints.

However, as I was looking to book the exact same car in my neighbourbood (a Hyundai Avante CN7), I noticed that it wasn’t available in that specific time slot. Instead, there’s a BYD e6 available.

This got me thinking: for those who have used GetGo extensively, how’d you rank the car brand/models on GetGo’a fleet? Which are the best, which are acceptable, and which to avoid? There are a few Mazda 3s in the neighbourhood but I’ve heard bad things. 🙃

Also, while I am quite comfortable with the Hyundai Avante CN7, I’m a little intimidated by the BYD e6. Is it going to be a big jump for me? My concern is that I’m going to get onto the road and start hearing alerts that I don’t recognise. 😅

Hello everyone!

First of all, I want to thank you guys for all the driving tips you've shared on this sub. I passed my TP two weeks ago (after failing once), and I can attribute a large part of that to encouragements I found here.

Anyway, since then, I have been practising driving (especially parking) using my family car. I've always driven with someone more experienced in the passenger seat (mostly my parents). So far, I have gotten fairly comfortable with driving on the road, although parking still takes a few tries. Later this week, I plan to take my wife on a little road trip around Singapore, hitting up a few cafes, restaurants, and scenic areas that are harder to reach without a car.

However, here's the thing: my wife is not a driver, and I have never driven in a car without a seasoned driver. Sure, I can rely on Waze/Google Maps to navigate, but I want her to learn how to provide navigation, give good instructions, and generally be a good passenger. This is also borne out of the fact that her parents tend to argue A LOT in the car, with her mother giving poor instructions and her father refusing to memorise routes or use apps.

Here's the question: as seasoned drivers, what are some tips you would share for passengers when giving instructions? Where are the tricky spots they need to take note of? Is it useful for the passenger to help with parking, at least in the first weeks? Do we avoid expressways?

I donated blood for the first time in April and I really want to make it a thing in my life. The so-called ‘window’ to donate blood again will open on 10 July. However, I am wondering how strict they are with blood donations, and if it is possible for me to donate, say, one week before that? Will they turn me away? Or do I must wait till after? Thanks!

Hello everyone! I understand there are as many questions about TP driving tests on this sub as there are birds in the sky. However, I couldn't find this specific question, so I thought to ask here instead.

I am a student at CDC, and I just failed my first attempt yesterday. I am not too disheartened just yet, since majority of learners seem to fail the first round—it's a rite of passage, it feels like.

My circuit was near-perfect (only 4 demerits due to dry steering), and the part that did me in was the road test. Specifically, after turning from Ubi Road 2 into Airport Road, I kept to the extreme left lane for too long and nearly drove into the KPE tunnel—an immediate failure, unfortunately. Of course I have driven this route before during practice, but 1) this specific route was covered some time ago, so it must have slipped my mind, and 2) we approached the KPE tunnel entrance portion from Eunos Link last time, which meant that I had A LOT more time to react.

Anyway, my question is this: aside from the KPE tunnel entrance, are there any other especially tricky areas that I need to be aware of? Of course, the usual road rules—checking blindspots, changing lanes safely, slowing down/stopping at pedestrian crossings—apply, but I am hoping to identify other similarly tricky areas along various routes. The goal is for me to not make such mistakes in the future.

If this is the ONLY tricky thing I need to be aware of, then great! I hope to do a better job at avoiding the entrance in the future.

PS. I understand that bus lanes can be tricky at times too, but my next attempt is happening at 1015am, which is after the bus lane operations. That's one fewer thing I need to worry about.

Thanks guys. :)

I’m about to get my license, but I also don’t plan to purchase a car (too expensive, too convenient to take Grab, etc). However, I also know that many of my friends who can drive do also have a car at home.

What about you guys? I’m just curious about what it’s like for everyone else.

A. I can drive and I own a car
B. I can drive but I don’t own a car

Hello everybody. I will be travelling to Spain to do the Camino de Santiago in October later this year. The Camino itself will take up vast majority of the trip, but I do have about 50 hours to spare at the end in Madrid, where I will be flying back home from.

Now, I am a fan of food, history, and architecture, so I am hoping to maximise my time in Spain. It's probably too far to go to Barcelona and back, but do you think it's crazy to squeeze Toledo into the itinerary as a side trip? Or should I just focus my attention on Madrid itself?

Hello people. First of all, I've asked a few questions over the past few months regarding my upcoming trip to Spain to do the Camino Frances. I want to thank everybody who's responded thus far. Your inputs have been invaluable.

I have since solidified my plans. In short, I am from Singapore, and I plan to fly to Madrid, then make my way to Ponferrada to do the last 200KM of the Camino Frances. I have the main part of the Camino itself sorted but, having never been to Spain before, I actually have more questions regarding the start/end of the trip. May I trouble you guys to take a look at the outline of the itinerary below, especially the bits before and after the Camino, to see if it makes sense?

Duration: 14 days total (10 days for the Camino)

1. Day 0: Depart Singapore for Madrid at 9pm
2. Day 1: Arrive in Madrid, Spain, at 8:10am, then make my way from Madrid-Chamartin to Ponferrada via the Renfe at 5:30pm. Arrive at Ponferrada at about 930pm.
3. Day 2: Camino begins! I will skip ahead for the itinerary.
4. Day 11: Arrive at Santiago (hopefully), then stay for the night
5. Day 12: Santiago to Madrid via domestic flight
6. Day 13: Free day in Madrid
7. Day 14: Depart Madrid for Singapore at 9:50am

It feels a bit rushed at the start and end of the trip. Is this feasible? Should I add more days to the start and/or end of the trip as buffer?

Thank you so much!

Hello veteran drivers! I am currently attempting to acquire a driver's license, but I am struggling a bit when performing vertical reverse parking, specifically when it comes to making adjustments. I've tried to find answers to my exact query, but I haven't found any—and I have a strange, contentious relationship with my instructor (more on that below, since it isn't exactly relevant to the question).

When I am reversing into a parking bay from a 90-degree position (this means that the starting position of the vehicle is perpendicular to the parking bay itself), I am told to observe the distance of my rear wheels from the curbs via the side mirrors, which are turned all the way down. You don't want it to be too near or too far, because you might mount the curb.

However, my question is, what do I do when either one of the rear wheels is too near or too far? How do I make adjustments? Are the steps the same for both rear wheels? Are the steps the same for both too near/far?

STORYTIME (Not relevant to the question but just for your entertainment):
You might be asking: "Why not just ask your instructor?"

Well, I have two instructors that rotate based on the practical lessons I book. One of them is really strict but good, and I learn a lot from him. The other is impatient, doesn't provide enough guidance, and has communication issues (he's primarily a mandarin speaker).

I am taking practical lessons at CDC, which is right next to the Paya Lebar Air Base. In recent weeks, military jets and cargo planes would literally take off or land over our heads, and they are so loud that sometimes I don't hear the instructions. Worse, he's always wearing a mask, which means that his voice is already muffled. When this happens, he'd go from zero to 100 and accuse me of not following his instructions. Also, sometimes, he'd give conflicting instructions. At a junction within the circuit, he'd say 'left' and point right, and if I slow down or stop to clarify, he'd panic and, once again, explode. He usually says 'change left/right' when he wants me to change lanes, which is fine, but he also sometimes says 'SHIFT left/right', which to me means a completely different thing. He also has a tendency to grab my steering wheel (the other instructor never touches it), which is very scary when I am driving on the main roads.

Anyway, all of that is to say that I don't have the best relationship with the second instructor, and I am often more confused after his weak attempts at answering my questions. I could just ask the other instructor, but the next lesson is a few weeks away. As such I want to have a clearer idea of this before going in. Yes, there are YouTube videos available, but they don't talk about how to make micro adjustments.