Day 2 – San Diego & petrol costs

I had a nutritious breakfast of steamed buns, broccoli and green tea. I never eat breakfast when I’m back in Singapore, I just have a juice and coffee. It’s only when I’m abroad that I somehow have an appetite.
We drove down south, shopped at a factory outlet near the Mexican border, and visited my uncles’ shop, [Mondo Gelato in San Diego](http://www.mondogelatosandiego.com/). Business in general seems pretty quiet, and lots of new residential buildings have no tenants.
On the way back to LA, we had dinner at an Indian restaurant and the lady owner also told us that many other shops around the area have closed down. It’s one thing hearing how the economy is doing badly; it’s another thing to see it happening.
Another big concern in the US is the rising price of gas. Last year I recall gas prices were still reasonable. Now [the fear](http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/29/gas.squeeze.irpt/index.html) is that it’s approaching US$4 a gallon.
But would Singaporeans find this expensive?
According to [Google Calculator](http://www.google.com/search?q=convert+gallon+to+litre), 1 gallon of gas is approximately 3.785 litres of petrol.
Looking at Singapore’s petrol rates today on [petrolwatch.com.sg](http://petrolwatch.com.sg/), it appears that 1 litre of petrol costs just over S$2. Based on today’s exchange rate at [oanda.com](http://www.oanda.com/), that equates to about US$1.48.
Thus, 3.785 litres of petrol (1 gallon) in Singapore will cost US$5.60. That’s way over the US$4 dollar mark that American drivers are dreading.
So if Singaporeans drivers had to pay US rates for petrol, we’d probably be pretty happy about it. Of course, we’re on such a tiny island that even a 20 minute drive is considered far.
I’m certainly enjoying the exchange rates with the weakened US dollar, although I also hope that the US will get back on its feet. Super Tuesday, part 2 is about to begin 🙂