The Economics of FOREX

One thing that can ruin the best business and pleasure trip in a foreign land is the issue on FOREX or foreign exchange (rates) especially if you are coming from the Philippines and will be staying at a Dollar value country like Singapore. Imagine having used to spend 26 Pesos for a bottle of SanMig Lights Beer versus a bottle of beer for 10 Dollars each (or 330 Pesos). Here’s more, 39 Peso for a pack of Marlboro Gold or Blue back home vis-à-vis a pack of it worth 11.5 Dollar or 379.5 Pesos! The distortion is enormous but I got to live with it! Philippine Peso just doesn’t value that much in this side of the globe. But these rates didn’t hamper us smoke addicts and beer devotees from tasting the magnificence of smoke and bottles of beers in the fine city of Singapore.


There are expenses though that will leave you thinking twice before shelling out your last Dollar. A trip to Sentosa Island and the Universal Studios all by myself (myself referring to me alone who’s not really a fan of Theme Parks and the likes) isn’t really worth it without me tagging along the kids. I will mind the cost for myself but I won’t dare to care and spend more than the usual if my Theme Park Generation kids (Angel, Xavier and Motet) are with me. I chose not to visit Sentosa and Universal, good for me for I won’t have to tell stories of how beautiful these places are for kids and ending up with them envying me.


The cost of living in Singapore is just too high for ordinary Filipinos working in the Philippines. Working in Singapore and earning Dollars can tell a different side of the story. Whatever which side it is, some prices are just shocking. A 20-minute taxi ride can cost as high as 16 Dollars or 528 Pesos but mind you, taxi units in here are hi-end. There are Mercedes Benz cars here that are converted into taxi cabs! A subway train travel can cost a minimum of 1 Dollar but if you have to compare the travel distance with our own LRT lines, the fare is still expensive. Cost of houses and condominiums in Singapore have varied costs depending on their distance to the city. The closer your condo unit is in the city, the higher it will cost you.


These costs are very well justified the way government is being run in Singapore. And if you have the opportunity and the right job offer (salary included) in Singapore, it is really worth seriously considering. This is a city where everything is almost perfect from simple citizen discipline to communal cleanliness. You will seldom see jaywalkers in the busy streets, and if you ever caught one, I dare, she or he must be a Filipino. You don’t always see police officers at each corner but you will feel the rule of law in effect even at less visibility.


Back at the airport while waiting for our flight back home, I was wondering how the Singaporean government managed to instill the kind of discipline they have for their citizens and their law enforcement units. What have they done that we are finding hard to do? What do they have that we don’t? I found the answer back home. While waiting for a taxi at the airport, I didn’t wait for the traffic light to turn red and went on the walk towards the other side of the street. You want to have a Singapore-like country? Yes we can have one. The answer is us, the answer is within us.