He recalls: "I saw two suspicious-looking characters sitting inside, so I decided not to stop. I locked my doors and drove all the way back.
"That was pretty scary. I went home with a damaged bumper but for my safety and peace of mind, it was worth it."
Besides Malaysia, another popular destination to take to the highways with the wind in your hair is Australia, where the popularity of self-drive tourism has prompted Tourism Australia to provide dedicated resources for such needs.
Mr Adrian Neo, 32, is a seasoned driver on Aussie roads. He has lived in Sydney for a few months and holidayed in other cities Down Under, where he would borrow a relative's car or rent one.
Says the assistant manager at the National University of Singapore's School of Design and Environment: "Parking in the city areas is limited, and in public lots, the wardens are super 'on-the-ball' in catching drivers who exceed the time limit."
He also advises would-be self-drive holiday-makers to acquaint themselves with entering and exiting roundabouts, as big cities in Australia usually have many of these.
Since Singapore does not have many of such junctions, "the way we drive around them is very dangerous", says Mr Neo. If you are driving in New Zealand, Mr Ng, who drove through it on his honeymoon, emphasises strict observance of the speed limit: "They take a very strict view on speeding. They even have TV ads showing people getting fined for exceeding the speed limit by 10kmh."
Other things to worry about are cold weather because it rains a lot in New Zealand, says Mr Ng, and the terrain as the roads can get windy since it is a mountainous country.
So which country, according to experts, has the most polite drivers?
Mr Neo says in Perth, Australia, people resort to sounding their horns only in extreme situations.
But the unanimous vote goes to New Zealand.
Mr Ng says: "NZ drivers are one of the most polite I have experienced. They almost always give way to you and are very patient."
Mr Neo, who has also driven in New Zealand, agrees, adding: "Singaporeans are probably the worst drivers in the world, especially those with a kiasu (Hokkien for afraid to lose) mentality."
In general, all experts caution Singaporean novice overseas drivers not to be overconfident in other countries just because they are used to well-lit streets and well-maintained roads. This is because conditions elsewhere may be different.
AA member and seasoned overseas driver Larry Leong, 40, an IT professional, sums it up: "Don't rush and don't speed. It is okay to be late than dead."
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Oct 21, 2008.
