Black gold!

Fond gas memories:

$0.99/gallon-Lady's Island, S.C.-1998

$0.69/gallon-Somewhere outside of Rincon, Georgia, 1999

Ah, yes, those were the glory days! In 2000, we moved to Arizona and the first shock wave hit us. Gas over $3.00/gallon! We would often go to San Diego to the beach or the mountains, and the gas was fifty cents more...so we would fill up at the very last gas exit in Arizona, before crossing over into the crazy "no topping off" world of California. The tank would usually last us all the way to our destination, and then on the return, we would be running on fumes in El Centro (CA)...and have to bite the bullet and get enough gas to make it to AZ. Every night on the news, the hot story of the day is the price of gasoline around the country. (I am sure you are well aware!) I have been noticing that everyone loves to remind us that our gas prices are not so high, if you compare them to the rest of the world. As if this is supposed to make us feel better. Well, here you go. Here's the most complete list I could find. Tell me if it makes you feel better:



Country/Territory US$/gal


Sierra Leone 18.43
Norway (Oslo) 10.33
Turkey 10.14
Netherlands 10.11
Eritrea 9.58
Belgium (Brussels) 9.39
Denmark (Copenhagen)9.31
Germany 9.20
Portugal 9.16
Finland 8.90
United Kingdom 8.82
Italy 8.78
Sweden 8.71
Iceland 8.52
Hong Kong 8.33
Monaco 8.33
Spain (Madrid) 8.10
France 8.06
Ireland 8.06
Israel 8.04
Poland (Krakow) 7.80
Hungary 7.51
Croatia 7.38
Greece 7.38
Guatemala 7.38
South Korea 7.38
Slovenia 7.27
Switzerland (Zurich)7.12
Cyprus 7.08
Romania (Bucharest)7.00
Singapore 6.89
Estonia 6.78
New Zealand 6.13
Peru (Lima) 6.09
Japan 6.06
Uruguay (Montevideo)6.06
Brazil (São Paulo) 6.02
Australia 5.75
Dominican Republic5.72
Sri Lanka 5.53
Canada 5.15
India (NOIDA) 5.15
Ukraine 5.03
Chile 4.81
Moldova (Chisinau)4.69
South Africa 4.66
Philippines (Cebu)4.62
Thailand 4.58
North Korea 4.50
Vietnam 4.28
Colombia 4.05
Honduras 4.05
United States 4.05
Pakistan 4.01
Russia (Moscow) 3.97
Taiwan 3.97
Malaysia 3.18
China 3.05
Indonesia 2.46
Mexico (Mexico City)2.35
Nigeria (Lagos) 2.25
Trinidad and Tobago1.82
Brunei 1.48
UAE 1.40
Egypt (Cairo) 1.21
Bahrain (Manama)1.02
Qatar (Doha) 0.83
Kuwait (Kuwait City)0.79
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh)0.45
Iran 0.42
Turkmenistan 0.30
Venezuela (Caracas)0.11



Quite a list! So I began to think about this, and looking at who pays what. The "fabulous five" Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Hmmm...I could go live with my buddy Hugo in Venezuela...Umm...maybe not! Last call for flight # 4125 to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iran!! I don't think so. Turkmenistan doesn't strike me as very appealing either. When we lived in San Luis, we waited forever at the local gas station...the long lines of people gave me plenty of time to see where all these cars were from....Sonora....Sonora...Sonora....Baja California...Sinaloa...oh LOOK- there's one from the U.S.! It seemed back then that all of Mexico was crossing the border to buy cheaper, cleaner gas from the mighty metropolis of San Luis, AZ. But it seems like now Mexico is about half the price our of our gas...hmmm...I basically lived in Mexico for 6 years...I could do it again!! Well, maybe not yet...we'll wait it out and see...but one thing's for sure, you have got to feel bad for those people in Sierra Leone! I know I'd be biking it, or buying myself a fancy shmansy pair of roller skates! Well, I guess for now, I'll stay here in little 'ol Luray. I am not trading my SUV in just yet, either.