Encapsulating Days 1-11! (part 1 ;)

WELCOME TO MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT BLOGGING!!

What a time/place to start writing a blog - a move to the place of moment, the only place that seems to be reasonably immune from the recession rocking the world (and my chosen industry - construction). My new wife and I moved here both with jobs to earn some cash, get out of depressed Europe and experience something new... let's see how we get on. Hopefully in this blog you'll read about this place, life, ideas, philosophies and other such stuff, and be amused... i dunno; take it as it cums.
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The arrival at Dubai Int'l was not exactly as written out in the Fairytale book of arrivals: I lost my iPod, SLR camera, and Lonely Planet - and after trying to report the loss in Dubai airport and failing, we got home into bed at 7am (3.30am landing.....)! Naiiice.

Terminal 3 is a pretty smooooth introduction to Dubai, and the enorrrrmous arrivals lounge (like some Pyramid basement littered with 1m wide columns) i guess says 'this is Dubai - we're f-in serious'. The security did not (contrary to popular wisdom) search my laptop and hard drive for topless shots, nor sniff me for a milligramme of cocaine, but stamped us for 60 days, and welcomed us in. All cool and groovy so far!

OK - so first subject: Driving! - Driving is something i love, i look forward to, i have done a fair bit, in lots of different conditions (sand, snow, etc.), but boy oh boy it AIN'T fun in Dubai... at ALL! If you've ever been/lived here, you'll understand that it's a nightmare; from the american junction layouts, to the poor signage, to the psychos in massive cars, the place is not-suprisingly the accident capital of the world - FACT!

General roads and signage: OK; the roads aren't finished, therefore they are still building,changing, modifying, realising they f*****d-up, altering - the road layouts. Therefore - the signage has to change almost everyday, and you never know (each day) whether you'll be going the same way to work. On top of this, there may be no actual sign for some enormous building that you need to get to (it also doesn;t help that: (i) taxi drivers don't know the city, and don't try, (ii) you can be 50m from a building and have to drive 2km to get there). All European towns, villages and cities pretty much evolved in their street plans and weren't designed - they work; is it because the progress is too quick that this place's road system is soooo up the shitt*r? If you miss a turn (for say a sports stadium or a mall, etc.) you have another 5km to drive, and another 15 mins to waste; i.e. it's a nightmare that you have to get used to.

Styles of driving: Errr... there's only one; dangerous. EVERYBODY undertakes, there seems to be no law governing undertaking (at whatever speed!). I have seen (from the traffic lights) taxis pull away at a green light, and cut across two lanes to go left in front of me when I am going striaght ahead.!... psychos! Dubai is the accident capital (road) of the world - imagine 7 lanes of jam-packed traffic going 130km/h, each 5m behind the car in front. If you check on you-tube there is a video of the massive 2008 pile-up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coM5MikLQy4

Taxis: ... are a nightmare: If you're used to UK black cabs, you'll be depressed by the taxi service here. Granted, they are being paid around 1/20th of my (fairly average) UAE salary, but that doesn't excuse: (i) Rudeness - they don't basically speak, (ii) Ignorance - they have NO IDEA how to get anywhere, except airport, trade centre, old town, etc. Give them an address? No hope (iii) they drive like psychos... You need a car; get one; it's better that way.

The cars: The logic is - i suppose - get a bigger car, you'll be safer, and your penis will get larger when everyone sees how much money and ego you have; i dunno. You can also increase your girth/length by: (i) tinting your windows to the max, so you appear exclusive/msyterious, (ii) leave the keys in the ignition in a car park to show how confident you are (example case 1 - a black/yellow, brand new Hummer parked with keys in the ignition - wtf!?), (iii) Beep at people in front of you when the lights go green, to show how 'dumb' everyone else is, and you'rew the one who spotted the change from red-to-green. Perhaps it IS safer to have a big, tough car, that means that in that next 200-car pile-up you'll be only slightly dead, and reasonably fashionable.

OK - that's me done for today on the subject of driving in Dubes - see you next time folks for some more Dubai dissection ;)