Dear friends,
I am sorry for the delay in my writing. I found it weird for me to not say something on my blog, so here I am today.
I was invited for dinner yesterday by my aunt and uncle who are visiting here in Dubai. It was a Thursday night, and I knew there would be so much traffic from Sharjah to Dubai. I went down out on the street to get a taxi. In this day and age, even the taxi drivers can behave like choosers! They refused to transport me to Dubai. Why? Because the traffic is too much! I did have an issue with one driver several months ago, and I tried hard to keep myself in control this time, to not slam another taxi door that refuses to take me to Dubai.
I finally found one. He was a short, delicate kind of driver. He had a huge beard and wore thick-framed eyeglasses. Initially I spoke to him in Arabic, and it later turned out he was from Pakistan. He did not know where I wanted to go to in Dubai and I told him I would guide him.
So, we made our way out onto the Sharjah-Dubai highway. I was searching for the number of the hotel where I wanted to go. Since the driver knew I was going to a hotel, he said to me ever so bluntly: “You should stop this mobile phone business. You should not even be going to a hotel for naughty stuff.” I was stunned! I was shocked! I was dressed formally for dinner. How dare you think of me like this?! I was so annoyed, but I did not want to pick a fight and so stayed quiet.
Who the heck was this so-called religious guy accusing me of doing “naughty stuff” at a hotel? Who the heck was he to tell me to stop playing on my mobile? Then he asked me if I wanted to listen to the radio, and I said, just listen to what you want to. He put on his tape and it was one of those Islamic teaching tapes, the one where the preacher is shouting to everyone. Great, I thought, now I have to tolerate this. But the worse was yet to come.
This religious driver was so adamant to talk me into being someone like him. He had made it a personal mission to make me more Islamic. I was his sole focus; his project! While on the highway, he changed his lane, and immediately on his left side, the blind spot, was a jeep!
SCREECH!
BANG!
SCREEEECH!! BANG!!
SCREEEEECH!! BANG!!
I thought I was dead. This driver had not looked to his left, and the back part of the taxi screeched against the front of the jeep. Taxi stopped, jeep banged into taxi. Behind the jeep, another car screeched and banged. Behind that, another car. Four-car pile up on the main Sharjah- Dubai highway.
I was already so annoyed at the driver, and now this. I have to get to the dinner. I got out, in the middle of the highway. The driver was refusing to move his car. He was insistent that he would wait for the police. I walked over three lanes to the edge of the highway, risking my life. I finally managed to get another taxi that just happened to be going to Dubai empty.
This is not the first time. Dubai/ Sharjah are cities where there are accidents daily. I myself have been involved in four taxi accidents since I came here in January this year. Traffic is crazy here. Almost makes me not want to apply for the local license and drive on these insane streets. I am happy with my Saudi and International driving license! Give me Jeddah anytime--- I love driving there. *Sigh* The corniche in Jeddah, as well as that Movenpick ice-cream.
Mansur
5 comments:
I've been to Dubai and to many other countries but the country with the worst and most DANGEROUS drivers has to be Saudi!!!
BTW, I can't believe you miss Saudi! Damn lets swap places dude!!!
Yeah...you should come here to Dubai to experience driving at its worst. There are three lanes roads converging into two lanes road to get into Dubai. Most of the roads are only two lanes wide when you go inside the downtown area. There are traffic jams to Dubai in the morning, traqffic jams to Sharjah in the evening. Jeddah is miles better because the city is spread out and the roads are wide enough.
I would be happy to switch places. Jeddah is like my home, and I grew up there! Who cannot like home!
Mansur
Yeah, Cairo I have heard from a lot of people. But Dubai, unbelievable. With such nice roads, accidents happen on a daily basis!
Mansur
Yeah, Cairo is outrageous. On a normal High Street, what probably keeps the number of accidents low is that there are so many cars on the road, no one can actually speed up to do much harm.
When i was there, the funniest/most dangerous thing that happened was that the driver took a left turn, and the flamin passenger side wheel (incidentally where i was sitting) flew open! For the rest of the trip, i had one hand holding onto the driver's seat, and the other hand holding the door shut! haha.
Boy, when you come back to London and hit thr motoroways after Cairo, you think you've re-entered civilisation. Sad to say, but its the truth.
Lol!! Thats funny kashif! I cannot stop laughing. I am just trying to imagine what I would do in your position!
I had a friend who shared with me a story one time. He and his kid sister were in the back seats, and she was playing with the door handle. He claimed that the car made a turn, his sister opened the door, which flew open while she hung onto it. The car made another turn and the kid sister flew right back in, and the door closed, all the while the parents were driving totally unaware.
God only knows the truth!
Mansur
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