1 Year Anniversary

It's been a year since I relocated to Dubai. Yes, my 1 year anniversary in Dubai - if I can call it that way.

Recently I was at the airport to fetch someone. The heat and humility reminded me of the first time I arrived in Dubai, when I stepped out from the airport into the open. This is my 2nd summer here. Time flies.

It's been a while since since I blog! Wonder anyone would still come to this page these days after not seeing any new updates repeatedly. Ha!

The biggest change during the last 6 months is that I am driving on the roads now :) That I would say is probably my biggest achievement in Dubai, considering that even friends with driving licenses in their own countries could not pass the local tests at their first attempt (and some requiring more than 3 tries) while I was able to, by the grace of God, cleared my test at my first try. Thank God too for saving money for me! The day I got my license, it was also my last day of the gek-sim (aka. frustrating) administrative system at the driving school. I can still recall being angry at the verge of tears at the way they do things there.

Dubai is infamous for their accident rate, largely attributed to the high speed and roundabouts. Cross junction traffic lights are rare here. My take is that due to the constant construction, roads get changed quickly and some were managed quite badly, that it appeared designed to create accidents! With the recent implementation of speed cameras, I believe the number of accidents had been reduced. However, today's papers revealed that the count of speed fines in the last 6 months was a 6 digit figure. Still, it beats the 3 digit death statistic caused by traffic accidents within a 6-month period last year.

I thank God for His protection on the roads. Have lost count of how many times He has watched over me! Hubby and I agreed that my driving style has been 'dubaified'. Can't beat them, join them... but safety is still number 1 priority. Losing some face and suffering some indignity is still better than losing your life or money over car repairs. In Dubai, once your car is hit, you have to file a police report by law. Quite troublesome so can pass it.

So, for the last quarter,
No more queue for taxi and enduring of the heat or cold out in the open :)
No more endurance of bad attitude or weird taxi drivers under bo-bian circumstances :)
No more harrassment from bo-liao men while waiting for public transporation :)
Able to listen to my type of music and messages in the car, versus listening to Indian or Pakistani loud music
Able to arrive home earlier! As early as 6.30pm, compared to as late as 9pm previously :)

Hallelujah!!!!!!