Whewww!!

Read more from Margaretha here

How are you down in your favourite spot? I hope better than I was today, my first day out driving in Dubai. I had the most scary experience I have ever had in my whole driving life!

I decided to go and find a shopping centre here in Dubai, that has approx. 4.5 million people and 80% are ex-pats of well over 100 nationalities! So, first I drove along the streets in this ex- Pat suburb, called 'the Springs'.  All foreigners working or living here have to live in certain allocated suburbs. They are allowed to buy a house and own that, but they are not allowed to own the land. Those suburbs are surrounded by canals and have been laid out beautifully with feathery trees, frangipani and palms on emerald green sweeping stretches of grass. That was all ok as I could only go so far, because each set of streets has a barred entrance, with a guardhouse and a guard who opens a boom and writes down the cars number plates as they come and go. As there is virtually no crime in Dubai, I feel that these security measures, to lock foreigners in and isolate them, is more a measure of control by the Emirates.

Then I became brave and went out of our set of streets, past the guard, turned left and hit the big road. I just kept driving for a while. When I saw the chance to do a u- turn I drove back and suddenly saw a small shopping centre with a hospital. In I swerved and got some groceries. I was thrilled to see that they were almost half the cost of the New Zealand prices! In one of the aisles I spotted a part Maori lady and we chatted for quite a while. They have been here 6 years, have three horses in stables being looked after, a cat and servants and live not far from here. She is a teacher and her husband has an accountant company. They have two daughters, one at Auckland uni and one at Kings private college as a boarder. She said that they love it here and life is so far cheaper and warmer.  

Eventually, they will go home to NZ but not for another four years or so as the wages here are higher and NO TAX! They now own a home in NZ as well as one here in Dubai, totally paid off in those six years and can afford to give their kids the best private education, without stressing themselves. Although they go back to NZ for breaks, it is always during the summer there, as they hate the cold. They have a fabulous lifestyle in Dubai and most of their friends are ex- pats of different countries. The jobs here are given to UK and USA people first, then Canadian, then Oz and Kiwis. One requirement is that you speak good English. The laborer and menial jobs are done by Philippinos, Cambodians, Vietnamese, Pakistanis and people from Bangladesh etc. The Arabs themselves do not work. They are the bosses – they have the money after all.

We talked for quite a while and then she left and I finished shopping.

I swung out of the shopping complex onto the main road, only to discover that I could only turn RIGHT and not left in the direction of home. Instead of doing a u-turn the minute I could, I kept to the road, hoping to be able to do a right handed circle, back to the shopping centre and home. Yeah…right! I drove and drove and I went further and further out of my way. I swung into a roading truck layby on the motorway and turned the Garmin or GPS on. Unfortunately, the blasted woman spoke 'American' and I had difficulty understanding her. Meanwhile, I had virtually driven to New Zealand. Suddenly, I understood that when the GPS woman said; "…after 9kms turn left at the roundabout" and there was NO roundabout, she meant – do a u-turn and reverse my route! Having driven for about two hours AWAY from home looking for that elusive 'Roundabout' I was really concerned. there was not a building in-sight, no trees, nothing but sand and desert and the ribbon of motorway stretching into infinity! But at least now

I understood the GPS lingo. I had to drive another 9kms before I found a break in the concrete road divider and happily swooped back. She guided me right through the centre of Dubai, with cars, NOT giving way, NOT stopping at lights, passing left and right and doing exactly what they wanted, making driving very dangerous. Apparently nobody cares and there is no traffic control! People speed like mad and the exPats make their own rules or stick to the road rules of their countries back home!  Finally, I spotted the identical 'Springs' houses and flew PAST our 'Springs 15' division. I screamed to a halt and reversed, thinking, if everybody can break the road rules, I will join them. I am home again!

I needed a strong drink, but there is no alcohol here, so I settled for coffee, which this household also does not drink, but which I had bought, thank goodness.

So it all ended well. My suitcase, that had not been booked through from Singapore to Dubai, was waiting on the doorstep.  The Bangladeshi cleaner had cleaned the house, washed the dishes, prepared my lunch and made my bed! I am not yet quite ready for another adventure, but I have decided that no way am I going to drive around much in this city! Forget it, I would definitely get lost again. The trouble is that Dubai has grown so much since I was here eight years ago, and the housing complexes all look identical, so that you cannot fix on a point of recognition. They are all stuck together, forming streets. If I hadn't taken the GPS, I would have been circling the earth by now!

Here is a list of food costs of things I bought today for you to compare; NZ$1 = Dh3.5

1 KG of fat free yoghurt 7.50Dh (divide all prices by 3.5 to get NZ$), 1 chocolate eclair Dh5, 1 chicken and mushroom savory the size of same at pie Dh2.50, 400 gr pot of apricot jam made in Holland Dh10.50, 400 gr pot of pasta sauce from Italy Dh6.50, one mixed salad in plastic container Dh6.75, 250 gr packet of Anchor, – yes! – KIWI tasty cheese slices Dh8.95, English Brooke Bond tea bags, 50 in packet Dh5.50, packet of French Marie plain biscuits Dh2.50, 1 kg bananas Dh2.50, 250gr Swiss Nescafé instant Dh8.25.

As you can see virtually all food has to be imported and it is STILL cheaper than at home!

I haven't yet found out what petrol cost, but once I have recovered from my stressful "getting lost" adventure, I will have to find a petrol station. Saw one yesterday, but where…???

I am now going to bed to have a de-stress nap and then I will stay home for the rest of the day. I have cable tv with endless channels, but THREE TV controls, so God help me! Another way to get muddled up! I can see that I will either end up stuck on a children's cartoon channel or a porn one!

Bye for now, I'll write more later!