Cuppa Life

Getting a driving license in Dubai is tougher than getting your MBA.

- Emirates Driving Intitute Instructor.

After getting my license 6 weeks ago, I’ve been, tentatively, let loose by my family on the roads of Dubai. My first drive was to my home from Ghurair centre, with my husband in the passenger seat, hanging on for his precious life – just in case. For the next few times, I drove on highways such as Dubai-Al-Ain Road, Dhaid Road etc. While my confidence grew with every long drive, I have yet to face extreme traffic. The kind that’s on Dubai-Sharjah road at 6 am.

From the little I have driven in Dubai, I’ve noticed a few things that seem to be taken for granted on the road.

1. If the car has an Abu Dhabi number plate, it’s expected that there will be reckless and attitude-ish driving involved and you’d be better off keeping a safe distance.

2. A four wheeler has the right of way even when it’s going the wrong way.

3. Seasoned drivers can sniff a new driver from miles away and will either avoid you or tail you before changing lanes. Unless you’re in a 4×4.

4. The left lane is for race car drivers – or those with lots of money to pay the fines.

5. Taxi drivers will give you the way if you’re a female driver. I think that is mostly because a lot of taxi drivers are Pakistani, and that’s how it’s done in Pakistan.

6. The above mentioned taxi driver will also keep a safe distance if he’s behind a female driver. This has more to do with lack of faith in your driving than courtesy.

I’m sure I’ll observe more and more things as the frequency of my driving increases. If you’re driving in Dubai, what kind of things have you noticed on the road?

Oh P.S! I drive a 4×4 ;)

Photo Credit: Dopesmulgar

If you don’t know to drive, taking a cab is the next best option in UAE. Anyone who’s driven in cabs here (or anywhere else for that matter) knows that cab drivers aren’t the best drivers around. Sadly, most cab drivers can’t even make up for their lack of driving skills with their knowledge of the roads. So we’re stuck with hanging on to the seats for our lives, praying to whichever god we believe in to deliver us safely to our destination.

But there may be hope! UAE will be rolling out electric driverless pod-taxis in Masdar City – Abu Dhabi’s carbon free city. The first taxis will be used to transport students to Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. The taxis will be driverless, their maximum speed would be 40 kph and they’d be following a specific path like a train.

All that’s fine and dandy but how do you tell a cab where you want to go? Swiping a card doesn’t seem the answer. And with the history of bungling anything that needs to be done by the public (Remember the ID card appointment fiasco?) the UAE is notorious for coming up with technology that is not user friendly.

Even though the idea is very new age, when I think of a driverless taxis – I think I would take my chances with the crazy cab driver.

Sources: The National, Switched.

After moving here early last year, one thing became very clear. For all of Dubai’s branded glory – it wasn’t the excessive spending that was causing the holes in people’s pockets  but the real culprits were rent and education.

Gulf News had a news item today stating that according to the Income and Expenditure Survey carried out by the Ministry of Economy found that 53% of income is spent on food and rent. I’d say about 50% is all rent and the remaining 3% is spent of food. Sure the prices of food stuff has risen in the past four years but they are nothing in comparison to the rise in rents.

If you’ve got kids, education is the second thing that is most expensive here. Any savings you’ve got will be used in educating your kids.

@RegAthwal had an interesting tweet today.

“Expats in the UAE are thinking of sending their kids to boarding schools in the UK because it is cheaper now – Outsource your kids!!!”

An MBA costs anywhere from  AED 80 k and above if you want a degree from a decent and known university. Education opportunities in UAE are also very limited. If parents are indeed considering sending their children abroad for better education, then who can blame them?

Even though the property prices have fallen(25% according to the newspapers) due to the economic recession, there has been no change in rents except that they have stopped increasing. The problem however remains – people have a hard time finding a house that fits their need within their budget.

If you’re living in UAE, what are your two biggest expenses that take a huge chunk out of your income? And yes, credit card bills is a valid answer :)