Driving in AD (or… wth was THAT?)

I wrote this entry over a month ago and was caught by surprise when I went to post the first boat entry and did not see it. Then I remembered I was planning to take photos to include first. But… life got in the way. That or my ADD kicked in. Probably the latter. Anyway I have since updated it. We have had the Honda for about 8 weeks now, so the entry is a bit long, and there are very few pictures, though I did go take a couple for you. Enjoy….

You may think that some of the tidbits in this blog post are made up, and included just for laughs. But no. Everything in here happened just as it is written. It could be that these types of things may possibly be why AD is called by some “The Land of Not Quite Right.”

I think I may have mentioned that they raised the taxi rates on the first of June. Depending on how far you go, the increase results in a 25-30% increase in transportation cost. If most of your rides are relatively short, the percentage increases since they have also mandated a minimum. Our rides are both. Many short and quite a few others not so much. The result was that our transportation cost increased by almost 35%. Add that we are moving farther from the places we frequent the most, and the overall cost goes up a bit more. So we decided to buy a car. Not a new one. An old and extremely inexpensive one. Our requirements?

• The vehicle is to be used in the summer only (too hot to walk or ride the bike) so it must have great A/C.
• It must be able to valiantly battle the insane drivers here without losing (I consider a few dings and dents as victorious battle scars.)
• It must hold our stuff (or most of it anyway.)
• It must not cost more than $3k US

The used vehicle market here is a thriving one. Almost every day somebody’s employment contract expires and they are given 30 days to leave the country. Used vehicles are easy to come by and affordable. So are used furniture and used appliances, but we don’t need those and I digress…

So… Buying a car in Abu Dhabi. Like anywhere, when buying a used car you need to get it checked out. We found a Honda we liked, and took it into the local Honda dealership. They offer a complete inspection, top to bottom, for 500AED (about $135US). This includes taking it out to the desert for a 4wd and suspension check. You get your 500 back in the form of a discount off the services required should you choose to use the dealership for those repairs. As we expected, the report was thorough. It showed a whole bunch of stuff that needed to be done.  Of course, every little minute issue was detailed for us in a 2 page line item report including things like “headlights need to be polished” and “interior light bulb needs replacing.” Good info, but not really what we were looking for. By driving it, we knew it needed to have the brake rotors turned or shaved. We were looking for what else was absolutely necessary and the associated costs. There was nothing really serious, so we used the report to negotiate a price that fit our budget, and bought a 2004 Honda MR-V (called a ‘Pilot’ in the US) maroon in color, with new tires and a freezing cold a/c. It is Rock Solid!

Things to know about vehicles in the UAE. Window tinting is considered a necessity. DARK window tinting is on most vehicles. Our SUV has super dark all through the back, and moderately dark on the front side windows. The windshield is moderately tinted, but a very dark tint runs across the top edge, as you can see from the photo taken through the windshield of our Honda here:

Also, this vehicle is insulated. I don’t know about others, as I have not been in many private vehicles here. I know that the doors on our Honda are heavy and seem very dense in construction. When left under any sort of cover the cool stays in the car for 2-3 hours and that is no small feat here. I really wonder, based on the weight and solid feel of this vehicle, if additional insulation isn’t part of a package that if not standard, is a regular option here. This is a question I will be asking my longer term friends. If it turns out that it is, I wonder if we could get it done in the US? I mean Phoenix area vehicles could really benefit. Heck, Flagstaff vehicles could too in winter!

An interesting thing here in the UAE is that license plates and insurance belong with the car, not the individual. I understand the theory is that cost to repair/replace the vehicle is the same regardless of the driver. So the insurance is based on repair cost rather than your driving record. Makes me wonder if it is just assumed you will eventually be in an accident? Hmmm. Anyway, the insurance company is conveniently located within the motor vehicle department, which is open 24/7 (except during Ramadan). So it is easy to transfer the insurance at the same time that you transfer registration etc. There is no such thing as a title here. In order to sell a vehicle, the seller/owner and the purchaser go together into the vehicle registration office. The car registration is checked for outstanding traffic or parking violations (which if existing are paid on the spot) and the registration is transferred. Done. Takes about 20 minutes plus any line waiting time. Very simple and clean. The new owner is then given a registration card in their name, which includes history of the vehicle in an encrypted form. Among other things, the history includes tire purchase date, since it is mandated by law that you must have new tires every 2 years. (The heat wears the tires quickly, and they become an explosion hazard.)

Next we had the brakes and a couple of other minor things handled by the dealership, and we were off.

Now, Yours Truly needed a license. Handsome Hubby had gotten his early on. I hadn’t needed one so hadn’t bothered. Now things had changed, so I did the research on what I had to have to get my Emirates Driver’s license. According to all of the info online I needed my US driver’s license, passport, resident visa, Emirates ID, and permission from my husband to drive a vehicle.  

So smartass hubby and I collect all of the required paperwork, and head for the licensing office together.

I get in line only to be motioned to the front (being female is an advantage in some cases here) where I am told I will need to have my AZ Driver’s license translated into Arabic, and take a vision test in the adjacent room. I am pointed to the registration office (conveniently next door) and walk over to have my license translated. A table in the lobby has a sign which reads “Translation 25dhs.” I hand the young man my license, and he types out a translation of basic info – when and where the license was issued, when it expires, any special requirements, etc. – and hands me the translation and a bill for 50dhs. I look at the sign, and back at the guy, and back at the sign. He says… “50 dhs” and smiles. I just paid him. Sometimes it is not so advantageous to be an American expat. It is also seldom worth the effort to argue.

Walking back to the licensing office, I step into the eye exam room.  There is a standard chart on the wall, and a gentleman seated in a chair looking in that direction with one eye covered. He is obviously trying to decipher the letter. It very seriously went like this… The man administering the test says “That looks like an H to me Mr. Hasan.” The guy in the chair says “yes, yes. H.” Another letter comes up and Mr. Hasan squints a bit. The administrator says, “Is that a B?” Mr. Hasan nods slowly and says, “Yes I believe that’s a B.” The administrator says “Great job!” signs off, hands him his affidavit, and wishes him well. (That scene explains soooo much.) I was next. I took my eye exam (without prompting from the administrator) got my affidavit signed, and stepped back into the license line. Again I was pulled out, handed a number, and pointed in the direction of a female agent. I went and waited for her to be available. Miraculously she called my number as soon as she finished with the person at her desk.

I stepped up to her desk and handed her my stack of paperwork and documentation. Smartass Hubby steps up ostensibly to give permission and is very disappointed to learn none is required. (Awwww, poor baby, I think he was truly disappointed.)

After completing the data entry portion, the license agent asks me if I would like to comb my hair before the photo is taken. I asked her if it was really bad. She nodded. I pulled out my comb and she watched in horror as my curls turned into an afro. Now, I have curly hair that is particularly uncooperative in the humidity here. Locals are not used to seeing this sort of phenomena, since most people here have hair that is extremely straight. I wish I had a photo of the look on her face. I started laughing. She started laughing. Larry was already laughing. I tried to pat it down and she kept laughing. She took the photo, turned it toward me shaking her head and saying no. We both continued to laugh. Finally I finger combed and patted it down enough to where it would fit in the photo frame. She just shook her head and took the photo, smiling apologetically as she handed me my license. I have purposefully not included an image of it here out of fear that my mother will croak if she sees it, but it might be very close to this…

 

 

So… I am now out on the road with my new UAE driver’s license, all legal and stuff. Driving here, while nothing as scary as India or some East Asian countries, is still quite an interesting process. We often joke that when you leave here, you will be able to teach both defensive and offensive driving courses. In addition, it is likely that you will need counseling for the rest of your natural life for the default to aggression that happens the moment you are behind the wheel. This is not the place for hesitant driving, slow reaction times, or timid thoughts. You won’t ever get anywhere! Fear is not a choice. Driving here means that on almost a daily basis you will witness people making a left turn from the far right lane. Across moving traffic.  OR making a U-turn from the same (both without benefit of blinker usage). You will be pushed out of your lane by somebody who wants to be in it (again no blinker) and can plan on being cut off multiple times every couple of kilometers. Many locals consider red lights or stop signs merely suggestions, and yield signs are not considered at all. One way street? Nope. Double/triple parking that blocks the road? Yep. Regularly. The most interesting time is Friday morning prayer around a mosque. Taxi drivers, as well as anybody who can’t find parking, will literally stop and get out of their cars leaving them abandoned anywhere along the entire road, often with doors open. Now, granted that not many people are out driving at that time of day here, but nevertheless it is a sight to behold. I have witnessed it twice, and therefore it cannot be an anomaly.

There are also the occasional clowns who think that city streets are a great place to open up their Ferrari/Lamborghini/Maserati/Porsche etc. They like to test out size, speed, and agility by darting between the Land Cruisers and Patrols that cannot see their 3 foot tall outlines, and then getting out before they are smashed because of it. Good times.

Before I came here, I was told there would be a whole lot of those fancy expensive cars. It is not entirely unusual to see them, certainly more often than in the US, but not nearly as many as the perceived. There are also many cars you may never have heard of. Along with Toyota, Nissan, etc, there is Jac and Chery (I think they are Chinese made) as well as Skoda, which is made in Hungary I think. But if I had to peg the “National car of the UAE” it would be the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. They are everywhere. As are the Nissan version called a Patrol, and the ever so slightly smaller Mitsubishi Pajero. Those vehicles will accommodate large families that include multiple wives and children. I once saw 12 people climb out of a Patrol. You simply cannot fit family in a Ferrari. Plus, in the unlikely event (or not) of an accident, the Land Cruiser wins. Every time. Inshallah.

Sticking with the family theme, how many of you have ever seen a 4 door Porsche that wasn’t a Cayenne?

Or a Bentley SUV?

My favorite is the black Rolls Royce riding on black and red 20s.  I didn’t get photos of that one, I was too busy staring and wondering why.  I did get a photo of this guy as he cut me off and raced ahead.  I like the car, in fact I think it may be my new favorite.  Everybody needs a convertible turquoise Bentley, right?

Post note: We are grateful we chose an SUV type of vehicle for an additional reason. At the moment it is serving as our storage unit, until the real one is delivered. YAY for storage space!