1001 Weekend Drivers

The past weekend was like the essence of Dubai: a lot of variation, a combination of the old and the new, many encounters, full of contradictions.

I spent lazy hours on the beach, had a (mostly) good time with people and live music both Western and from the Middle East, and went on a trip to Al Ain (at the border to Oman) where I saw a lush oasis, old fortresses and the famous Al Ain Museum as well as the biggest camel market in the UAE.

Let me try to take you through the weekend along the numerous encounters with people I had - maybe I start with the drivers. As you may know by now, taking a taxi in Dubai is never boring. Either you have a good personal story or taking you from A to B turns out not as simple as it may seem at first.

One driver said I should not go to the place I intended to Thursday evening (he may not have know the way, who knows?) instead suggesting a place with live music from Lebanon, Shisha at every table, single men all sitting in one area away from families and women, and no Western people at all. For the first time here, I understood nothing at all and felt quite exotic. Though no urge to go and buy Lebanese music, even though I found it culturally interesting.

The first taxi on Friday took me to the beach. The driver - like countless others in Dubai - was from Pakistan. Coming to the UAE because there are not enough jobs in his home country, he's been in Dubai for four years, earning in one month what he would get in ten at home. Like others, he is saving up to go home - hoping to get married.

The next driver was supposed to take me to Slob Fest at Le Meridian Village after a few lazy hours on the beach. Slob Fest is a series of gigs of local and minor international bands outside of a big hotel where you can just go dressed as you are. The driver had no clue where to take me. So I called Time Out Magazine who had failed to give exact information. But nobody there on Friday afternoon. So I called one of the Le Meridien Hotels - and they could help me. Sheezh. The ride back late at night was one of the few without anything memorable.

The next day, Saturday, I went to the Deirah bus station to take a mini bus to Al Ain. The bus has no set time table, instead the driver simply waited until it was full. Which was faster than an Asian woman apparently had hoped: When she arrived, all of the 30 something regular seats had already been taken. And, screeeming, she demanded that a seat be ceded to her from one of the men sitting on places labelled "ladies only" (there are always a few on the buses, at the front near the driver, for convenience). But the driver insisted, quite reasonably, that he couldn't well throw out one of the passengers; so screeming geisha had to make with a small emergency seat, which she only accepted after making it known to anybody within earshot how much she disapproved of that.

Arriving in Al Ain about 1.5 hours later, I first headed to the museum with an adjacent fortress. Maybe I tell you about this another time, as this is now about the drivers.

The next one took me, after a nice stroll through the lush green of the Al Ain oasis and some slightly bizarre encounters with Omani people, to the camel market. As in every other taxi I used in that area, he had no working taximeter, so I had to agree on a price beforehand. And he was also the first to introduce me to a strange local fashion - that of having carpet-like covers for the dashboard. Yiks.

After a tour of the camel market, I wanted to visit the Al Khandaq fortress across the Oman boarder in Buraimi. At first all seemed fine, the price was agreed, we went on our way - not without giving an old friend of the driver a lift. But then I was told that I would not be taken across the boarder, but instead only to Al Ain, where I was to take a taxi from a different company. Ok ...

Finding out the fortress was closed this Saturday, I bought tea and some fresh dates before travelling back. Which was easier said than done. The first taxi stopped - but when I opened the door, someone already sat there (so why did he stop?!); the second didn't want to cross the border (is that fashion here?); the third asked for 100 Dhs, which is four times the usual price for that distance. The fourth finally took me, and for a reasonable price. In the end, I even paid him more, because we got stuck in traffic and seemed so unhappy about his decision to take me across the boarder that I felt I wanted to compensate him a bit. Ah yes. No receipts anywhere here in Al Ain - sorry Carsten!

Late at night I drove back, realizing that my guide book had failed me several times today: the ride to Al Ain had been more expensive, the live stock market had moved to a different place, the fortress I wanted to see was closed - but luckily, there were buses taking passengers back to Dubai, contrary to what the book said I did not have to rely on a shared taxi.

Another weekend full of experiences.