Tid Bit from My Diary

Petrol... petrol... give (pronounced G-EVE) more petrol... Do not hold the steering so hard... If you required so much of strength then no women would be driving a car... Give indicator....... stop the indicator baba! Do not look behind while taking a left or right turn... even if Sultan Qaboos is behind you, he will stop! These are some of the dialogues that one has to get used to hearing if he has to take classes to get a Driving license in Oman. Muscat is a friendly place and for me it was all the more friendly as it was full of old friends. The piece of inside news that I received after landing at Seeb International Airport was that having a driver’s license was like having another degree. I was quite excited at the idea of giving a test without having to study for long. I smiled to myself and said it must be as easy as a blood test! But the reality struck me quite soon. Our family never owned a car but my father had a Government car at his disposal which it used to be park...

First week in March of 2008 when I relocated myself to realize the Dubai dream I was overwhelmed by the sheer scale of things in this city. Living in Dubai is completely a different experience than visiting the city for a day or transiting by its airport. I was speechless as I discovered a city so vibrant and so full of life with so much of glitz all around. I was put up in a service apartment on the Sheikh Zayed road and used the public transport to commute to and from my office in Deira. It was almost like a skiing, could not have been smoother. I used to wonder while it only takes 15 minutes travel to and back from my workplace, why is all this fuss that people make about Dubai Jam. Soon I realized that it was only the beginner's luck that worked in my favor when I had to wait only for a few minutes to get my morning taxi while a phone call to the RTA call center used send me a taxi to get me home safe and sound. The rude awakening came as I found out it is was not only diffi...