Seeking new horizons Where does this road go to?
Well, we’ve been in Dubai for three months now. It’s has flown by. We’ve settled much more quickly than in Chicago. In fact, we have a closer community structure surrounding us.
A true expat lifestyle means that you slot into a gap left by someone else. Relationships are fluid. They are mutually supportive. Everyone is in the same boat. People move out and others fill the space. Despite the transient nature of expat living, I’d like to think that these relationships have depth, a bond created by similar experiences and the trials of settling into a new life in a new country.
So what observations have I made so far?
Finger in the air, let’s start with the subject of roads, cars and traffic. The city of Dubai is pretty flat, but you don’t have to travel more than an hour for a dramatic change in the terrain. There’s a new highway to Fujairah, for example, so it’s now possible to make a comfortable day trip. The road it pretty impressive; it’s difficult to see how the constructors decide where to start digging. When you have wide expanses of flat desert in front of you, I’m pretty sure you just point the compass and pour the tarmac.
But when faced with a jagged peak do you look for the path of least resistance or just point the compass again and blast it to kingdom come? In a matter of minutes you can be driving through red sand dunes on a road so flat you wouldn’t even need to check your spirit level. Then you blink and you’re climbing cathedral peaks, safe in the knowledge that your trusty 4x4 will guide you. Never given much thought to roads before. Maybe it’s time I took up another hobby.
Well, we’ve been in Dubai for three months now. It’s has flown by. We’ve settled much more quickly than in Chicago. In fact, we have a closer community structure surrounding us.
A true expat lifestyle means that you slot into a gap left by someone else. Relationships are fluid. They are mutually supportive. Everyone is in the same boat. People move out and others fill the space. Despite the transient nature of expat living, I’d like to think that these relationships have depth, a bond created by similar experiences and the trials of settling into a new life in a new country.
So what observations have I made so far?
Finger in the air, let’s start with the subject of roads, cars and traffic. The city of Dubai is pretty flat, but you don’t have to travel more than an hour for a dramatic change in the terrain. There’s a new highway to Fujairah, for example, so it’s now possible to make a comfortable day trip. The road it pretty impressive; it’s difficult to see how the constructors decide where to start digging. When you have wide expanses of flat desert in front of you, I’m pretty sure you just point the compass and pour the tarmac.
But when faced with a jagged peak do you look for the path of least resistance or just point the compass again and blast it to kingdom come? In a matter of minutes you can be driving through red sand dunes on a road so flat you wouldn’t even need to check your spirit level. Then you blink and you’re climbing cathedral peaks, safe in the knowledge that your trusty 4x4 will guide you. Never given much thought to roads before. Maybe it’s time I took up another hobby.
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