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Sunday, July 27, 2008THE TRILOGY - Part 2Like several other expats I know, there are a heap of 'not so nice' things about living in Abu Dhabi. Some of the items in my list of 1 - 10 are normal everyday gripes, uttered by many. Some maybe unspoken by others - in which case, I've taken the liberty of saying it for them. So here goes - my 1 -10 list (in no particular order) of the Bad Things about living in Abu Dhabi. Due to the threat of having my 'communication plug' pulled by Itisatwat & my blog replaced with the lovely blue & red 'Access Denied' statement, some descriptions will be minimal. 1. Racism It's rife & that's putting it very bloody mildly. People residing here who automatically label South Africans as racists are nothing short of fucking hypocrites. I would NEVER treat another human being in the despicable manner that I've seen some locals doing here. I am not basing my opinion - and it is MY OPINION - solely on Nationals, although having one shout from his car, at a pedestrian, who was crossing the road (on a pedestrian crossing & when it was permitted to do so) "You fucking white bastard!" whilst wearing an army uniform isn't exactly a good advertisment for your country is it? 2. Greed This is specifically aimed at landlords and/or owners of primarily residential buildings. People are instructed as to where they can live - i.e. families, or bachelors, which automatically makes a voilatile housing market open for abuse. Owners of private villas sub-divide the building, into several 'separate' dwellings, as they know there's a shortage of available housing & they can score hefty rents for minimal space. I have no real objection to this kind of practice, but what I do object to is the callous bastard who rents out his 6 bedroomed villa to 6 different families, knowing full well it is illegal. When caught, the owner of such a villa will plead ignorance, pay a fine & no doubt chuckle all the way to the bank, because he's had 6 desperate families paying whatever it takes to put a roof over their heads. The government very wisely put a cap on the increase in rents, as they were going into a total freefall. But, as in many 'restricted' situations, there are ways of working around the law. It hasn't taken landlords long to figure out ways & means to now slap on hidden costs, because they know they can't increase rents more than the stipulated percentage. I read just recently on another UAE blog that a tenant had been slapped with a Dh3,600 'chiller fee'. The chilling in question was the aircon, which was already included in the rent. Not any more apparently! From personal experience, we recently discovered that the underground parking space, alloted to tenants in the building where we live, has now been taken away. We were not given any notice or warning about it, but were told we could 'buy' it (back) for an additional Dh5,000. We were told our building was under new management, but when I asked who the company was, I was informed it's the same as it has been since we moved in! I have paid for the (same) parking slot via the municipality & it works out Dh2,600 cheaper than 'buying' it from the building management company. Taking into consideration that expats are not allowed to buy property in Abu Dhabi (mainland - not the newly developing islands offshore) it leaves a distinct bitter taste that the rich simply do get a whole heap richer. So, rents are astronomical, but they'll keep on going up because the the landlords/owners of the buildings know they can keep on raking the dosh in via other 'non-specific' means. When they get a slap on the wrist, they find other ways of scoring. They are, in a nutshell, extremely greedy local people. Oh, by the way, for any prospective buyers of new apartments (off plan) - check your contract very carefully, because the latest trick is to include the proportion of floor (common) lobby area into the square footage of what you're buying. 3. Traffic & Bad Drivers. Everyones favourite bitch & moan about the UAE!! The rise in the amount of cars on the road in Abu Dhabi during the past 2yrs alone is incredible. It is a fact; Drivers have a minimal amount of patience. They weave in & out of 3 or 4 lanes of traffic, thinking it will get them to where they want to be much quicker. It doesn't, but they refuse to accept that. Drivers here think absolutely fuck all of driving at speed in a 'fast' lane & then, perhaps 50m before a highway exit or junction, suddenly cut across a minimum of 3 lanes because they 'need' to take that exit. They care not for other vehicles in their path - they HAVE to turn, so screw everybody else. At any given junction, the 'U-turn' only lane is the only one guaranteed to be the slowest. Drivers needing to make a U-turn will creep forward at a pace barely above engine stalling speed & make the actual turn with enough room to get a herd of 20 elephants past. If 5 cars manage to get through before the robots change, it's a newsworthy event. Drivers using highways tend to get in a lane - normally the fast or 'next to fast' - & stay there. They'll plod along, gabbing on their phones/reading the paper/painting their nails & will only look in the rearview mirror when it's time for a hair/make-up/bat in the cave (bogey/booger to the unenlightened) check. It never ceases to amaze me how a driver can ignore signals from traffic travelling behind him. Recent horrific accident cases reported in the media state that speeding was the cause. They speed, they get a fine, they pay, no problem. The only saving grace is the introduction of new laws & the penalty points against your licence. Having said that though, there will undoubtably be many who escape punishment, because they'll utter the words "Do you know who I am???". If it's illegal to have more than a 30% tint on your car windows, how come the businesses that supply & fit the tint are still doing a thriving trade? If new traffic laws are expected to be obeyed by the masses, then enforce them for EVERYONE. The day this happens, I swear, I will get pregnant. (As I was beating my keyboard to death, there was an accident outside - one driver skipped a red light & crashed into a taxi. *sigh*) 4. Laziness A choice example, which affects many is a simple thing like household rubbish. Those living in apartments here will understand when I say that way too many tenants are too fucking lazy to put their rubbish into a proper rubbish chute. They will open the door to the 'waste room' & chuck their rubbish on the floor. The waste rooms in my building contain plastic dustbins & on every floor, as the rubbish chute has been taped up. The means & facility to dispose of rubbish in a clean & tidy manner are available, but no, that takes the effort of opening the chute & physically throwing the rubbish away. God forbid, they can't do that - they've already exerted themselves by opening the door to the waste room! I asked our building maintenance guy why the chutes were taped up & he simply said "people are too lazy to use them - they just put the rubbish on the floor". On a good day (on my floor) the plastic bin houses discarded rubbish from 1-3 other apartments. On a bad day, the idle fuckers that live on this floor simply nudge the door open & chuck their stuff on the floor. Customers buy shoes at a nearby shop & within 5m, the discarded box, packet & old shoes are scattered on the ground. A rubbish bin is available, but it's like way too much effort to use. Polystyrene cups, splattered teabags, empty cans, plastic bags & bottles are simply chucked on the ground. There's a municipal cleaner to pick it all up after you & for you, right? Lazy soddin' bastards. 5. Accountability Ahhh, now there's a thing! I don't like admitting when I'm wrong, but trust me, I'll 'fess up, admit to my mistake & apologise to the person concerned. It's a very different story living here though. Magic Kingdom Mentality* kicks in the nano second the 'Finger of Blame' is pointed. Last year, we had this happen & the incident left a lasting impression, for the simple reason the person at fault refused to accept that he was to blame, until he was basically backed into a corner. On way too many occasions, drivers have attempted to cut my husband's life short whilst riding Eish!, simply because they either didn't look in their rear view mirrors or chose to ignore the sound of his bike, which is very loud & really, not easily ignored. When such instances have been way too close for comfort, Hubs has chased the offending driver & blocked the way, forcing sed driver to stop. It's only been the threat of calling the police that the driver has begrudgingly apologised & admitted he/she did wrong. Why is it the S word is rarely offered here? I'm not ranting specifically about traffic instances - there are other things too. Take Sam's ordeal of trying to get his Internet upgraded! If ever there was a fuck up worthy of pubilcising, it's gotta be that! Another prize example of the lack of accountability is over at Grumpy Goat in his post entitled Procrastinate! Procrastinate!. (The follow up post 'Pythonesque' is pure brilliance!)
*Magic Kingdom Mentality - If we weren't here, it wouldn't happen. Labels: Greedy bastards  
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