Dubai is proving to be truly international and amazingly interesting. I will be sending more later, but enjoy our lessons in driving. Jim has done quite well for a westerner. And driving is done on the right side of the road.

We have started to look for a vehicle. We want something fairly large and with a large wheel base. Size and stability is a factor for us, as some of the drivers around here tend to be aggressive. We tried to bring my Trailblazer from the states, but it was more than 5 years old. It was 5 ½ years old.

Insurance here follows the vehicle, not the driver. We already have driver’s license from the states, so we do not have to take a test in order to possess a Dubai one.

Driving has been a learning experience, to say the least. Construction is on going and can cause confusion, like in the states. You will not see a detour here, they are called diversions. Left hand turns are rare on the highways and bigger streets. We do have them in the smaller communities. Round Abouts are the most common form of left turn.

And let me tell you, they can be very big and busy with many roads leading onto them and off of them. Fly overs are being built or are built over some of the round abouts, in order to help traffic flow faster. They appear to be great fun. I don’t believe that Jim and I have been on one as of yet. One way streets are very common as well as streets with no names. So, the Unites States mind set when driving or reading the map does not work well. We had set out one afternoon to look at communities and promptly got ourselves lost. I did have the map and it was open, honest. When we realized where we were on the map, it was after dark; things look very different after dark. Jim took an exit off of the highway hoping we could quickly turn around and get back on, going the correct direction. It was not to be. The roads were one way roads with no names and left turns are extinct after dark if lost. There was no way to get back onto the highway going the other direction. So, we entered the highway again, going further from home, and drove to a clover leaf like intersection. The exits and on ramps were well labeled if one had a clue where some of the places were. We did get ourselves found and were able to head to the villa after that. The map I have does not have the neighboring Emirates on it, so when the road signs tell me what Emirate is in what direction, I am clueless. My Dad asked if we had experienced the exciting Dubai night life. I could honestly say that our night life in Dubai has been very exciting. As a matter of fact it has been so exciting we do not go out after dark unless we know exactly where we are going and how the roads lead out of the area. People are very helpful and friendly here; they will help one get unlost. They have probably been lost before and have great pity on the Americans. But, sometimes English speaking help can not be found after dark too easily. Jim is really navigating the roads quite well. I am amazed at how well he handles the round abouts, and he knows where the neighboring Emirates are, so I just tell him the name of the road we need to be on and he knows what exit to be on to get us to our destination.

The highways run across the Emirates and the speed limit is very high on them. The side streets have speed limits and they are taken very seriously. Speed humps are everywhere: on the smaller community streets, and the wider streets connecting the smaller communities. Some of the speed humps are labeled and some are not. We have seen them as close together as about 6meters and some 100 meters apart. Most of the roads are asphalt and in wonderful shape. All of the road signs are in Arabic and English.

On October 28, Sheikh Saqr bin Muhammed Al Qassimi, passed away at the age of 92. He was a member of the Supreme Council. I do not know what that is as of yet. But, a week of mourning has just finished for the Sheikh. The local paper explained him as a leader who loved his people and had visions that where people oriented and only wanted what would be long term good. We saw or heard a few things that had changed for the time of mourning. We do not know how it affected the Muslim community or what they did for that time.