[ arrggh! this place! ]

EVERY expat in Dubai knows that this place is an exercise in patience. Sure the sunshine is great, but it definitely comes at a price! I'm constantly encountering things that just don't make sense and are guaranteed to hike your blood pressure up a few notches. My latest encounter was this...

This is where we live ~ villa 57 on street 2 of our gated community...

Over the course of this year, the developer has filled in an open area just up the street from us with a few new villas. The boards have just come down to reveal this...

Seriously! How can you have two villas on the same street with the same number?? They had assigned this chunk of new villas numbers 53-63, right between existing numbers 12 and 13! Why 53-63? Seems pretty random since the existing numbering already goes to about 100 at the bottom of our street! How does this even happen?

I hadn't noticed until I called for a taxi on Thursday. I was standing outside my villa waiting for what seemed to be much longer than usual when my phone rang.

Taxi: I am here ma'am

Me: Where?

Taxi: In front of villa

Me: No... I'm standing right in front of my villa and you are not here.

Taxi: Villa 57?

Me: Yes, villa 57. Are you on Street 2?

Taxi: Yes ma'am

Me: Are you sure?

Taxi: Yes ma'am. Street 2. Villa 57.

Me: Well I'm confused. I'm standing right in front and you are not here. Are you sure you are on Street 2? Did you turn right at the gate or left?

Taxi: I turn right ma'am. Street 2.

Me: Well, you are definitely not in front of my villa. I'm confused. You're SURE you turned right at the gate?

Taxi: Sigh. Yes ma'am. I turn right. I go back and turn left. 'click'

Me: Sigh.

I stood there waiting to see how this was going to play out when I saw him approaching from the bottom of my street instead. He had driven around, past the gate, down Street 1 to where it joins my street and come up. He looked at my villa number with a confused look on his face. I got in.

Taxi: This is villa 57?

Me: Yes. This is where I've been waiting. This is Street 2.

Taxi: Yes ma'am but I was Street 2. I show you.

We drove up the street and he stopped in front of the new villa.

Taxi: Here ma'am. Here I was waiting. Villa 57. Street 2.

I couldn't believe my eyes! I was looking at a villa on my street with the same number as mine! The fact that it was clearly still under construction and obviously not yet occupied hadn't dawned on him. He was waiting at villa 57 so I couldn't very well accuse him of being wrong. He was right ~ sort of. I can't even imagine the problems this is going to create.

Sigh. Only in Dubai.

lisa