Honk...honk..Vrrooommm..vroommm

After a year in Dubai I can say that I feel more confident about my career in this country. My law firm is not badly affected by the economic crisis as our litigation practice is booming. I am also becoming busy day by day, with banks and clients trying to make money out of new deals and products post 2008 crisis. Everybody is talking about recovery and becoming wiser for the years ahead. World economy is speeding up as peoples feel better to spend again.

To mark my first anniversary in Dubai, I decided to buy myself a car. This has been a plan since my arrival here but because of the economic crisis, I put it on hold for fear of being laid off. All this while I rented a basic sedan car (Toyota Yaris)which cost me AED1800 a month. That is double than what I paid for my car in Malaysia which is of the same model (Toyota Vios).

Now I have settled with a new set of wheels which is more comfortable and within the same budget. Presenting Dodge Nitro SXT 2009. It's a truck based-SUV and pretty much share the same specs with the new Jeep Cherokee. Equipped with 2W and 4W drive capability, I think it answers my dream of driving a 4x4 on a desert. I has the look, safety features, 6 CD changers and big cargo area. The only setback, are that it's quite thirsty (of course la) and the headroom is tight (same like hummer). But the overall good factor, I bought it after 10k discount as a last Ramadhan promotion stock. Ok la.

One thing for sure, no matter how cool my car here, I can never own it forever because the car is a left hand drive and too expensive to be exported to home. I can only enjoy it when I am here. At the end of the day, it is the same like renting a car only that I get a better one.

Talking about cars, when I was in UK, I found it interesting that the British don't really bother to drive big fast cars. Everybody drives a small compact car (I think Perodua Kancil can have a good market in UK, why there are not there?). But in Dubai, the automotive trend calls for big super cars. Almost 70% of cars in UAE are four wheel drive cars. It gives an advantage when one have to drive on the desert sometimes. It also works as effective armour when one is driving in the fast Dubai superhighways and busy Sharjah streets.

In the meantime I have passed two licences in Dubai, one for driving car and another for riding motorcycle. It has been a challenging experiences for me to obtain these licences starting from the costs up to passing it through. Thank God, I passed both licences with only one test. I am saving some moneys now to buy my dream motorcycle. I have to be careful though not to incur more debts as it will defeat the purpose of working here. But purchasing that life-dream motorcycle is a great motivation for my struggle in this dusty city. The price of my dream motorcycle in Dubai is 3 times cheaper than the price in Malaysia. One good point is, I can export the motorcylce to Malaysia at a reasonable tax in the future. It also has a high second hand value in Dubai and Malaysia. This is a dream which makes me smile whenever I wake up for another day.

Also, my wife and I have been making a lot of friends lately and becoming closer to the ones we knew, which is a greater thing to a social animal like me. Friendship takes time, effort and reciprocity. Life would be meaningful if we can share it with peoples who listen and care. My wife and I are so eager to get to know our new friends and understand their interesting lives that sometimes we have to remind ourselves that our new friends may need more times to accept us in their circles. At the same time, we are keeping close watch on our friends in Facebook. It is a great feeling when I can laugh to tears in front of a laptop looking at pictures and leaving comments to my FB friends.

Winter is approaching and that means a season of outdoor and social activities in the Middle East. Cafes and restaurants have opened up their summer curtains and arranged their chairs and tables on the pavement, alfresco style. Peoples bought air tickets and booked hotel rooms to bring in families and friends. Birds have started their long journey to escape the harsher winter in the western and northern hemisphere. My mind now is busy thinking how to make it merrier and busier than the last year.

Yeah...I am open for any invitation, friends !

I like the look of the front fender..tough !

It's a truck

The front grills

The Horns !

Grab Life by the Horns !

Dodge