Dubai in the Rain

We seem to have an Unidentifed Falling Object today.

Actually, it's kind of like West Texas, which gets only 20 cm of rain a year, but you should be there on the day it comes. For Dubai, that's 3 cm of rain a year, but it's still impressive, since 3 cm of rain does not justify any storm sewers at all. As Secret Dubai observed, the Dubai Lakes (an expensive residential area, normally in the desert) really are today.

I had to take two taxi rides today, and, when it rains, it's difficult to see out the windscreen. The taxi driver had no idea how to clear the fog from the windscreen, and so was driving from memory. Since I didn't trust his memory, I turned on the defogger until I, at least, could see where he was taking me (to see Pride and Prejudice, actually).

The return was via the scenic route, a somewhat common occurrence here. The taxi had been waiting in the taxi queue for some time, and was in the middle of an important conversation. When I got in, rudely trying to interrupt, he continued to talk for another 10 minutes. Finally, we left, and he took a much longer route than necessary, so the fare would make up for the long wait. Since he was driving at around twice the legal limit, he'd already taken the wrong route before I noticed he'd missed the turns for the short route. Twice.

Still, I survived riding in two taxis in the rain, so I suppose I should be grateful.