The Dangers of Blogging in the UAE

While few people read this blog (e.g. a young lady can post, 'I went out last night but my date was terrible,' and get 692 comments, but I can't) one of my few readers seems to have some clout.

I once complained that all the legal buses from Dubai to Sharjah had disappeared, so I was forced to take one of the illegal ones, which are much less comfortable, and which (since they must evade police blockades) take longer.

The next day, all the illegal buses were gone, and where they had once stood, a member of the constabulary was keeping watch against any such violations. Not that they were taking any revenue from the non-existent legal buses, but someone noted that I had reported that a flagrant violation of the law was being ignored.

So I had reduced myself from having an uncomfortable, illegal way to get to Sharjah (for €1) to having no way other than a taxi (for €10).

Which has discouraged me from reporting other obvious examples of flagrant violations of the local laws.