Driving

I've just realised my blog must seem like a constant gripe. Don't get me wrong, I'm having an absolute blast. I just seem to typify the "Grumpy Old Man" who enjoys a good moan. Which brings me to todays blog post:

I've had my licence for just over two weeks now and I've been an incredibly restrained driver up till this morning. Today I used my hooter for the first time, whereas the rest of the population use it about as often as they use the brake pedal!

The traffic was impossible this morning, it took me two hours ten minutes to drive the 20km to work. If it wasn't 40 degrees and 80% humidity outside I could probably have walked it quicker. I'd travelled about 50m in half an hour and this huge black 4x4 with totally blacked out windows forced his way aggressively in front of me from a side street, but because his vehicle is such a behemoth, couldn't turn within a single lane, so was trapped in my path at about a 45 degree angle for about 5 minutes. I lined him up in my sights and let rip on the hooter. While it made absolutely no difference to the traffic situation, it made me feel better. Have I just become one of THEM?

The bus driver who takes the other staff to work from the same hotel left 40 minutes after me and arrived at work 15 minutes before me. He drives like Michael Schumaker and getts a regular hooting at. Perhaps it's me that needs to change.

The main street in Sharjah has been blocked off and dug up and will be closed for 2 years. I have a SatNav which insists on directing me back to this main street that you cannot travel on or cross. It's hopeless. Why don't SatNav's allow you to program in streets to avoid? The roads / diversions change here on a daily basis with diversions and new construction changing continuously. SatNav mapping can at best give you a rough idea of the direction you should be heading.