True Confessions, a real bad day ...

    A long story, bear with me.

    I don't know how to write about today.  It started out okay, but turned into a great big ball of frustration.  In fact it was a thermonuclear tsunami volcanic eruption of ... well, maybe I should explain. 

    So we arrived in Dubai late last night, and got to the hotel room around 1:30 in the morning, so it was a long day yesterday traveling from Delhi India. The flight was late and there were issues. Anyway, we didn't sleep much.  By the way, jet lag has not really been too much of a problem, because once you cross the Pacific, there are only small time zone changes between say, China and Thailand.  And let's not forget about the half hour time zone thing.  At least we're back on the even hour now in Dubai.

    So we set out relatively early today to explore Dubai.  First stop was a nearby Starbucks, first cup since we left home.  Sitting there looking out the window, I was feeling pretty good and reflecting on life. 

    We figured out that the best way to see the place on short notice without a lot of time (we're only here two full days with travel on either end) would be to get a city tour and check things out.  It's a bus thing and you can get on and off at different stops, in theory. 

    It starts out pretty good, and we can get a grasp of what Dubai is about, and some history, and you begin to get a feel for the place (it's a first time visit here).  We get back to a spot where you change into another vehicle and see another part of town.  We get some lunch and the new rig shows up right on time.  

   Only it doesn't leave.  Well, it sorta leaves and circles the block and comes back and parks in the same spot as before.  Okay ... we're a little short on time here ... can we go now?  We wait, and we wait.  Is there some kind of issue?  What's the deal, let's go!

     They are screwing around for no apparent reason and pretty soon I am getting irritated, then ticked off, and by then it's been 45 minutes and we are burning daylight and they driver goes into a local mall and starts shopping.  Shopping? Are you kidding me?  For what?  Groceries?  

     And my frustration builds into anger and then ... I lose it.  I confess I have a problem with patience, which does not always serve me well when traveling in distant places.  I kinda come unhinged.  

    Usually when that sort of thing begins to happen I engage in self talk:  "Okay Kevin, just calm down.  This is a vacation / travel experience ... enjoy it for what it is.  Remain calm.  You can't be in a hurry when traveling ... keep your cool ... WHAT THE (blankety blank) ARE THEY DOING?  We're wasting time!"

    My self talk goes off the track and so do I.  I just pop a cork and, it's a rather embarrassing confession, I am ashamed.   So my self talk kicks in - "Geez dude, get a grip!"

    Eventually the bus leaves and I try to process my feelings, which go from anger, to shame, to questioning why God put us here in the first place.  So I gradually come back to reality and begin to enjoy the views.

    Only it gets worse.  We check out The Palm, you know the thing that Dubai built out into the water that looks like a palm tree.  And it's really cool.  But then we are supposed to transfer to yet another vehicle so we get off at a rather remote spot and wait, with a bunch of other people.  Some of them have been here for quite some time. 

From Bad to Worse

    And guess what?  The other vehicle doesn't come, and we wait, like for an hour.  And since I am already in rehab, I can sort of deal with it.  But the others get super agitated and start hammering on the guy who is responsible for the next bus.  By this time, they have been waiting for well over an hour and a half.  This one British lady just freaks out.  It's getting real bad.  This day is going down the tubes big time. 

    There is a minor mutiny among the "abandoned" passengers.  Fiona and I begin to plan our escape from this hopeless situation.  "Let's just bail on this and get a taxi"  Only there are no taxis anywhere near.  So we start walking ... and we walk ... and we - well, you get the picture.  We eventually find our way to a metro station and try to purchase tickets and it's a final complete total disaster.  

    Why?  Because in Dubai, the "citizens" don't really work.  They have enormous oil reserves and they just sort of manage the money.  The real work is done by imported workers, from the Philippines, China, Thailand, Pakistan, and India.  This is not a secret, it's a way of life here.

    So the people who work on the subway, tram, metro, or any other kind of real work are from somewhere else - often a place we just left.  So when the metro ticket machine doesn't work, the people who are supposed to help resolve this, don't really have the skills, or the customer service ethic, or ... just really don't care.  

     Their machine doesn't work so their solution is, "you have to buy another ticket."  This is not a solution.  And then they want to argue about it.  So I buy another ticket, and it doesn't work and - of course - they demand that I buy another ticket, and by this point I am so far gone, and so is Fiona, that life begins to become surreal, and "have we passed into another universe?"  So they argue some more and ... let's just say sometimes you have to roll with the punch. 

    Thanks for listening.