1) Housing :
I have mentioned before that the housing situation in AD is appalling - disgusting hovels which are so in demand that annual rentals are the same as what people in the "normal" world would pay to purchase a decent size house. If you could build some decent sized (in other words - NOT 14 bedrooms, 20 bathrooms, 7 kitchens - who needs that!), decent priced, villa/house type abodes within easy reach of the city and the highway - you would be my hero.
1.1) Residential hotels :
If you can't manage the house thing, please look into building hotels where expats can stay in a home away from home type of accommodation. Hotels (notably, G*lf Hotel) prefer not to accept longterm bookings - opting rather for the short "get-them-in-and-out-asap" approach. Which leaves those who need time to find decent housing with no place to stay while doing so.
2) Limousines :
Ok, so we finally succumbed to the rich and famous lifestyle - looking to hire a limo in AD for an hour or two of site-seeing and having people gawk at us, wondering which famous people are inside. No such luck. In Dubai a limo will cost about Dh250 per hour for 8 people, and it costs the same in AD ... except ... the limo must come from Dubai - at a cost of Dh700. Making the total cost almost Dh1000 per hour!! Come to think of it, I haven't seen many (any!) limos here in AD - now I know why - not even a Sheikh could afford those prices. Man, there must some SAfrican oke who can weld a couple of 4x4's together and make a 16x16 for us to hire ... Com'on Boer ..... maak 'n plan ......
3) Dhow cruise :
Well, if we couldn't drive around AD, we decided we would float around it instead. Found one (the ONLY ONE) company advertised as providing dhow cruises and after searching and searching and searching for it, finally found the (nameless) restaurant outside which the dhow was "parked". Excitedly dashing up to said dhow - we found a motheaten, rickety, ramshackle excuse posing as a seaworthy vessel. The only access over the stagnant green water was along a 6 foot long splintery piece of wood which abutted onto the bottom step of a rotten wooden staircase which was missing at least two steps and part of the balustrade. Once on board, one was greeted with weatherbeaten wooden floorboards which definitely would not taken DM's weight (not that much WOULD, but that is another story!) and grimy plastic chairs which skittered from side to side as the "boat" drifted on the water.
Needless to say, we scampered off - leaving the crew still lying sleeping on the deck.
The alternative dhow cruise - more "upmarket" includes a dinner and waitress service, but for just cruising around looking at the lights, on what should be a tourist attraction - nothing!!
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