Arabian Nights

This is a scene from the balcony of one of our apartments.It pretty much symbolises night life out here - roads, cars, food and bright lights.
The roads are never short of cars over here - and you have just abt every variety here. The Saudis have a weakness for American cars so you find plenty of Fords, GMC's and even Hummers . I once spotted a bright yellow Hummer with wheels twice my height ( ok, so I am not exactly a very tall guy at 5'7, but double that and you will have an idea of what I mean) and I wondered how anyone managed to climb into that vehicle. I figured you could jump out of the vehicle, but I couldnt picturise jumping in. The Asians seem to prefer the more economical Nissans, Toyotas and Hondas.

Driving here is pretty much a lonely exercise. Most cars dont carry more than one person-the driver. You occasionally see teenagers or young guys hangin out together in a single vehicle, but otherwise, you are a lone ranger..Of course there are vehicles where you are the only male, and you have five to six females behind you. But trust me, that would hardly be a driving hazard. You'd have to SEE something to be distracted you know! If at all something can kill someone driving in Saudi, it is the absolutely stupid and lame-brained road sense that some people seem to display.

I know that we have crazy drivers everywhere, but here its entirely something else.Picture a traffic light..you have cars who are right in front, and from the far lane, you have a car creeping in and then he parks himself broadside to the cars in front, even ahead of the traffic light..so how does he know when it turns green? Easy, the other cars start honking, and then he waves his hand and goes on his way. Other times, you have a car in the right most lane, and when the signal turns green, you have him zipping to the extreme left..as though he just decided to change his destination!

Late nights, the roads become more interesting..coz thats when the speed kings come out. You rarely see bikes on the roads here, coz with speeds of 120-140 Kmh, you wouldnt trust the guy driving the car behind you if you were on a bike..but at night, the superbikes hit the road, and sports cars as well. The bikes are quite a treat to watch.Young men in leather jackets (and jeans too-lest you picture them minus their trousers!) vroom in silently through the traffic and make their way to the front of the queue at the signal..and when the lights turn green, these guys take off to kingdom com..the front wheels go up in the air, and the two wheeler becomes a one-wheeler..and you always have atleast two bikers...there is always a race on. As for cars, its all about drifting at the kerbs and traffic junctions. If at all there is a cop nearby, he seems to ignore these happenings. You would too, when you think that people need to do something to let off some steam! And you wish that if at all you have to see something splattered on the road, it's a cat and not something on two legs.