Same same but different

I was having a conversation with an ex colleague about how I'm finding Abu Dhabi and I said that it's so different but yet so familiar. I thought about that abit more and realised that while it's such a different place, it has so many similarities to Malaysia that I feel like I'm not far from home.

For example, after my theory test, I had to haggle with an unlicensed cabbie to bring me back home. I said "khalifa park", he heard "Khalifabar", drove 20km and brought me to some remote area and asked me whether he should turn left or right. I was like er wrong area, and he's like 'Oh no, i heard khalifabar". I told him 4 times but he wasn't listening or maybe my english/arabic isn't very good. So he drives me back on the right track, we drive on the main road near my place that is under construction and realises that overnight, they had shut off major entrances into the area. So instead of going around, he stops at a slip road (yes, that's an exit slip road for cars coming onto the highway!), and proceeds to reverse back into the area into a roundabout. I was laughing but praying at the same time that I was not going to die. While I haven't taken cabs in KL for awhile, this whole experience didn't feel completely shocking to me for some reason..

Then another incident happened when I went to try to get a road test date at the Road Transport Dept, I turned up at 6pm and they said sorry come back tomorrow before 2pm. It says on their website that they are open from 7.30-9pm. Of course I had tried to call them to check but noone picked up. Sounds familiar? So i go again today, and I can't find the right building even after they told me that it's just there. "Just there" was a construction site with lots of Pakistani men hanging out in front of a single story building with no doors. I walked around, asked around, went to the wrong building and finally found the entrance to the right one. Anyone think of signage? Of course not, that would be too logical!

So I finally get in, they were super prompt at the "Ladies only" section which was good. They said, earliest date is 28th March. I was like, can't I get anything earlier? She said, no its system generated, BUT BUT if you pay AED50 more we bring you forward by 10 days to 18th March. Nice. Wasn't that 18th Mar slot already available when I asked for an earlier date before I paid 50??

It's all good, and I don't find it stressful..it's just funny to me now. I guess it's expectations, if you expect stupid, crazy things to happen, you don't get upset when they do!