 How many of us continue with the same routine, even when it may not be advantageous to do so?I recently moved to Ajman, in order to shorten my daily commute to work in Dubai. Yes--shorten. It used to be a 300 km round-trip drive from Abu Dhabi. Now thanks to being conveniently located in Ajman and with a little help from the metro, my driving distance is only 55 km return. It's a big improvement in mileage, with my car suffering badly from overuse after a year and half of the AD-Dubai daily run. What I haven't reduced, however, is the time it takes. Thanks to Sharjah traffic and the metro-bus routine without benefit of any nearby stations, it still takes 4 hrs of my day to get to and from work. When I was new to Ajman I found it an interesting challenge each day to find the shortest (first priority) and fastest route to Dubai. Each day I made my way through different Sharjah routes. Having found the shortest route, I never wanted to deviate from it, even though there were days when traffic made the trip especially long. |
 I had been hearing that the trip could be be faster on Emirates Rd., but there was one day when it took me 2.5 hours to navigate that road and finally make it into work in Dubai. After that I would be more than happy to never see Emirates Rd. again, I thought. Even during the night when Emirates Rd. was sure to provide a faster alternative, I wouldn't take it. I had become a creature of habit, not willing to give up my familiar route.So, it has happened for me with the metro as well. It has become a hard to break commitment to park my car at Rashidiya station and hop onto the metro. Nevermind that it takes more time than if I took my car to my destination within the city. Nevermind that the traffic isn't bad at all on some of the expressways in Dubai and it is definitely clear at certain times of day. Nevermind even that I find I'm running late for work. I've become hardwired to leave my car at Rashidiya station. |
 Al Kazim twin towers in Media City--new Dubai. |
I don't suppose I am the only creature of habit like this. It is likely that most of us are. As to why I am such a metro enthusiast, I suppose there are two reasons. One is that I'm a big fan of how Dubai modernizes as a futuristic city, and the metro is one manifestation of that. The other is that I have some nostalgia for train commutes after having lived in Japan for 11 years. Riding trains everyday to go everywhere is the only way to travel for most people there.
Latest on wifi... The RTA's site, with all of its links can be browsed without logging in to the Du hotspot on the metro. So, while you're stuck not able to get a successful login, even after biting the bullet and deciding to go for one of the very limited wifi packages, you can fully explore the RTA's own website.
Byline Plus 50--a little aside:
Take the anger from a broken heart, feel no pain. Just picked up this line in an old, otherwise familiar Phil Collins song. Rings true. Perhaps it's the anger that really hurts, not the sadness.
Have you ever heard that free will's an illusion? An intriguing thought I sometimes ponder.
Bruce Dauphin, 50 words
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