6) The Taxi Drivers Of Dubai Comments

I landed one day at the Dubai International Airport, checked in, and started a short vacation, which led me into the back sit of a taxi, where I began to search for a hotel; Dubai is as reasonable as it is beautiful, and thus the cab driver and I began our search from the most eloquent, which I doubt I could have afforded, to anyone that had a room for the night, and it didn't take too long, or truly only a few tries, before he suggested a place that he knew about, of course by now; The Ambassador Hotel on Naif Rd. (named of hotel changed...) in the heart of the Deira District. Like, I guess, New York would be the best example of the taxi paradise, where you'll find people from just about every country you can think of, driving and taking you to your destination, and thus, I have had memorable rides from men, and I'm certain the majority of them are from Dubai, India or Pakistan, and the surrounding countries. If the statement, which I have certainly used many times before, would fit anywhere more appropriate, it would be here, which is, 'I couldn't go any further without them', of course, either in the city of Dubai or, here as I sit and write.

Our relationship started shortly after I got there, and which I soon found out, that these guys do more than just drive a taxi, and without a doubt, more than entertain as they make a minimal attempt at it, excuse the pun on the former, taking an extra step in seeing that they not only do their job well, but being more of a diplomat, at the least, at the latter of making you feel at home while taking you to your stop. Later that night I struggled out of my hotel and tried to shake off a burnout, and not take the four or five days that it takes to recuperate, which is approximately the whole of a short vacation, if not the half of a long one; and thus it must have manifested itself to the taxi driver. I was looking for a nice quiet café or even a bar somewhere that would be close to formal; and not explicitly, but telling the taxi driver something close to this, and he said sure and headed down the road, where the car door, after paying him, opened, and I knew before walking up the driveway, that he somehow knew just where I didn't want to go. I walked on side of the garden area, where the chef was cooking a small meal outside for a few guests, while others were casually sitting quietly having a drink listening to nice, soft music, shaded from the traffic several paces away by a row of freshly watered trees and trimmed hedges, making a beautiful clear desert-night seem even more romantic. Instead of joining them, I decided to walk up the path, where stenciled on the glass, read a sign that said, Irish Pub; I'm not sure if I would have thought of going to an Irish pub the first night or so, on my first vacation in the Middle East. But this is, before I go further, the evening, and it would be unfair to say this without saying more about these guys; the taxi drivers of Dubai, and that it would be impossible to have an enjoyable stay there without their assistance. I was at my hotel, and thus heading out to tour the city. You'll soon find out that I literally do just that; tour the city, which means, if not taking off walking for four or five hours, some days easily, jumping on either cable car, train, and here in Dubai, I would have jumped on the bus once having the taxi driver bring me to the center of downtown, where I would usually start. Telling him my plans, he suggested that I start at Jumeirah Beach, and never having been there before, I said okay. A thirty minute drive and I was now, like the Irish Pub, standing in the lobby of probably one of the better hotels in Dubai, where after paying for a ticket inside, I decided, after not bringing shorts with me, to bypass the pool where a group of gentlemen sat, having a cold drink and talking, though I must say that I hadn't seen a pool where the bar stools were attached to the bottom and you could have a drink without having to ask the waiter for a towel; so after a warm wave from some of the guest, either being friendly, or politely noticing my surprise, as to where I ended up this time, not turning around, I headed down to the bar, ordered a cold bottle of mineral water, where I sat for a few moments watching the windsurfers, sunbathers and children walking around having fun, while, like myself, everyone else sat around with cold drink and just enough on the mind to make it a nice and pleasant setting. Therefore, still not ready to leave, I walked over, got a towel from the attendant at the towel both, and set on side of the rest of the sunbathers, and enjoyed the fact that, the taxi driver knew that I would only have seconds to make the transition from taking a long walk, to stretching out under a nice summer's sun at the edge of the beautiful blue waters of the Arabian Gulf.
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