.

Passport to the big house
There is a zero tolerance policy to drinking and driving in Abu Dhabi. Any alcohol reading whatsoever and it is straight to the big house. Directly, no excuses and no insurance, even if someone else hits you and it is entirely their fault. This explains why Graeme the Scot is nursing soda water while we enjoy pre-dinner, dinner and post-dinner drinks with Martin Moodie, who has flown in from the UK via Delhi, and one of his business associates, Dan Cappell. Martin is down here for the opening of a new terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport, and Dan runs everything there that isn’t to do with aircraft. Such things as retail, property, rentals and parking, the latter now the biggest single money spinner for airports around the world. Graeme manages the poorer side of the airport, the bit that has to do with planes, landing charges, catering and, we suppose, filling them up with fuel.
Dan, an exceptionally generous and gregarious host, let slip that he shares, with Graeme and his wife, a five bedroom villa which has two spare bedrooms, a maid and a driver. We immediately threatened to move in, Jade included, which we think Dan quite fancied. Perhaps if only the parents didn’t come as part of the package.
The only question of the night was why it cost five times the taxi fare to get home at 2.00am as it did to get to the hotel six hours earlier. A question which would still be being hotly and loudly debated had the taxi driver not threatened to call the police.
The house champagne last night was Moet and, despite its fine quality, the hot next-morning sun was not conducive for the short trek to the Indian Embassy. Forms, photocopying, queues and confusion, but it is all done in a couple of hours, the embassy clerks very patient with our inability to intuitively know the rules and what needed to be done. We’ll just have to wait the three working days while they check our kiwi credentials, and then see if the visas and passports turn up.
Weekends in the Arabic countries are Friday and Saturday, and for us it back to Dubai for the weekend to see if we can hear the calls to prayer.