First, the actual sale. I have not one mean bone in my body. This Iranian guy was going to buy it at value for 13,000 aed before the whole air con escapade happened. He was on the fence. Over the last 72 hours, I have reposted it, dealt with 10 other interested buyers and then, he phones. Christ, and although, I could have potentially gotten an extra $300, I folded and said, let's do it because the whole thing is giving me a giant headache; walking from one end of the other of a 2 km mall to find a working fax machine, so Merhzad can get insurance by tomorrow afternoon when the handover happens.
And then, as you do, I had to figure out if I had any fines to pay off when I go switch over the car. I checked at the beginning of April, shortly after returning from Italy, when I was contemplating posting the thing on and was home free. Low and behold, I checked today, just as I am about to turn the thing over. Well, o'er the last few weeks, I have been cruising around the city and spending more time on highways. I am not in the need for speed at any point, more the need for my bed and the pillow for my sleepy head; but I wouldn't have been surprised to see a ticket from speeding 10 km over or something ridiculous, because it's like they know that you are going to sell your car or something. However, no, it wasn't a ticket for speeding, which they actually can prove with cameras. It was a ticket for obstructing traffic. One which I never received in paper form; one which can not be proven. One which I am pretty sure I wasn't even at the location where I was apparently obstructing traffic one weekend evening. In other words, the government can just screw you here because they want to and because they know that we all believe we are walking on glass with them anywise..
So, selling the car, has lead me to realize that even places like the UAE, which has the reputation as being the most laid back of the Arab gulf states and having a higher tolerance for western behavior, are not what they seem. And while I would recommend people to continue to explore and investigate this country, I would say beware because you never know what bullshit they are going to get you for and where it's coming from. I mean is this the way to solve monetary issues; how is it fair that a person can receive a ticket for something that they aren't aware of and there is no proof. Innocent until proven ?
I realize that Venezuela is corrupt and it's potentially going to be a hundred times worse but no one denies it there. In fact, blogs, guide books, locals, expats will tell you that corruption swims all around you, which for me is most important. If a country has issues, own up to them, it's about time some place did.
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