While Dubai has had its mafia robberies and high-profile assassinations, Abu Dhabi remains one of the safest cities in the world.
Written by: Laura Fulton
This place is so safe, in fact, that its commonplace for people to leave their cars unlocked – often with the key in the ignition and engine running – while they go inside for sometimes surprising lengths of time.
And sometimes with surprising outcomes.
Consider, for example, the time I popped into Subway. It was too hot to turn off the car, so I left the engine running, even though it was my new boyfriend’s car. When I ducked back into the driver’s seat I noticed for the first time a bottle of cologne I didn’t know he liked, a shirt on the floor I’d never seen him wear, all kinds of evidence of a life I didn’t know he had.
It wasn’t until I tried to put the key into the ignition that I realised I’d got into the wrong car. I found the owner of the Mitsubishi Outlander identical to the one I was driving – which was parked three spaces down – standing patiently in the doorway of the shop he’d popped into, waiting to see if I was crazy or just stupid.
Surprised as I was that day, it was nothing compared to the night that same boyfriend had just a couple of months ago outside the big Spinney’s near the Corniche. He’d parked properly and gone inside to shop. When he returned, he found that someone in a giant Land Cruiser had parked behind him blocking him in.
Most people will leave their mobile number in their windshield to cover this eventuality, but not this time. While he didn’t want to call the police, he also had places to be. After waiting around for several minutes, it seemed logical to him that since the Land Cruiser’s motor was running it would be the work of a moment to hop in and back it up a few feet.
He’d just dodged the traffic on the busy road to slide into the driver’s seat when a strange squawk from the darkened interior startled him. He just about fell out of the car when he finally noticed what was perched on the centre console – a giant hunting falcon, majestic with feathered hood and in no mood to make friends with strangers. The owner came running up just in time to see my husband recovering from his near coronary.
Which just goes to prove that while Abu Dhabi may be safe, it’s not for the faint of heart.
