I really don’t mind taking the bus. But I had feared that with fares as cheap as a dirham, the buses in Abu Dhabi would be as painful to sit in as the theatre during a Michael Bay movie. I suppose I felt that one dirham simply could not buy you quality. Plus sometimes, you’re just wearing the worst possible shoes.

So when financially possible, I would always taxi it.

And then I got my own apartment, a wallet-tightening experience that made me reconsider public transport.
So when the turquoise carriage came rippling down the street as I was leaving the house, I hobbled over to catch it ... only to find out that the buses here are truly a treasure. Especially if you’re a woman – men have to sit (or stand huddled a little too close for comfort) in the back while woman get the females-only space at the front. It’s now mind-boggling to me that people would still drive themselves around in circles wasting gas, collecting fines, polluting the environment and never finding a parking space.

Yes, I have to leave the house an hour earlier to make it to work on a journey that would typically take 15 minutes by car. And yes, there’s a chance I might’ve just missed one and therefore had to sizzle on the sidewalk for another 20 minutes until the next. But the pros outweigh the cons. In an all-round impatient city, it provides some much needed slow motion. I actually get to see Abu Dhabi for the first time; the real Abu Dhabi, and the people that keep it going.

There are some valuable lessons to be learned on the bus – the need for at least one pair of sensible shoes being just one. And it’s interesting to see that drivers can be envious; I actually get to sit and do nothing – for a long time too, making it the only time I can catch up on my reading these days.

It’s the only time I’ve been so un-busy that I’m forced to spend time with myself and my thoughts; to meditate and reflect; to breathe and to mentally prepare; to count my blessings. One of those blessings is that there’s a bus which stops right outside my flat en route for Marina Mall. And this time, since it only cost me a single dirham to get there, I don’t have to feel so guilty about spending more.