A full tank of petrol? That will be…..6 quid then…

Ah, the cost of living. Not for nothing had I virtually abandoned using my little Clio when back in the UK. Despite being the motoring equivalent of a hairdryer on wheels, with a petrol tank the size of a hamster’s back-pack, the last time I filled it up at dear old Asda, it cost me the princely sum of nearly 50 quid. Friends with bigger, more powerful, smarter cars are paying 70 quid plus.

So, it’s with a happy heart that I tell you how much it costs me to fill up my rental car here in Dubai. A whole 6 quid! I’m driving a Yaris – not the titchy kind but the family 4 door kind – which I actually didn’t know existed until I got here. So it’s not as if it’s a tiny car. The boy has a 4x4 of epic proportions – it can seat 7 people – and his costs 12 quid to fill.

Before you lambast me for lording this over you, to balance things out, a small-ish one bedroom apartment does cost 20,000 pounds a year to rent. Which you have to pay up-front in two cheques. So the petrol is a very welcome bargain.

It does raise questions about the environment and sustainability. Cars here are so cheap to buy and run, that there is no incentive to keep use of them to a minimum. It is quite common, apparently, for families to have 5 cars. Yes, 5 cars.

Whilst you, dear readers, are worrying about turning the tap of whilst you brush your teeth to conserve the world’s resources, I’m living in a he city, in the middle of the desert. Go figure how much water has to be desalinated every day….