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Hi, guys! Probably, water quality depends a lot on the location of the building and its maintenance. We are lucky to live in a fairly new village built from scratch in the middle of the desert so I can be sure that all pipes and tanks are not older than 5 years at the moment. Also maintenance provider cleans everything regularly. We drink tap water which is boiled, that's a must. Water could be chemically clean but contain harmful bacteria or vice versa. The only thing, when water is not clean chemically, we might feel it. When it is contaminated by bacteria, it is much harder to notice. As a precaution, we boil all water which we drink or use for cooking. So far we have not got any problems and, hopefully, we will not have any. Also, one more thing. We are concerned about water tanks and pipes condition in our buildings. But where is a guarantee that tanks and pipes in water bottling plants are better than in our buildings? Anyway, in some areas it is not that safe to drink tap water so it is always your choice! Stay safe!

I can negotiate but if someone is going to give me a stupid first price because I’m gora I will just tell them to F off and I won’t deal with them. They don’t deserve my business. I’m not a tourist and I know how much things cost, I know their profit margins. Case in hand, I was selling some scrap at work past few days. First guy offered me 250, I told him F off. Then he offered 300, I gave him same response. He eventually offered 500 and I told him I would call the police if he didn’t get out of the garage. Ended up selling it all to a nice honest Punjabi guy today for 5,000, his first offer. Any this a hole wanted me to take 10% of that because he thinks I’m stupid gora? Its racism, pure and simple. At home I am a sheep farmer who likes to play with cars. I’m not a rich man, never have been, probably never will be, but when people think I’m stupid or try to scam me because of the colour of my skin it makes my dung boil.

I have had several arguments with my friends and colleagues in Dubai when i try to explain to them that tap water in Dubai is potable. In fact its a law that if government is providing tap water it has to be potable. "In this region, there is a stigma attached in using municipality water or tap water. But did you know that most bottled water produced in the UAE is from a government or municipality source. So if it says 'bottled water', then it is definitely from municipality source. Therefore, you are already drinking filtered water. And this water is very safe." This is a very interesting and eye opening article in Dubai. And hopefully people will understand the damage the plastic from the bottles is doing to our planet. If one cannot or doesn't want to drink the water at least they can use it for cooking, i have seen people using bottle water even for cooking. https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/dubai/no-more-bottles-khaleej-times-pledges-to-use-filtered-water-

In our best attempts to keep our cars a bit clean in this harsh environment, which is a challenge considering the amount of sand and dust flying around, i'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions to upkeep both the exterior and interior of the car in best possible condition, which should help when selling the car later on. I'll start with my experiences on my wifey's 2008 Pajero: Paint and bodywork - Avoid mall or parking car-washers, they don't use enough water and their dusty sponges create swirls in the paintwork. - Once a year, i bring the car to a detailing shop that does a complete inside out cleaning and polishing. It restores the original paint, and they are able to remove stains from upholstery and seats pretty well. - I tried scratch repair pens but imho they only make things worse. - I wash the car myself weekly with sufficient water, and "soft" cleaning detergents like some liquid soap. Microfiber cloths are great. There are many ways to wash a car. I always start with a complete hose down from top to bottom to remove sand and dust and cool down the bodywork, followed by doing a part of the car, and rinsing after every few minutes. Letting the soap dry on the car is very harmful. Never wash the car when exposed to the direct sun. Wheels, Tyres, Rims - I clean the rims during the weekly washing. The black soot from the brakepads can be easily removed with some JIF/CIF. I don't tend to buy the fancy sprays. Interior - With kids, dogs, camping activities, etc.... it is a major challenge to keep the interior a bit tidy. I am not a fan of keeping the plastic covers on everything as you see often, so that means vacuuming and lots of elbow grease every couple of weeks. I am not a perfectionist but do like to keep it a bit tidy. - Dashboard sprays: I really hate them as they make things feel greasy and fatty, and the last time they applied it it left permanent damage to the plastics (chemical reaction maybe)... Engine For the real freaks . Do not hose down the engine bay on an older car, as you won't be able to start it any more. I just use a microfiber cloth from time to time to wipe off most of the sand and inspect the pipes, hoses, and components for cracks or damage. Please do share your DIY tricks, hacks, and suggestions !

Well consider yourself lucky to be the few gora bhais who experience racism first hand 😁

small scratches can be made less visible with some swirl or scratch remover from the shop and applying it yourself. Bigger ones can be done in a detailing shop with a buffing machine, but be aware that you don't actually remove the scratch. You rather brighten up the paint surface so it shines more and makes the scratch less visible.

There are two ways to look at this problem: Don't eat outside food, breathe outside air if you are allergic or prone to falling sick quickly. OR raise your immune system to next level so most of things wont impact you. I got my Pajero sprayed almost 3 years back (Nov 2016) and used the most hard wearing lacquer, and then used 3M coating and till date paint looks great and cleaned every week from my building cleaner - 1 bucket style. For interior you can look into scotch guard your complete interior for not having any stains or spill. Then use bushranger rubber mat that are washable and have thick grooves to hold any food or sand. Every week you can just do quick vacuum than using so much elbow grease. For detailing interior every year, I don't mind (if needed) but exterior polishing every year will soon fade the original color of your car and leaving a fade spots all around - max 3-4 years as polishing do scrape the original paint to bring that shine and gloss back. I did with my Pajero once (5 years back) and then next summer I started observing the fading spot all around like a dalmatian. I know it must be the age but that polishing probably scrape off that last layer of paint left. So polishing once in 5-6 year is acceptable if it really needed and I meant for polishing that uses grinder. Wax polish is acceptable for that shine and lustre look or for repelling water stains etc for rainy countries. After the Repaint with Octroral Paint (Netherlands) and Standox (Germany) Lacquer and hardener. After the 3M Paint Protection Coating for 650 Dhs. I think it was 850 for external and internal with scotch guard.