Between Dubai and home, all water crossings were to be by relatively short ferry trips, with the first one being from Sharjah to Iran.

Remember how the Dubai Port Authority didn't accept the Carnet de Passage for the truck, and demanded a customs bond? Well, guess what I'm still trying to extract from the Dubai Port Authority. Yes, the customs bond. When I left, their accounts department was closed, and the promise of repayment has yet to be honoured.

And just to keep things uniform within the overall UAE Customs system, if "frustration" is defined as the feeling experienced when dealing with Sharjah's customs, then "persistance" is defined as my resolve to overcome frustration. Shuttling from desk to desk obtaining stamp after pointless stamp became the order of the day.

Honest - it was nothing to do with me... what's the saying ... "never had a single accident - seen hundreds, but never had one myself".