I can’t believe it’s been a year since we became official car owners! Whew, amazing how time flies 🙂

It was August last year when I got my driver’s license. (See How I Got My Dubai Driving License) And come mid-September, we bought our first car! Actually, I wasn’t really planning to buy one as I thought it was too much of a luxury. I have a lot of other responsibilities and I didn’t want to splurge on something insignificant. But the fact that my previous 1 1/2 hours travel time to office will be reduced to just 15 mins. was so tempting so I finally gave in 🙂 (read: more sleep. lol)

We visited some showrooms in Dubai and looked at different cars but there was only one which stood out for me. If you want to know the reason why I bought a Honda Civic, click here.

Few days after booking the car and completing all paper works, Mr. Kashif of Honda DFC called to inform me that our Civic was ready for pick up. So after office, we headed to the showroom and was surprised to see this. It was very thoughtful of them to present the car with a ribbon. Parang nanalo lang sa raffle. hehe

By the way, we decided to call our car ‘Oonah’ simply because she’s our first car. First = Una hence ‘Oonah’. Corny ba?

Being inexperienced and naturally tensed person, I hesitated to drive the car right away. But Ian didn’t have his license yet so I had no choice but take over the steering wheel and brave Dubai’s mad evening traffic.

With constant practice, I grew my confidence in driving and got used to the tricky roads and drivers of Dubai. However, no matter how I tried to be careful, a minor parking accident happened once when I was on my way to work. Tsk. Good thing my insurance company covered all the damages and I only had to pay the premium and AED200 fine (plus two black points).

By the way, we had our car blessed in St. Mary’s the day after we purchased it. It was our way of thanking HIM for blessing us with something most people can only dream of. Also we didn’t want to drive without asking for guidance and safety.

FYI, you don’t need an appointment if you want your car blessed. Just drop by St. Mary’s any time and the available priest(s) will accommodate you. 🙂

Aside from reduced travel time to work, Oonah has been a real blessing to us. Since we don’t have to commute anymore, our visits to Papa, relatives, and friends have become more frequent. Also, our car has accompanied us to places (in and out Dubai) which otherwise would have been difficult for us to reach.

Here are some of last year’s escapades care of our trustworthy Honda Civic 🙂

Whew, I just realized now that we have been to almost all the Emirates. Except Fujairah which is already planned for next month. 🙂

Thanks Oonah for a year of safe and convenient travels– day and night, rain or shine!

Cheers to more adventures and beautiful destinations! 🙂

By the way, today is also our 58th month together. Two more months and we’ll be celebrating our 5th anniversary! 🙂

Happy birthday to us baby. I love you. 🙂