Stuff Arabs like #8: Double Parking/Parking however the heck you want

Given the way Arabs drive, it should be no surprise that they have a similar devil-may-care attitude to how they park their cars. Just like on the streets, anything goes. It seems the rule of thumb in the Arab world is "if a car can fit in it, it's a parking space."

Take any parking lot in the Middle East: You might ask yourself, "Is this a diagonal space, or a perpendicular one?" The answer is yes. It is whatever you want it to be, you're in the Arab world.

For example: On a trip to Bahrain with a friend and her driver, the driver had to crawl over the passenger seat to get to the driver side because the car next to us had parked so crookedly. We could get into the back seat easily, but the driver-side door wasn't even allowed 3 inches. Yeah, the car next to us was THAT badly parked.

Couldn't take this photo from the right angle because there were 2 Saudi guys sitting in the SUV, but he's got one of his wheels completely up on the sidewalk because his car was too big for the non-parking spot.

Can't find a space directly in front of the store you want to visit? No problem! Chances are there's a sidewalk in front of the store that's wiiide open. Parking lot full? No big deal, just double park. If the poor schmuck you're parked behind returns before you finish your shopping/meal, they can just wait... Or drive up on the sidewalk past pedestrians to get to the street.

No need to worry about police ticketing you, they're the guys double-parked a few spaces down from you.

Vicariously yours,