The Eternal "Construction Sites"
Husband is only having Fridays off.
Our first Friday here began prematurely by somebody drilling the ground with a jackhammer at 4:30 in the morning. I was murderous!
On our second Friday, the siren of a bulldozer started beeping at 6:30 a.m.. My body was weak but my mind was cursing them with all the phrases I knew.
I went down to the reception later on that day to complain about that. The hotel staff told me that the construction sites (yes, sites; we are surrounded by them) in question are government projects, so it's pointless to call the police about it. And the construction is scheduled to last 10 years long!
So as usual, I have to find out more for myself.
It turns out that there ARE rules on the noise levels and working hours of construction sites: can't exceed 55 decibels from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and no more than 45 decibels from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. (despite the WHO's advice is actually 40 decibels for after hours work). And they are not supposed to work on Fridays!!
However, all rules are out of the window if your application for exemption is approved by the government.
Our first Friday here began prematurely by somebody drilling the ground with a jackhammer at 4:30 in the morning. I was murderous!
On our second Friday, the siren of a bulldozer started beeping at 6:30 a.m.. My body was weak but my mind was cursing them with all the phrases I knew.
I went down to the reception later on that day to complain about that. The hotel staff told me that the construction sites (yes, sites; we are surrounded by them) in question are government projects, so it's pointless to call the police about it. And the construction is scheduled to last 10 years long!
So as usual, I have to find out more for myself.
It turns out that there ARE rules on the noise levels and working hours of construction sites: can't exceed 55 decibels from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and no more than 45 decibels from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. (despite the WHO's advice is actually 40 decibels for after hours work). And they are not supposed to work on Fridays!!
However, all rules are out of the window if your application for exemption is approved by the government.
24-hour operating construction site has to be one of the worst cultural differences we've encountered so far!!!
On top of the noise pollution, air pollution is another life-threatening reality here. There is constantly a layer of dust covering this area. I can see two colours on the horizon during dusk and dawn: brown at the bottom reaching as high as the high-rise buildings and meeting the blue on the top. When sandstorms strike, despite I have my modern version of burqa on (which is a wide-brim hat, shades and a N95 face mask), my face would still be covered in sand.
And I wasn't exaggerating when I called it life-threatening because the number one death factor in this region IS cardiovascular disease!
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