麻豆约拍

Pascale Harter introduces personal insights, stories and wit from 麻豆约拍 correspondents and writers around the world. In this edition, there are two modern tales from the Arabian peninsula. In Dubai, Simon Atkinson finds that the 'sponsor' system has bred its own bureaucratic habits - including the regular insistence that you produce one particular piece of paper. But why is it so often the case that the UAE wants your NOC? And how on earth do you get one? Meanwhile, in the provincial town of Al Ghaydah, Daniel Owen finds another side to Yemen. It's a country often associated with poverty, lawlessness, political revolt and armed jihadis - at least on the news bulletins. But a night drive with some friends showed him that even here, daily life goes on - and what really matters to some people is the price of fish.