I got a call from Marie just after she left this morning. She was at the petrol station staring at a cut fuel hose. When she left, she noted the full tank, but by the time she’d reached town a couple of minutes later, the guage showed almost empty. The fuel attendant had showed her why.
When we arrived in Bhutan we were delighted at how safe we felt. There seemed to be very little crime and we never bothered to lock the door of the car when it was parked at home. That feeling of safety disappeared when some very young kids stole Marie’s bag right out of a taikwondo class. Then the fuel attendants started checking under the car every time we went to fill up. We call our Maruti a lego car because it’s so easy to fix when anything breaks. The mechanics just clip a part off and clip a new one on.
Unfortunately, this design includes a rubber pipe between the petrol flap and the tank, all exposed under the car. Young thieves have learned that they can easily cut the hose and syphon the fuel from the tank, making a quick Nu with very little effort. In this case, they slashed the wheel as they did so. Luckily, I was going to take the car to the garage this week to replace that tyre as it was totally bald.
Our apartment block is meant to be very secure, with gates over the driveway and the landlord’s flat overlooking the gate. This is just another in a long line of frustrations with the new place. We begin to wonder if the move was worth it.