Dubai: A 33-year-old German, who says he's in Dubai by accident, is leaving behind a curious trail as he moves in a quaint mini bus that doubles as his home.
The sky-blue, 1965 Oldtimer Classic Volkswagen is a vintage beauty accommodating every homely need of its owner Jens Jacob - from a kitchenette complete with a sink, refrigerator and petrol cooker to a double bed on which he is at home playing a saxophone with his 10-year-old Labrador Nea beside him.
"This is the way I've lived for 10 years," laughed Jacob, pointing to a few trunks under the bed and on the rooftop.
"I keep my clothes, documents and other stuff in them," he said.
Hailing from Bielefeld in Germany, Jacob said he had bought the vintage van for ¤4,000 (Dh24,115) and had spent an additional ¤2,000 to repair it as it was in ruins.
He said a fun trip in the van to the South of France in 2004 set him on an unlikely odyssey around the world.
"I've covered the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Italy, Croatia, Albania, Greece, Turkey and Iran so far," he said, adding that he was headed to India from Iran but had to change plans when he was refused a visa to Pakistan which he had to pass through.
"That's how I landed here eight weeks ago. While my van came on a cargo ship from Iran, I sailed aboard a passenger ship," he said.
Jacob said he had to take up a job every now and then to replenish his stocks and be able to travel along with Nea.
He said his hunt for a job in Dubai met with success two weeks ago when he was hired as a sales agent by a Satwa-based real estate company.
"Living in the van here in summer would be difficult, so I think I should move on after six months," he said.
He said he usually parks his van on the open beaches when he goes to sleep at night.
Asked to describe himself, he said, "I am crazy." And what about family? "I am single," he said.
"Girls like people who are different, but it's hard to convince them about my home."
