Friday, December 30, 2011

UAE Mall Culture: There are other things to do:


There are a number of malls across the United Arab Emirates, and a great deal of them are mostly full almost all of the time. This is partly because there are so many tourists in the country, partly because its too hot to breathe outside and partly because everything you could ever need is in the mall. At the end of this post, I’ll put a list of malls and my opinions of them (not everyone agrees with my opinion, but you’re reading this blog, and really have nothing else to go on.)

Before that, however, I just want to let you know there is so much more to the UAE than malls, and I’ll try to put some of that in here. As always feel free to question, criticise and get in touch.

How about we start with the beach? There are so many places to go to the beach in the emirates, some private ones with facilities that are attached to in hotels that you have to pay for, free government ones which are always busy, and some public ones that you pay to enter, but have facilities. My favourite type of beach, is the open beach that’s hidden behind a bush or road, that nobody goes to and feels like it belongs just to you, if you look around, you’ll find a lot of these.

Beaches

I’ll go through a couple in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Fujairah just to give you an idea of what’s available. Please note in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, there are some restrictions on how you dress on the beach. The rules do apply in other emirates but in Dubai and Fujairah, its quite lax.

The Abu Dhabi Municipality has recently renovated the entire corniche area, complete with little swimming areas dotted around (see image). They’re clean and quite nice. These beaches have also recently got Blue Flag status from the UN; a massive achievement for the emirate and something Dubai has been trying to do for quite a while. There are lots of walking areas, restaurants and other points of interest on the corniche. It can be a pain to get to at the weekend, because of traffic.

Sharjah has some lovely beaches, I haven’t been in a while, but many are free and the water is a lovely colour with shallow, lapping waves. Al Khan Beach covers a long stretch of land, with lots of facilities and the Hamriya Lagoon beach is excellent for jet skis and windsurfers. The beaches in Sharjah do tend to have more litter than elsewhere but the water is generally clean.

Al Mamzar beach is a family spot with picnic tables and lots of parking. It’s close to both Sharjah and Dubai and quite popular on public holidays.

In Dubai, practically all of Jumeirah Beach Road has a beach, hence the name! The most popular is Jumeirah Open Beach, which is situated next to the Dubai Marine Hotel, its free to enter, enough parking, walking/ rollerblading/ running space with a little cafeteria.

There’s also Jumeirah Beach Park, which costs around 10 dirhams per car to enter with a beach, play park for kids, picnic area, cafeteria and reasonable bathrooms. It also has a day just for ladies on Monday. (While on that note, Wild Wadi, my favourite Dubai Waterpark has a ladies-only evening every Thursday during the summer. However if you want a ladies’ evening because you want to avoid unwanted attention, this is not the place to be and I do prefer to go during the week with visiting family)

Fujairah is a beach town, and you can relax at a free beach with looming mountains as a backdrop. There is good parking and a beach park in Fujairah But unless you have a massive picnic, not fussy about bathrooms or live in Fujairah, I would suggest checking into one of the hotels in the emirate at least for part of the day, because coming across a bathroom that is amenable may be difficult. It costs around 150 dirhams for an adult for using the beach and swimming facilities at hotels.

Camping

During the summer, its far too hot but weekends during winter are amazing for camping. Because the UAE has a Bedouin culture, you’re more or less free to camp wherever you like in the desert. There are a number of sites that are better than others and the Hatta pools areas or near the Fujairah mountains have some excellent secluded spots. You are also always likely to come across friendly goat or camel herders who smile or wave but cant speak English, so don’t ask for directions! Tents and other camping gear are very reasonably priced in grocery stores like Carrefour or Geant. Along the way to your camp site, you are more than likely to come across a number of little stores that sell weird plastic inflatable toys but also amazing firewood. If you’re not sure about the terrain or where to go, I would suggest buying an Explorer book or Lonely Planet which is likely to have a number of excellent ideas for camping spots and how to get to them.

Go Karting, Jet Skiing…and other stuff

In Dubai’s Jebel Ali area and Motor City areas there are facilities for go-karting. It’s quite a fun way to spend a few hours, especially if you have kids. The one at Jebel Ali is around half the price (60 aed for 30 mins) of motor city (120 aed for 30 mins) and a karting-expert has told me its got better karts. I don’t know the difference, so can’t really say. The one at motor-city also has an indoor karting area and is attached to a laser-drome place. It’s fun to go here if you’re a big group of people, get into teams of two and work out military strategies using laser guns against the other team. It’s also a good place for team-building exercises.

Jet Skis can be hired and used at most beaches in the UAE. In Dubai there are restrictions, and I believe Um Suqeim beach is the only legal jet-ski designated area. You will also need a license and a registered jet ski. It’s not the case in other emirates, but should be since many swimmers have died at the hands of careless jet-ski riders.

Sky-Diving

Um Al Quwain has a sky-diving school attached to its Aeroclub, there have been some good reviews, even though it is out of the way for some people.

There is also Sky Dive Dubai, of which His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum is a patron of; he also recently got his sky dive license from there.

And of course, you could always go to the indoor skydive area at Mirdiff City Centre Mall, which apparently gives you the same thrill. It is, obviously, a very different thing to jumping out of a plane at 10, 000 metres on the back of someone you don’t know.

Swimming with the Dolphins

This can be done at the Dubai Dolphinarium and at Atlantis, the Palm. It costs just over 900 dirhams at Atlantis, but not sure of prices at the Dolphinarium

I have to admit that I wont do this again because I did feel sorry for these creatures that they were made to perform for me. They really should be out in the wild.

Sea Diving

There are a host of places to dive in Dubai and Fujairah and also a large number of places that can train you for a PADI license. The ones I know of that are PADI Accredited are Al Boom Diving, Divers Down ,Scuba Dubai 7 Seas Divers, the sandy beach diving centre and Scuba 2000

Souqs

There are a few good souqs in Dubai. For shopping the ones to visit are Naif Souq  (pronounced Knife and is in Deira) and Mina Bazaar.

Mina Bazar is in Bur Dubai and has an array of both western and easten clothes, lots of salwar kamis for men and women (Pakistani-style dress), saris, shoes, jewellery stores, perfume stores with brands at discounted prices and great Indian food restaurants. The Dubai museum is close by, as is the Arabian Courtyard hotel.

Naif Souq has lots of ethnic gear, jewellery, harem-style trousers, abayas, headscarves, neck-scarves, bakhoor (incense). There are some great abaya tailors in the area and if you like to sew there are haberdasheries dotted along most of it.

The spice and gold souqs are very close to Naif, about a 15 minute walk-on a few winding and extremely busy roads along the way you’ll pass oud perfume stores, roadside shawarma cafes (4 dirhams and delicious- and if you’re vegetarian like me, they are happy to make a chip wrap with pickles and mayo, even if you do get odd looks!), haberdashers, tailors, mobile phone stores, gadget stores, clothes and shoe stores and a host of others I cant remember. A lot of the shawarma stores do fresh juices, and a sweet-melon (Sham-maam) juice is the perfect thing to accompany you down the road.

A day-plan can be spent walking around the bustling streets of Mina Bazaar, taking a short food break in one of the lovely little restaurants with authentic Indian food, having a look around the museum. After this you could walk to the creek and crossing on an Abra (boat) for 1 dirham. When you get to the other side, go through the pedestrian bridge and you end up at the spice souq where you can get things like the usually ridiculous expensive saffron for half the price of conventional stores, chat to the amicable stall owners, buy incense- even frankincense and myrrh (there’s also a tiny museum here) and a short walk later you’re at the gold souq, which has so many stores, you just don’t know where to look…at the other end of the gold souq, walk all the way down the road to Naif Road which is about 20 minutes. The souq is next to the police station and on two floors. You can get all types of bargains and tat and its just interesting to see everything.

After all of this, around 10 hours later is my average calculation, take a taxi back, as you will be to shattered to walk the way back. Well I usually am anyway.

Malls

I really couldn’t list every mall in the UAE but here are some below with a one-sentence review.

Dubai Mall- enormous and with musical fountain from 7pm onwards, next to the Burj Khalifa. It’s very easy to lose your bearings in this mall.

Dubai Marina Mall- perfect size with everything you could need.

Dubai Mercato Mall-Good size, good location, play area for kids like most malls. Not an amazing selection of stores.

Mall of the Emirates- big but manageable when you know it. Tends to be a hangout for snotty teenagers at the weekend. Indoor Ski Slope.

Ibn Battuta Mall-This mall has the best cinema- and the only IMAX-and people don’t talk on their mobiles like elsewhere in the UAE and good store selection.

Mirdiff City Centre- good selection of restaurants, easy to get to and has an indoor Sky Diving area.

Deira City Centre- always madly full, I tend to stay away unless absolutely necessary, which is never.

Abu Dhabi Marina Mall- really nice mall next to the corniche, lots of traffic at the weekends

Abu Dhabi Mall- large range of stores, lots of coffee shops and easy to get to.

Sharjah City Centre- Very similar to the other city centre malls, nothing much to report.

Sharjah Taawun Mall-reasonably sized, not much to report. I wouldn’t go here to specifically see it but useful to know it exists if you plan to live in Sharjah.


Now that I’ve written all this, I realise there are at least 20 more things that I haven’t mentioned for people who live here or are visiting to do but am leaving for another post. This is me, signing off.  

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Getting Dewa/ Adwea/ Sewa/ Fewa (Water and Electricity)



If you know what to do, this is a very simple procedure and takes about an hour in total to complete. The Water and Electricity Authority will take about two days to put your power on so factor in this time before you move in.

You will need you passport, visa and copies and 1,000 dirhams in cheque or cash for a deposit. You will also need your tenancy contract and your landlord’s passport or visa copy.

These need to be taken down to the offices, you wait in a queue for what seems like years and when it’s your turn it should be a simple data entry process.

In Dubai, you can register online for DEWA once you’ve got your customer service number. It takes about a week to get approved but after that you never have to see a DEWA office again and can pay your bills at home. You could also pay at some petrol stations,

In Abu Dhabi you can call 800 555 for all government-related questions. The staff will be helpful and usually speak excellent English.

These are the numbers for ADWEA Abu Dhabi Contact Centre: 800 2332 and Al Ain Contact Centre: 800 9008. However Abu Dhabi government employees very seldom have to pay for their rent, water or electricity and usually Abu Dhabi residents will have water and electricity included in their rent.

I’ll do a list of offices for DEWA below and other authorities also, if I can find them!

It’s is a similar procedure for getting a Du/ Etisalat home service and you also need a deposit to start one of these also.

What I would suggest is always keep a copy of your landlord’s passport and visa, your passport copy and via, your tenancy contract and passport pictures in your car. Its ridiculous the amount of times you need your passport copy or passport pictures to get things done here and just makes life all the more simpler.

These are DEWA office opening times. The number for the main operator is 04 601 9999. If I’ve left anything out, feel free to leave a comment or email.



#
Customer Service Centres
Opening Timings
1.
Saturday to Thursday
7:30 AM to 8:00 PM
2.
Sunday to Thursday
7:30 AM to 8:00 PM
Saturday 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM
3.
Saturday to Thursday
7:30 AM to 8:00 PM
4.
Sunday to Thursday
7:30 AM to 2:00 PM
5.
Sunday to Thursday
7:30 AM to 8:00 PM
Saturday 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM
6.
Sunday to Thursday
7:30 AM to 2:00 PM
7.
Sunday to Thursday
7:30 AM to 2:00 PM
8.
Sunday to Thursday
7:30 AM to 8:00 PM
Saturday 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM
9.
Sunday to Thursday
7:30 AM to 8:00 PM
Saturday (Bill Payment Only)
7:30 AM to 2:00 PM
10.
Saturday to Thursday
7:30 AM to 8:00 PM
11.
Sunday to Thursday
9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
12.
Sunday to Thursday
9:00 AM to 3:30 PM

Friday, December 16, 2011

Public Transport Versus Car


Before I start, I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog since I started it a couple months ago. If the stats are correct, hundreds have read it so far and I hope it’s been helpful in giving you an understanding of what the UAE is like.

Most people in the UAE prefer to use cars, the government has been doing its best over the last couple of years to encourage people to use the metro and bus system and it has been a somewhat successful campaign because of the economic advantages.

Using the metro is really good for the environment and should absolutely be encouraged, which is what I would like to do in this post. But I have to admit if you’ve got guests, you will need a car.

Also, after speaking to regular metro users a lot, I find saving cash is one of big advantages of taking the metro and bus system for the moment.

Personally, on average I use the metro to work two out of five days in the week. Some weeks I use it every day, but usually its not always possible because I regularly have out of town guests and its not convenient lugging them around on the metro.

The only reason I can use the metro with reasonable ease is that the station is a ten-minute walk from my apartment block and then a ten-minute walk from my stop to my offices.

This is one of the reasons why taking the metro is difficult in Dubai: the lack of pavements. There are very few places to walk in Dubai and doing so can be quite dangerous because you will encounter roadworks in quite a large part of the city, which also makes walking a dusty experience.

This means you will have to take one of the many feeder buses that the RTA provides, which aren’t always available because they’re tend to be quite late.

This is a serious hindrance to an otherwise excellent system, the metro itself is always on time, always clean and very cheap. The cheapest in the world, we were told when it started up two years ago, though I am not sure if this is still true.
Buses in the city have gotten better and even cheaper than the metro but they are possibly the slowest mode of transport in the UAE. The buses are clean, air-conditioned and women get priority seating. But this mode is for people who will leave home 2 hours before they need to get into work. Also, the RTA drivers are always falling asleep and they drive ridiculously fast, so avoid it if you’re prone to motion sickness.

In Abu Dhabi, the bus drivers are much nicer and the buses seem cleaner, possibly because they are newer. The bus service are fewer than in Dubai, but they are more likely to be on time.

I have no idea about Sharjah bus services, but am sure it’s awful. Sorry, ignore that. That’s just my Sharjah bias.

Of course, one could always hire a taxi if you don’t want to buy a car but because of the high monthly cost, you may as well buy a car.

If I lived in Bur Dubai but worked in Deira, I would take a water taxi across the creek to work, or an abra. They’re cheap, convenient and just a lovely way to travel.

What I would suggest if you’re moving over and would like to use public transport rather than buy a car is make sure your apartment is very close to a metro station with a good walking area, and if your office is too, that’s a bonus. The main malls and places you’re likely to go have metro stations attached to them, which is useful. And, if you get guests but not very often, just hire a car for the week or however long they’re staying. You could hire a car for around 1800 dirhams a month, which is quite affordable.


Transferring your drivers license:

Most European, South African, Australian driving licenses are transferable in the UAE. All you need is a valid eye test, both the card and paper part and a nominal amount of money for typing. If you go to one of the many conveniently located RTA license offices, you will be able to convert your license. If you can’t do an eye test anywhere, there should be facilities at the RTA office. Depending on the time of day, the entire process including eye test shouldn’t take more than an hour. 

Sunday, December 11, 2011

The UAE Turns Forty (December 2nd, 2011)…


Because of this anniversary, this is a semi-tribute blog. I had originally started writing this on November 31st but fell quite ill and then had a host of issues following that, which is why this is up so late.

What I realised when covering the National Day celebrations is that so many people are unaware of the UAE’s pearl diving history, that not many people know the significance of Bani Yas and that very few people are aware of the trucial states.

So I thought I’d put that right.

Before I do, I must stress, there are some excellent books on this subject (Look up Chris Davidson or Jim Krane) my warblings are a very condensed form of history but will possibly interest you enough to make you want to look it all up yourself.

Sheikh Zayed Mosque at night
Bani Yas: This was the UAE’s biggest tribe, made up of numerous divisions. They were a section originally based in Liwa-where the annual date festival is held, you must check it out- and this section of the tribe gave rise to the Al Nahyan’s –Abu Dhabi’s ruling family. Bani Yas was quite well-regarded across Arabia for both its military prowess and also because it was such a large tribe. What I admire most about Bani Yas is that it gave rise to quite a big number of noble families including the Maktoums who now rule Dubai, but I am also impressed by the love of art, literature and culture that its members promote and that is very evident across the country to this day. The Sheikh Zayed Mosque exemplifies this. Look at my amazing pictures of this stunning piece of architecture (and try not to steal them without crediting please!)



Light show at Sheikh Zayed Mosque
Trucial States: Before the UAE started in 1971, there was already a lot of trade going on in Dubai (which had a tiny little port, with just one bulb that had to be kept on all night, presumably so ships knew they were close to land). The rulers of Dubai had a very long-sighted vision and had signed a deal to be under the protection of Britain. It also offered a tax exemption to foreign businessmen. The city itself was dusty with little mud huts that served its mainly-Bedouin population. People from across the water had come to Dubai to trade and many ended up settling there.

Oil had been discovered around 30 years prior to the country’s independence and it was a definite blessing-more so than in other places. This was since the UAE had long relied on pearl diving for its income-in every one thousand or so oysters, divers would find a pearl. However, a short while before oil as discovered in the Emirates, cultured pearls, which could be produced in the thousands with a definite shape started to become all the rage. Suddenly, the UAE could no longer compete with the international market of cultured pearls.

The Trucial states originally included Qatar and Bahrain and in 1972, after the UK decided to end its treaty with the 7 Trucial Sheikhdoms, the rulers decided to form their own state. Since an agreement could not be reached with these two Sheikhdoms in 1971, 6 emirates went on to form the UAE and Bahrain and Qatar became independent states. The seventh emirate, Ras Al Khaimah joined in 1972.

Random Facts: Things I find quite interesting are that even though the currency of the dirham was introduced in 1973, Indian traders and workers here were still allowed to buy and sell things in rupees (I’m not if this was the case for other currencies) and the previous currency had been called the Gulf Rupee. As a result, in parts of Deira and Jumeirah, if you meet someone who’s been here for over thirty years, they’ll still quote you prices calling the currency ‘Rupee’ instead of dirham, which is confusing, but quaint.

Another weirdness (in my opinion) is that Sharjah (yes, Sharjah!!!) had the only functioning airstrip, built by the British in 1939, so for a long time, this is where commercial flights landed-after much discomfort of travelling from Bahrain. Chris Davidson says in his book that this meant flights to Sharjah were few and far between and so Sheikh Rashid told his majlis that an airport was really needed in Dubai. They couldn’t see why it was needed, and let's forget the tourism and travel aspect for a second…but can you imagine a world without Dubai Duty free?

The Islands- View from the Burj Khalifa
It’s incredibly impressive what the UAE has done in the short time its been around. To illustrate; an aunt who’s been married for some time recently said to me that she’s asked her husband to renovate their home and he’s dawdled over the matter until weeks became months which became years. Fifteen years later she is now able to say to him we still haven’t renovated our house and the UAE’s managed to build up an entire country in that time. I don’t think my uncle was impressed.


Friday, November 25, 2011

Cost of Living in the UAE- updated


I’m updating this because I have had a few emails from people who are bringing families over, people want me to include gym membership costs (they are on another post on this blog but I agree should be included in this one too) and also because the cost of living in the UAE is rising while salaries remain stagnant. This can be seen in the rise in the cost of apartments in Sharjah and Ajman- which used to be considered cheaper places to live, now they are not far off prices in Dubai
Also there are new costs being added every day, this includes ID cards, housing fees and ridiculously high cooling charges, usually incurred by the tenant.
This is a much more inclusive post than the previous one, it includes petrol prices, housing fees and Salik. For your information, the UAE has one of the highest costs of petrol in the gulf; in Saudi Arabia, it’s less than half the price we pay!
The positive news is more companies are expected to hire in the coming months after the lethargy of the last few years, so that should help boost the job market.
Please note, am not an accountant and maths is certainly not a strong point but this time am working on AN AVERAGE of the cost of rent in 3 emirates. Costs like Salik only apply to Dubai, so take that cost off if you’re living in a different emirate (Note: People living in all Emirates will need a Salik tag if you visit Dubai)
Things to note out of interest:
  • Getting a small car in the UAE, like a Toyota Yaris is quite affordable (about 1800 dirhams a month) however it’s certainly not advisable. This is mainly because most people here have enormous cars and drive like they’ve never been taught- it can be quite a harrowing experience in a small car. A small SUV like a Hyundai Tucson, Honda CRV, Lexus RX should work fine.
  • Using the metro is only convenient if you have an hour to spare getting into work and live near a metro station- homes in Mirdif, Motor City, Arabian Ranches are not close to a metro station and would make the journey into work extremely difficult
  •  Paying your rent can be quite difficult, since landlords insist on four cheques a year. Some landlords insist on the entire rent amount at the start of the year- don’t fall for this; this used to be common practice pre-2008 but its not anymore. You can do it in 4 cheques; it still hurts though, when 20,000 dirhams goes out of your account every three months. And note: Unless you’re with an Islamic bank, they will not take kindly if the money isn’t in your account when its supposed to be. Try not to bounce a cheque in the UAE, it could land you in jail.
  • With the cooling charges, usually its the tenant foots the bill, it’s high. These are just averages- you will have to pay a supposedly refundable deposit (I’ve never got mine back) as well make as a monthly payment
  •  Similarly there is a 5% supposedly refundable deposit on the flat you take, the landlords I’ve had in recent years have only ever refunded me the smallest dividend back for ‘repairs’
  • Register as a tenant with your land department, if you don’t they may not be able to help you when there is an issue with the landlord or a dodgy estate agent
  • As always, if there is anything you would like to know, feel free to email me, hope I haven’t left anything out! Let me know if I have!


·      All prices in AED
Expense
Cost Per Year
Emirate
Rent-Studio
 38,000
Dubai
Rent-Studio
 45,000
Abu Dhabi
Rent-Studio
 35,000
Sharjah
Rent-One Bed
 50,000
Dubai
Rent-One Bed
 60,000
Abu Dhabi
Rent-One Bed
 48,000
Sharjah
Rent-Two Bed
 62,000
Dubai
Rent-Two Bed
 75,000
Abu Dhabi
Rent-Two Bed
 60,000
Sharjah
Rent- Villa
120,000
Dubai
Rent- Villa
180,000
Abu Dhabi
Rent- Villa
 90,000
Sharjah




Cost per month

Groceries Single
2,000

Groceries Family
4,500

Lights and Water
300

Housing Fees
400

Car
2000

Petrol
800

Salik
400

Internet, TV
600

Cleaner
500

Entertainment
2000

Gym Membership
400

Monthly Cooling
550

Rent Deposit
5 % of annual rent

Cooling Deposit
2000