Job Discussion Forums

[inkazak]

Hello all. I recently accepted an excellent position in Oman. Are there any items that I should be absolutely certain to bring with me, that are hard to find in Oman. I am a 27 year old male. My biggest hobby is bodybuilding so I will be sure to pack a few related items...but anything else that you guys wish you had brought with you?

Thanks all.

[StampLover]

Socks and underwear. Good quality are hard to come by.

Books if you read a lot. Kinda expensive here.

Everything else is available although a bit more expensive than back in the States.

[inkazak]

Awesome! Thanks. I will be sure to pack plenty of underwear and socks. I also do love to read, so I am glad you said bring book.s I packed a few, but now I will add some more.

[veiledsentiments]

Probably makes more sense to load up a Kindle/Nook... etc.

VS

[urbanversion]

For underwear (male) I seem to recall Carrefour (french hypermarket) in muscat city centre mall, sold western sized men's shorts, as well as other good imported food, but alas, no beer:(

Is it legal to bring antihistamines, painkillers and various cough/flu medicines, lemsips (UK), for example?

[denise]

I hope it's legal to bring those things in! I usually stock up back home. You can find decent stuff in the pharmacies here, though... not in supermarkets--they have the weakest medications imaginable.

You need to go to liquor stores to buy booze, and you need a special license (very easy to obtain from the police office in Ruwi provided your employer gives you the necessary paperwork).

d

[Duffy]

Also there is the shopping mall known as Markaz al Bahj ( a bit farther up than City Centre and on the Seeb road) Here you can not only find a well stocked Al Fair (complete with many UK (Waitrose) products, but also what I think to be the best coffee/tea places. It is called "The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf" and you will find a most superior Westernised menu and service. Sometimes you just have to get there early as it is a small but most popular place.Go to www.coffeebean.com for more info.

Also, this mall has a Marks and Spencers. For those Brits among us, they will know the quality of the clothing on offer. Ok, it may be more expensive than the local Indo/Far East stuff, but every item of clothing has been designed with the Western customer in mind. For instance, when you look at a size XXL, it truly is a Western XXL and not what to our (Western) eyes is an "L" if you are lucky.

As far as medications go, Denise I disagree, I have found some pretty powerful AB's and other stuff not available in UK pharmacies without doctors scripts.

Yes the Liquor license was, for me, incredibly easy to obtain in Muscat once I had the right paperwork. In Salalah one had to attend the right CID office and if one was lucky, the right person was there. Many times he was not or there were no books available that month!! Also the limit set was varied every time.My last LP in Lala was set, as were most at 50 OMR. My latest in Muscat, 90 OMR and I could have had 120 OMR, but who the hell could drink that much?? Even now I cannot and will never fill my monthly quota.

I like listening to audiobooks.This takes the strain of reading text away and can facilititate the "theatre of the mind". A good website to start with is www.librivox.com here one can find audio versions of books that are within the public domain. The reader may sometimes not be to you liking but I would always recommend Mark of Simpsonville, South Carolina.

Even better to aficeandos of the Aubry/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian (Master &Commander etc) Read by the wonderful, yet now sadly deceased Patrick Tull - masterpices in reading.

duffy

[denise]

Mmmmm... that cafe--the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf--has the best green tea I've had in Oman!

The funny thing about the markets here--and I'm really referring to Al Fair, because it's the only one that I'll shop at--is that their supply is totally wacky and unpredictable. I noticed early on their trend of not re-stocking for a good six months, so when I see just a few last items, I hoard them (leaving one behind for the next shopper). But recently they've started stocking what I would consider specialty items. Soy ice cream, and one particular brand of tea that I always stocked up on at home because I couldn't find here. Who knows how long it will last?

d

[urbanversion]

Duffy, Good news that there is an M&S in muscat now, I do know the road you mean. That would save bringing a lot of western sized shirts and trousers with me. I definitely don't think bringing sweaters is useful, as winter in the gulf is summer by northern european standards.

One question, anywhere to buy coffee beans to have fresh coffee at home?

[Duffy]

Hi UBV,

Al Fair, Carrefours (two in Muscat) the cafe I told you about in Markes al Bahja and of course the Sultan Centre. I guess there are many other outlets selling coffee beans too.

Duffy

[urbanversion]

Cheers Duffy,

I was also forgetting the starbucks in City Centre mall...doh