Job Discussion Forums

[disimp]

Kia Ora!
Am curious to find out what things/items/objects/resources/toiletries/
clothes etc you wished you had taken to the UAE but didnt.

[Sheikh N Bake]

Tell you what you can bring, something a lot of newbies are scared to death to, thinking they'll get thrown in jail if discovered: pack all your uncensored DVDs in a couple of those little CD-toting pouches. I recorded US satellite movies and TV onto 8-hour DVDs and saved dozens of them for UAE viewing later...since I can't stand watching censored programming--especially censored movies (ever try to watch the Gulf-sanitized version of American Beauty?). The Showtime satellite system in the Middle East offers decent uncensored, premium movie channels at a reasonable price, however; it's just that the lag time between theatrical release and sat TV viewing is about three years.

[veiledsentiments]

If you are absolutely wedded to a certain home brand of something (no idea what sex you are) but cosmetics, or over-the-counter medications, or underwear - bring a year's worth. If you take any rather new prescription drug, bring enough just in case it is not there yet. I think that you will find that there is little not available and acceptable substitutes for everything. The difference is that not all things are there all the time.

If you have any hobbies, bring your materials. Books are expensive, so you might want to bring a supply if you are a reader. If you are a cook, you might want to bring your favorite utensils.

As to clothes, remember the culture and the temperature. There are plenty of clothes shops and tailors for replacements. I have narrow feet and I have never found shoe narrow sizes anywhere but the US.

But... you can always have things mailed/shipped to you if you can't find something.

VS

[Sheikh N Bake]

I remember once there was a nice prescription medication I wanted but I couldn't get it in the Middle East. I forget which med it was...but anyway, it can happen.

Safestway, a supermarket on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, offers those little US things you sometimes may crave if you're from the US, like real maple syrup, Tropicana orange juice (at $10 a liter), etc. It's the only store I've seen over here that's partially home away from home.

[Kaspar Hauser]

Vitamins and other over the counter stuff that is easily available and cheap as h*ll in the USA. In the USA you can buy a huge bottle of whatever vitamin you want for next to nothing at Wal-Mart, but in much of the world they're sold in tiny bottles at high prices. And a lot of the over the counter stuff you can buy in the USA is totally unavailable overseas--by that I mean antacid tablets, various cold remedies, various oddball supplements like Saw Palmetto (whatever that is) etc. On the other hand, the nice thing about living in the UAE is that you don't need a prescription for anything. You want antibitoics? Just go to the pharmacy and buy 'em.

[veiledsentiments]

[disimp]

Thats true, the food I'll crave will be marmite!! Thanks for your ideas guys.

[Bob Gorn]

There is very little that cannot be found at some price in the UAE. However, I would take a large supply of any important medications. This is not because you cannot find them, but sometimes the whole country will inexplicably "run out" of important medications. I was told that people come from places like Iraq (before the current occupation) where such medicines were not available and buy out the whole supply.

Also, some cold medications are not available -I guess banned because they can be used to make meth. I'd bring a good Costco-sized supply of anything I used regularly.

My wife would recommend bringing bedsheets. Most of the ones that are available in the UAE are of miserable quality, and good quality sheets are very dear. Also, fitted sheets can be hard to find.

[stoth1972]

Bob Gorn is right about the bedsheets, though I don't know that the mattress sizes match up to those in your home country.

I always thought the selection of athletic trainers was limited compared to the US and a bit more expensive. If you're an odd clothing size, sometimes bringing a few items with you until you find your feet is a good way to start. Like VS suggested, there are loads of tailors who can copy your faves. The trousers sold ready made tend to have tremendously long inseams (think Burshka or whatever that shop is).

I wore contact lenses at the time, and found that it was much cheaper to buy lots of saline and solution here and take it over...was a bit pricey in the UAE in comparison. I found the water there to be quite harsh, so I brought dye-free, fragrance free clothes washing liquid which I never did find in the UAE (aside from the scented baby detergent).

You should have no problem finding Marmite there, though!

[omanized]

I don't know about the UAE but here in Oman, it is impossible to find only deoderant stick ( Right Gaurd etc..) Of course they have anti-persperant (sp?) deoderant but that is the aluminum oxide stuff which is bad for you and feels like pasting glue on to your underarm.

I buy 8-10 for the year and they last just long enough.

omzd

[disimp]

Ha! How interesting, bedsheets, medication, decent deoderant, uncensored DVDs and running shoes can be hard to find but getting my hands on marmite wont be a problem. Thats amazing.

OK, so do the big scary dudes at the airport take much of an interest in pills (not that I'd bring a massive stack) but maybe a few headache pills and a few runny nose pills??? And what about THE pill??? Spose it pays to bring a years supply???

[Sheikh N Bake]

Nah, Dubai entry is fairly painless and Customs people are not interested in what you describe.

On a tangential topic, I always used to breeze through the Dubai airport, but the other day I arrived at midnight and it took 2 full hours to get out, and that's without checked luggage. The bus ride alone from my plane (out of Paris) to the terminal took at least half an hour! There was a bus traffic jam, literally, on the tarmac! Just too many flights arriving then , I suppose, but it was not pleasant, and the passport area was hot. And subcontinental laborer guys behind me poking me with their elbows because they didn't know about Personal Space in international passport lines and thought they were at the Dhaka post office or someplace. I instructed the guy about Space. It was a teacher-centered, teachable moment in queu management.

Be prepared. Take water. Or at least local coins--there's a vending machine in the hall.

[veiledsentiments]

Oh yes... nothing worse than arriving with a couple of planes from the subcontinent... one of those complete cultural immersions. I had no problem finding general over-the-counter medications, you just needed to know the chemical rather than the advertised name back home. Ask for Naproxin rather than Alleve or whatever. Same with cold meds. There are some very good pharmacists... just ask them. Many people use pharmacists instead of doctors.

There are BC pills, but probably not your brand.

I also took sheets because I want knits and I could only find them back home. I took king sized, unfitted sheets, and then they fit every size bed.

VS

[stoth1972]

You guys must remember the old terminal...some guy would stand up on a podium of sorts and start calling out the names of the visas he had in his hand.

It's funny that Omzd can find anti-perspirant but not deodorant. When I arrived in Sharjah in 1998 the Spinney's on King Faisal only carried deodorant w/ the exception of one antiperspirant. Needless to say, I smelled like Teen Spirit for much of the year.

Since the OP seems to be a woman (sorry in advance, guys)...if you're really picky about tampons, you might bring your own supply for a couple months until you sort out other options (that sounds bad). They have lots of Russian brands at Carre Four as well as a couple 'models' of popular American brands also available at Spinney's and Choithram's. I just had a hard time finding my preferred style.

[Jreng]

Don't bring your dog.