[Marshall878]

Thought id chuck this up on here as its a fairly large community..

Anyone on here got any experiences with Dubai and Abu Dhabi?

Im moving out there to work at the beginning of December.

Feeling a bit weird about it....massively excited but fecking scared!

[AzRiz]

I've been to Dubai twice on holiday, stayed with friends

It's a pretty cool place to be - especially if you love food []

Don't pay too much attention to the horror stories of getting arrested for talking to a girl and stuff - just don't do silly things and find out what is allowed and not allowed

[dy63]

Originally Posted by AzRiz

I've been to Dubai twice on holiday, stayed with friends

It's a pretty cool place to be - especially if you love food []

Don't pay too much attention to the horror stories of getting arrested for talking to a girl and stuff - just don't do silly things and find out what is allowed and not allowed

can you kiss and hug women in public?

[Marshall878]

Originally Posted by cupraraj

can you kiss and hug women in public?

Dont believe you can.

[dy63]

Originally Posted by Marshall878

Dont believe you can.

i have seen stories of a british woman having sex with a guy in a cab and got arrested. but will you really get arrested for (holding hands? kissing? hugging?)

would be unreal to go out there for a while. you should be well excited.

what are you doing out there if its not a personal ?

[rovers_andy]

prefer Abu Dhabi to Dubai, felt more relaxed to me. Was working there for 6 months and loved it

[makkan00]

Few tips:
-You can have sex with camels in public places but not with women.
-Only take paracetamol and all other medicines are classed as drugs as they are ignorant arabs.
-Don't get surprised if get flashed by the car behind you. They are asking you to get out of their way as V8 / V10 / V12 is common there.
-Always carry a copy of your visa/ ID. They love random checks especially if you are with beautiful ladies!
-No porno in your laptop or hard driver otherwise it is taken by custom police so they can enjoy it in their free time.
-If you are handsome, so expect some looks from Gay arabs. They will be asking your number.
-You will find naked photos of boys more than naked photos of women in their communal internet cafes.
-Don't consume alcohol in public places.


Ohhh and most of things work on links. Links with rich Arabs or Royal families which is know as 'Wasta'. English translation is 'Reference'.
If you have one or two decent rich arab friends who have links in Royal family, whole UAE is yours!
Some Arabs are very nice and very caring, mostly belong to rich families.

[gavp]

Been there on a couple of business trips, plenty of expats in all the engineering companies we deal with.
Liked it for a visit, don't think could live there though.

[baz57]

Originally Posted by rovers_andy

prefer Abu Dhabi to Dubai, felt more relaxed to me. Was working there for 6 months and loved it

Agreed!
My daughter lives there with my son in law, an airline captain.
I have visited about 4 or 5 times.
Anything else you need to know?

[Dannyrado]

Don't buy into all the crap that the media, and "down the pub" folk spat about.

You'll have a wonderful time, we go about 4 times a year to either, I've seen all the stuff that everyone says you get locked up for, and no-one bats an eyelid.

Driving standards are horrific though.

If you had sex in a public place you'd get into trouble in the UK too.

[Waspo]

Spent many a happy years in ans around the gulf regions inc UAE, Bahrain, Doha, Oman.

Found the UAE to be best for shopping and holidaying and is by the most "Relaxed" state in the region, but still be aware of their local/religious beliefs and laws.

The big 2 are Abu Dahbi and Dubai, but i actually enjoyed Sharjah, a more compacted version of the big 2

if you get stopped by the police be it uniformed or the secret ones, what ever you do how ever you feel you are wrong and they are right. Never argue and if you have a forelock start tugging it. if it escalates to arrest get a brit specialist lawyer as soon as possible and let him do the arguing and shouting. if you did what they are accusing you off then discuss this with your rep, and he will get things under way as quickly as possible, if you did not do what accused of be honest with the rep and hope you have proof/witnesses. hopefully none of this will happen to you and you will just enjoy this country for what it is "Sheer breathtaking Beauty"


The above views are what i personally experienced and are what i would do if the situation arose again, and this was 8-10 years ago, but i believe it still to be true today!

Envious or What!

[makkan00]

Originally Posted by Waspo

Spent many a happy years in ans around the gulf regions inc UAE, Bahrain, Doha, Oman.

Found the UAE to be best for shopping and holidaying and is by the most "Relaxed" state in the region, but still be aware of their local/religious beliefs and laws.

The big 2 are Abu Dahbi and Dubai, but i actually enjoyed Sharjah, a more compacted version of the big 2

if you get stopped by the police be it uniformed or the secret ones, what ever you do how ever you feel you are wrong and they are right. Never argue and if you have a forelock start tugging it. if it escalates to arrest get a brit specialist lawyer as soon as possible and let him do the arguing and shouting. if you did what they are accusing you off then discuss this with your rep, and he will get things under way as quickly as possible, if you did not do what accused of be honest with the rep and hope you have proof/witnesses. hopefully none of this will happen to you and you will just enjoy this country for what it is "Sheer breathtaking Beauty"


The above views are what i personally experienced and are what i would do if the situation arose again, and this was 8-10 years ago, but i believe it still to be true today!

Envious or What!

Care to share what happened?

[Waspo]

Originally Posted by makkan00

Care to share what happened?

A tale Sam for when you are fitting my Next upgrade.

Suffice to say that the Jebel Ali police cells and not as luxurious as so many of the hotels out there!

[Marshall878]

Originally Posted by cupraraj

would be unreal to go out there for a while. you should be well excited.

what are you doing out there if its not a personal ?

I currently work at Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group as a maintenance planner, looking after the Dutch fleet of C130's.

A job advert appeared doing the same as what i do now for a company called AMMROC, was a little out of my reach but thought "sod it" and applied. Before i know it i had an interview over Skype, a job offer, and a flight ticket on an Emirates A380 in my hand!

Originally Posted by rovers_andy

prefer Abu Dhabi to Dubai, felt more relaxed to me. Was working there for 6 months and loved it

Ive heard this about Abu Dhabi...80% expat population so they are a little less strict and open to cultural differences.

Originally Posted by makkan00

Few tips:
-You can have sex with camels in public places but not with women.
-Only take paracetamol and all other medicines are classed as drugs as they are ignorant arabs.
-Don't get surprised if get flashed by the car behind you. They are asking you to get out of their way as V8 / V10 / V12 is common there.
-Always carry a copy of your visa/ ID. They love random checks especially if you are with beautiful ladies!
-No porno in your laptop or hard driver otherwise it is taken by custom police so they can enjoy it in their free time.
-If you are handsome, so expect some looks from Gay arabs. They will be asking your number.
-You will find naked photos of boys more than naked photos of women in their communal internet cafes.
-Don't consume alcohol in public places.


Ohhh and most of things work on links. Links with rich Arabs or Royal families which is know as 'Wasta'. English translation is 'Reference'.
If you have one or two decent rich arab friends who have links in Royal family, whole UAE is yours!
Some Arabs are very nice and very caring, mostly belong to rich families.

Nice one mate thank you....

Originally Posted by Dannyrado

Don't buy into all the crap that the media, and "down the pub" folk spat about.

You'll have a wonderful time, we go about 4 times a year to either, I've seen all the stuff that everyone says you get locked up for, and no-one bats an eyelid.

Driving standards are horrific though.

If you had sex in a public place you'd get into trouble in the UK too.

Originally Posted by Waspo

Spent many a happy years in ans around the gulf regions inc UAE, Bahrain, Doha, Oman.

Found the UAE to be best for shopping and holidaying and is by the most "Relaxed" state in the region, but still be aware of their local/religious beliefs and laws.

The big 2 are Abu Dahbi and Dubai, but i actually enjoyed Sharjah, a more compacted version of the big 2

if you get stopped by the police be it uniformed or the secret ones, what ever you do how ever you feel you are wrong and they are right. Never argue and if you have a forelock start tugging it. if it escalates to arrest get a brit specialist lawyer as soon as possible and let him do the arguing and shouting. if you did what they are accusing you off then discuss this with your rep, and he will get things under way as quickly as possible, if you did not do what accused of be honest with the rep and hope you have proof/witnesses. hopefully none of this will happen to you and you will just enjoy this country for what it is "Sheer breathtaking Beauty"


The above views are what i personally experienced and are what i would do if the situation arose again, and this was 8-10 years ago, but i believe it still to be true today!

Envious or What!

Nice one guys, some real experiences rather than the crap people seem to spew on ex-pat forums and TripAdvisor etc.

Im open to the change in culture and im not one of these "Im British, Im right, My way is the right way" people so i should be ok. I cant wait to go exploring rather than waste my evenings in the gym and watching Netflix like i do here!

Going to be weird working Sunday to Thursday and not celebrating Xmas....especially as im heading out 3 weeks before Xmas but oh well!

Going to miss the 3 series....only had it since April!

[SiKkBaSs]

Go to Abu Dhabi at least twice a year for business.

- Respect their religion and way of life
- Police and legalities are annoying and always think they're correct. If you get their attention, have your story backed with a full audit trail
- Take a lot of funds

Follow the above and you'll have no problems.

[makkan00]

Originally Posted by Marshall878

I currently work at Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group as a maintenance planner, looking after the Dutch fleet of C130's.

A job advert appeared doing the same as what i do now for a company called AMMROC, was a little out of my reach but thought "sod it" and applied. Before i know it i had an interview over Skype, a job offer, and a flight ticket on an Emirates A380 in my hand!

Is it for their ministry of defence?

If I was you, I would have asked sponsored trip to their company before signing the paper. And trust me that happens and they allow you to visit it before you sign the contract.

Your package should have;
- Decent holidays
- Return tickets to UK (once / year at least and preferably twice / year)
- Decent accomodation (usually bunglow with swimming pools)
- Driver to drive you around till you sort out license there
- Family living expenses
- Company car with petrol covered for your business trips


I have been offered tax free job in Qatar. Package was very good and I asked for a sponsored trip. We agreed that if I accept the job, they will pay. If I say 'No' after visiting, then I will return them the cost of stay (ticket was still covered).
I ended up returning them their money as Qatar was not developed at that time.

Good luck with your venture

[Marshall878]

Im actually going as a contractor so certain perks have been forfeited, however, from what they said in the interview, they only use the agency for the first year then offer permanent positions because the agency takes 20%! Additional perks will be negotiated if they offer a permanent position im sure.

As a contractor, i get;

- 25 days PAID holiday...which is rare for a connie.
- Sick Pay.
- Flights too and from the UK every 6 months.
- 4* hotel, pool, gym, breakfast, laundry, wifi. (Or i can take a 350AED per night allowance to sort myself an apartment or similar, however id rather keep costs down atm)
- £500 a month taxi allowance.

Unfortunately no company car nor family living expenses as im going alone, but i do get expenses for food, drink, etc etc.

Im only 25 and it seemed a great opportunity to not only gain some experience, but a chance to see a bit of the world and develop myself personally.

[hey joe]

Originally Posted by Marshall878

and not celebrating Xmas....especially as im heading out 3 weeks before Xmas but oh well!

In my experience, most if not all the International hotels in the Gulf region "do" Xmas (and New Year). In fact some of the best Xmas's away from home (with or without wife + kids) have been in the Gulf (eg Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain, even 'dry' Kuwait - I used to travel a lot !!)

Ramadan month can be tricky - and sometimes coincides with Xmas/New Year - but how strictly it is observed seems to vary from year to year and place to place

[makkan00]

Originally Posted by Marshall878

Im actually going as a contractor so certain perks have been forfeited, however, from what they said in the interview, they only use the agency for the first year then offer permanent positions because the agency takes 20%! Additional perks will be negotiated if they offer a permanent position im sure.

As a contractor, i get;

- 25 days PAID holiday...which is rare for a connie.
- Sick Pay.
- Flights too and from the UK every 6 months.
- 4* hotel, pool, gym, breakfast, laundry, wifi. (Or i can take a 350AED per night allowance to sort myself an apartment or similar, however id rather keep costs down atm)
- £500 a month taxi allowance.

Unfortunately no company car nor family living expenses as im going alone, but i do get expenses for food, drink, etc etc.

Im only 25 and it seemed a great opportunity to not only gain some experience, but a chance to see a bit of the world and develop myself personally.

Good luck. And surely when you get permanent position, you get more perks.
In other way you have one year to develop good relations with top managers, if you wish to extend your contract.

[themanthatcan]

I've only ever been in Dubai on a brief stopover to Sydney so never left the airport, so rather than any useful information I have a joke for you:

What's the difference between Dubai and Abu Dhabi?
Dubai don't watch the Flintstones, but Abu Dhabi do

[Marshall878]

Originally Posted by themanthatcan

I've only ever been in Dubai on a brief stopover to Sydney so never left the airport, so rather than any useful information I have a joke for you:

What's the difference between Dubai and Abu Dhabi?
Dubai don't watch the Flintstones, but Abu Dhabi do

I was repeating that joke at every opportunity when i first heard it

Id be surprised if they did watch the Flintstones...they seem pretty strict on media out there!!

[kingy89]

I'm in the RAF as an aircraft technician and loads of guys have left to go work for Ammroc on the UAE C17s. Some left years ago and still work there as they love it out there. I keep thinking about going for a year or two just to save a load of money so that I could come back to the UK and pretty much buy a house.