1. Deliveries Everyone, I mean EVERYONE delivers here and there are motorbike delivery guys everywhere. I also came across this cute delivery bike outside our building for very local deliveries from this cafe.
2. Greetings When local Emirati men greet each other, if they are very close friends or relatives, they often touch noses while they shake hands.
3. Taxis The taxis are all beige but have different coloured roofs. When you look down from our apartment tower window, they look like fun toy cars.
4. Milk Fresh milk only lasts a maximum of 3 days in the fridge so don't be buying a gallon if you can't use it up in 3 days!
5. Incense Various shops in the malls sell incense and often will have an incense burner in the middle of the corridor. Me, not a huge fan - I find it migraine-inducing and strong enough to make your eyes water, therefore, unfortunately I don't visit any of the other shops in that general area either.
6. Bus stops The bus stops are pretty swanky and are air-conditioned!
7. Signage I thought these signs to the loos were the cutest!
8. Sprayers And speaking of loos, the toilet stalls all have hand sprayers in them (including in our apartment). Apparently locals are very fussy about their... ahem....cleanliness and rinse after using the facilities. I have also found out that it is customary for Muslims to wash their feet before they pray so many use these same sprayers for just that. Luckily most washrooms have an attendant and hopefully they are quick to mop up after each stall is vacated so you don't have to slosh through a puddle or soak your pant hems.
9. Foggy! Much like the way my glasses fog up going inside from the cold winter temperatures in Canada, my glasses fog up whenever I step outside in Dubai.
There you have it - a few interesting observations while getting settled into this foreign part of the world. I'm sure this is only the start of many more to come!
lisa
22 comments:
I enjoyed those Lisa. I saw those sprayers on House Hunters International.
My friend who moved to Abu Dhabi said the thing she noticed at first is how meticulously clean people are, especially the men in their white clothing.
Wow so different I love the A/C bus stops wish we had those in Germany! Incense would drive me crazy I'm not a fan. Very interesting the nose touching hand shaking.....how does your hubby say it is in business world? Im Germany every day first thing you must greet your co workers with a hand shake. Once my hubby saw someone later and shook his hand again and he was told we already greeted for the day this is not necessary. heehee ok!
great observations thanks for sharing!
Looks like a fun time learning all this new stuff - thanks for sharing! Oh, and those bus stops are the coolest I've seen!
Lisa, such interesting information. I had no idea of the "nose" custom. Will you be living there from now on, or is this just a visit?
This was fun to read. I've heard horror stories about the bathrooms in some countries that are like troughs, glad you found just the opposite in Dubai. I'd love to hear more about the culture.
Great observations Lisa! The taxis look fantastic with the coloured tops. I'm with you about incense - instant nausea for me.
lovely to see all these..especially the bus stop...
Fascinating, Lisa! I love seeing how the rest of the world lives. This was fun!
Lisa fascinating facts about Dubai and would love to hear more!!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
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Hi Lisa!
Just got all caught
up on your doings in
Dubai! So much to
take in and learn.
I think I'd go for
the apartment, maybe
with a little balcony
or a courtyard if it's
ever cool enough to
sit outside?? Loved
learning about all the
different new customs.
And LOVE your couch that
is on order!
xx Suzanne
Thanks for sharing! I could live without the incense and sprayers, but the deliveries would be quite nice :)
Lisa, I love that you are sharing all your adventures with us. It's making me very envious of your time in a foreign country but I love to see what your new life is like. Keep 'em coming.
Interesting observations. I like those bathroom signs and fabulous bus stops! Enjoy the wonderful day, Kellie xx
OK, this is REALLY interesting and a truly great blog post!! I love learning new things and of course the picture story too :) LOVELY!!! XO, Kelly
Very interesting! That bus stop looks like it would be a cool place just to hang out! Especially vs our bus stops that hardly protect you from the rain! And that's too funny about the glasses -- I never thought of it happening going inside. I guess that's because I've always lived in hot and humid Texas!
I love this feature, Lisa. Fascinating to see all the differences. Have a great weekend! xo
Fascinating photos, what a great insight into life in Dubai. I agree with you about incense...too strong.Love the bike! Have a relaxing Sunday, love Linda x
You learn something new every day, love hearing all these new things about different countries. Keep the photographs coming I find them really interesting :) Hope your settling in well
All things nice...
Wow! Fascinating! I don't know if I could get on board with using the sprayer in the public bathroom stall! Yikes!
LISA!!! how are you?!? how are things going? LOVE this post, am behind in my reading though. Seriously behind!
love Meagan
Dear Lisa, About an hour I stuck on your page and read and read.. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.. We got almost same items from Pottery Barn sale..:)) I live in Kuwait and several times I've been in Dubai..Im writing you for handheld sprayers... We muslims called "taharah", after going to bathroom we use water to clean our private parts that's why they put that spray. In different islamic countries u can find different solutions.. In Gulf region they use sprayers. For us paper tissue is not enough to clean after ... So those are not for feet :))
Anyway, I bookmarked your page and keep following you...
Best wishes..
OZlem
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