Steve vRS

I have the chance with work to go there for a 6 month secondment. Anyone else worked there?

What is it like (I know it's hot and you can't get a bacon sandwich)?

Can you buy beer?

Ta

Steve

tony de wonderful

It's fine to work in for a while.

Plenty of facilities for shopping, eating etc. You can drink in certain places if you want.

Don't get on the wrong side of the law though, it's not like here in the UK.

The Zohan

Yes you can get a bacon sandwich, contrary to popular opinion pork and pork related products are available in the supermarkets! Booze is best bought on entering the country in the AD duty free - which you can do on the way into the country! Once in the country and to buy booze there you need a residence permit and booze is only sold in certain outlets, not in supermarkets. the alternative is to get a mate who has a permit to get it or take a fecking long drive (160KM i guess) to al Sharjah as there are places you can buy it there.

99.99% of car drivers communicate by using their car horns which is irritating. Standard of driving is atrocious at best!

Plenty of shopping, beaches some bars, mostly in hotels which there are quite a few!

It is around 100KM from Dubai so easy and quick to get there as well.

Property is not cheap to rent and often you need to pay 6m-1yr up front so if on secondment make sure accomms is included or the company 'front's the money for it otherwise you might need to have £6k handy.

AD airport is an interesting place, not as crowded or busy as Dubai and i used to use it, given a choice.

if taking the/a family then you need to look into the usual stuff - schools, etc.

do not drink and drive unless you fancy 6 months in a outdoor prison! Police are approachable and usually give you one chance and one chance only to comply otherwise expect to have a bad day out!

crime is pretty much non existent except for the usual - mobile phone thieft is not unheard of. Muggings/robberies are few and far between as the police and judicial system punishes them hard!

Not a bad place, 6 months sounds just fine but you might want to make sure you get a free return trip ticket to use at some stage during you residency.

It get fecking hot July-Aug - up to 50 degrees and in some cases higher!

if thinking of going then this is a must: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abu-Dhabi-Co.../dp/9948033183

Coffin Dodger

I want to go there but only to have a ride on this http://www.ferrariworldabudhabi.com/...ula-rossa.aspx

Leslie

So you mean that they apply the law and if you break it you get a significant penalty, enough to discourage you from doing it again!

Just like we used to do in this country.

Les

Rescue Dude

iTrader: (11)

As Zohan says above really.

Got a mate who works at the GP circuit there and he enjoys it. Everywhere has aircon, plenty of places to buy beer and you can find loads of places to buy a bacon butty.

When you do go we are NOT interested in how much petrol is!!

My mate fill his Shogun up for about a tenner!!

The Zohan

We could learn a lot in some ways! our main draw back is do-gooders and the PC fools who are slowly strangling this country down... Their jails are not nice places to be! theft will see you doing 6 months for a first offence. On top of that prison bring shame on the families of those convicted and is seen as a bad thing!

They have little drug or drink related crime which makes a BIG difference!

I am not a fan of Sahria law or think it suitable for this country but our prisons ar full of re offenders who see it as nothing more than three free meals a day and easy street.

Steve vRS

I would be by myself but the family might come out for a holiday.

It would be 3 weeks in country and then 1 week back in the UK.

Working as an engineer in the oil and gas industry.

Tell me more about the bars and beaches

Steve

pslewis

One thing I will say ... the people of Kuwait didn't understand The Flintstones ... but the people of Abu Dhabi Do!!!

Steve vRS

That joke, is the reason I am considering going

My version uses Saudi Arabians as the foil rather than Kuwait-es.

Steve

Steve vRS

How conservative is the dress code for women (my wife is asking about beaches). I know from Dubai when I have been that private hotel beaches are OK but in public, you must respect the local customs.

Can you buy Escort or Razzle or is one best advised to take ones own single handed literature.

Steve

The Zohan

pretty much the same as Dubai - In public women are required to cover their legs (above the knee) and shoulders/arms to around the elbow - and all the bits in-between. Swimwear is ok on the beaches - no thongs or topless!


Suggest you get your jazz mags in the Uk and take them with you

The airport looks like a set from the first Star Wars film - it is great

Leslie

I see no reason why gaol should be a nice place anyway.

All that PC guff won't make them feel sorry for what they did, they just laugh behind their hands and re-offend when they get the chance.

A term in prison should be regarded as a punishment and should be an experience that they don't want to repeat.

Bring back hard labour I say.

Les

martin850

iTrader: (51)

Me too, the whole place looks mental. Super fast rollercoaster has got to be done

tony de wonderful

That's a dreadful rotation. Are you office based then?

Steve vRS

Yes.

Changing my mind now, might be Aberdeen instead!

Steve

Jaybird-UK

Be very careful what you take in

Cocodamol and poppy seeds have both sent people to jail.

The Zohan

Really, you cannot manage 6 months of that rotation?!? It would be good work and life experience and not exactly a hardship by any means.

Glynmitch

I also work in the oil & gas sector and have been to Abu Dhabi 3 times in the last year. I agree with everything that Zohan has said apart from the temps. It was getting up to 60 degrees last summer I love the place. Lots to see and do. Lots of bars and restaurants and enough malls to keep any shopaholic happy. Do it, especially if it's only for 6 months. I live just outside Aberdeen and if I had the choice between to two places to work I wouldn't be choosing Aberdeen

Oh and BTW, I've just landed a new job and will be doing month on month off in Dubai

The Zohan

60 degrees - ****!, the hottest i ever saw/experienced was 54 degrees, walked half way across the sand towards the sea (some 250yds), put the towel on my head, soaked it in water and walked back to the car and went home. Way too hot for me!

boxst

I'm sure you realise that this was a joke, really don't do this!

Encrypted files on your PC are the way to go ...

Steve

Steve vRS

All options are still open. The Aberdeen opportunity might suit my skills better. I'd be home with the kids more too.

Steve