Cigarettes only for kids

Sign outside Lulu Hypermarket in Riffa, Bahrain:

“Tobacco Sale is restricted to individuals below 18 years of age”

Poor adults.

Bowels for sale?

I picked this up at Carrefour in Qurm City Center. :-)

bow·el (boul, boul) n.

1. a. The intestine, gut (the part of the alimentary canal between the stomach and the anus).

Hmmm… I think they meant ‘bowl’.

Exporting a car from Abu Dhabi to Oman

1. Pay all your fines. As per the new law, you may even half to leave your car in the police compound for about two weeks if you have jumped a red light in Abu Dhabi. So make sure you plan well ahead.

2. You can export a car in your ownership even if your residence visa is canceled. Get your vehicle tested from the vehicle testing centre and get your vehicle fitness certificate. Tip: You can do the whole process at an ADNOC filling station – it is faster because there are less people. Try the ADNOC filling station at Samha.

3. Get a fresh third party insurance policy for 4 days with UAE coverage.

3. You need to take your UAE license, vehicle ownership card(mulkiya), the new 4-day UAE insurance policy, clearance letter from your bank (if mortgaged) to the traffic dept.

4. You also need to remove your Abu Dhabi number plates (yourself) and take them with you to the counter. It’s a good idea to check how these were fixed before you go to the traffic dept. If the plates were riveted, then you need to have the tools with you.

5. On providing the above documents and plates, and payment of a fee, you get the vehicle export certificate, a clearance letter for your previous insurance company to release any pending amounts to you, and an authorization to get new export plates.

6. If you did this at an ADNOC filling station, they provide you the blue export number plates. If you did this at the traffic dept in Abu Dhabi, you need to take the authorization to the License Plates Factory within the same compound and get the new plates by paying 50 dhs.

6. Fix the shiny new blue export plates to your car, keep all the papers safe and leave the country within 3 days. It is OK to stick the blue export plates with clear tape, but make sure its reliably affixed to your car. Make sure you leave the country through the border mentioned in your export certificate.

7. At the UAE side of the border, you have to prepare a bill of lading through one of the private agencies that have set up shops in the border checkpost. I used the Shikleh (Wadi Jizzi) border in Al Ain. You need to spend around 100-120 dhs for this letter. Your vehicle engine and chassis numbers will be checked by a customs officer. If you do not speak Arabic, you might end up doing a lot of legwork and being asked to wait unnecessarily.

8. Go through the UAE immigration. I exported my car after I got my Omani Employment visa and canceled my residence visa in Abu Dhabi. So this was like a final exit from the UAE for me and a first entry to Oman.

9. Drive across the border in to Oman. After a few kilometers you will reach the Omani checkpost. At the Omani side, go through the immigration. Since I was entering Oman for the first time on an employment visa, they stamped the residence in my passport from the border checkpost. The Omani immigration officers at Wadi Jizzi are very friendly and understand English well.

10. Purchase Omani insurance for your car. Dhofar insurance has a kiosk inside the immigration building at Wadi Jizzi. One week’s insurance for RO 8/- is good enough. Once you enter the country you need to obtain a 1 year insurance policy before you register the car.

10. Drive in to customs. The customs officers understand very little English and do not be surprised if you find yourself waiting in queues with truck drivers trying to bring goods in to Oman.

11. The customs officer will check your vehicle chassis and engine numbers and ask you to pay 5% of the value of the vehicle as customs duty. The value of the vehicle is based on what value is printed on your bill of lading from UAE. Most of the time the customs officer adds some amount to it, assuming you have lied on your bill of lading. It will be good to have your car’s receipt/bill issued by the dealer in UAE from whom you bought it in order to win the trust of the officer, and avoid having to pay more duty than you are supposed to.

12. Once you pay the duty, the customs officer gives you an import certificate, and a letter from the commerce ministry, both of which are in Arabic and are needed for registering your car in Oman. Make sure you get these, otherwise you will have to drive back all the way to get them!

13. Drive in to Oman. If you are a new resident (like me), you need to get your fingerprinting, health check and ID Card (smartcard), and also an Omani driving license before you can register your car.

14. You can drive the car around in Oman till you get these right, but its a good idea to obtain the 1 year comprehensive insurance policy for your car asap. You will need to do it before your register the car, anyway. The insurance company will also give you an application form for registering your car.

You also need a letter from your employer which states that they have no objection in you owning a car.

15. Get your driving license converted. See my blog post on that.

16. Go to the traffic department, get your vehicle tested (free of charge, unlike UAE). They will write the test result on the application form that the insurance company gave you.

17. Apply for registration – documents required are the application form with vehicle test pass, Omani driving license, ID card, and a credit/debit card for paying 30 riyal registration fee. They don’t accept cash payments. You also need to remove your Abu Dhabi export plates and carry them with you.

18. You will receive the vehicle ownership card with your new vehicle registration number. The whole process is quick, within 2 hours max, including the vehicle testing.

19. They will also give you an authorization for getting new number plates made. If you registered your car in Al Qurm traffic dept, you need to take this authorization to the petrol filling station near Al Harthy complex/Sultan Center, where there is a license plates factory. Simply produce the authorization and they will provide you the plates (free of charge, unlike UAE). You may have to wait a few hours though – during this time do not drive your car without a license plate!

20. You can get your shiny new yellow Omani license plate riveted to your car from the petrol station for RO 1/-.

Hope this helps. When I wanted to export my car I found that there was nothing on the internet that helped me with the steps. Each traffic dept knew only about their process, there was never a big picture. So I hope this helps all those of you moving to Oman/Muscat and exporting your car from UAE.

PS: You do not have to pay duty in Oman (or any other GCC country) if you have the receipt which states that you have paid duty for the car in the UAE (or any other GCC country). This basically means, that if customs duty was paid for a the car in any GCC country, it doesn't have to be paid again. If you purchased you car in UAE, you can try asking your dealer to give you this receipt. They might give it to you if you're lucky.

Converting to an Oman driving license

I exchanged my Bahraini driving license for an Omani driving license a few days ago.

The process is simple and takes only about two hours. You basically need to get a form filled up in Arabic and get the signature and seal of your employer. You need to bring a copy of your residence card, two photographs with blue background, original driving license from GCC country, and a copy of that license and your Debit/Credit card.

I went to the Al Qurm ROP office, and gave the documents to the reception. The person in the reception asked me to go for the eye test. The officer in the eye test section, checks your existing license and tells you if it can be converted or not – after that you do a simple eye test, and get the report.

On returning back to the reception, you get a token to wait in Hall No. 1, where the payment is made and Omani license issued. The officer inside this section checks your license and authorizes the issue of the Omani license. Once it is authorized you pay RO 20 by your credit/debit card and collect your new license.

Your license issued from the other GCC country must be at least 1 year old and valid to be eligible for exchange.

You also get to keep your old license (unlike UAE), which is good.

Legal action against trolleys!

Just sharing a funny message I found on the way:

Outside a supermarket in Muscat

Passed the Driving Test

I had my road test today at Abu Dhabi. I went to the Muroor (traffic dept) early this morning and after paying 50 dhs for renewing my learner's license (green card) and another 40 dhs for the test car, I found myself a seat on a crammed minivan, tightly packed with male test-takers.

Female test-takers do not get packed in a van, they get their names called for the test and they drive in and around the Muroor compound.

A uniformed officer took a roll call inside the van and off we were. The first test-taker from our batch was called outside the van, and he was asked to drive the test car. There were two police officers (examiners) inside the test car - one in the front passenger seat and the other in the back.

The van carrying us followed the test car, and from time to time the test car would stop and a new test-taker would be picked from the van. Each of us in the van would have a turn to drive the test car. Each 'test' lasted about 2-3 minutes and results were given in hand immediately. On finishing the test, the test-taker can hop back in the van.

My turn at the wheel was somewhere near Carrefour on Airport Road. I was asked to take a U-turn at a traffic light and then drive straight across a roundabout and then the officer asked me to stop the car, and my test appointment was returned to me with a remark stating that I passed the test.

I got back on the van, and they took me back to Muroor where I showed the appointment slip (with the 'passed' remark), one photograph, copy of passport, and 200 dhs. Within an hour, I received my UAE driving license. The license is valid for 10 years.

Most important things for the test:

• Use mirrors well. Look at the rear view mirror even when not necessary.
• Indicator lamps.
• Entry and exit of roundabouts. Follow all rules, and indicator lamps again.
• Making U-turns. Control of the car during and after U-turns.
Out of a batch of around 11 people who were on the van, only 3 or 4 failed the test. The examiners were reasonably polite and professional.

Bringing the spouse to Abu Dhabi

I got married and brought my spouse to the UAE in July. I'm sharing the process here for anyone who might find it useful.

Being an Indian citizen there was some paperwork that I had to get done from India. Like any Muslim wedding, mine was recorded in the register of a mosque at my home town in Kerala. In order to obtain a "Marriage Certificate", I had to print the contents of the certificate on a Rs. 50 stamp paper. I then took it to the Khateeb/secretary of the mosque that conducted the wedding and he signed it, and placed the seal of the organization.

Next, I had to get it "attested" by District Notary, then send it to the state capital (Trivandrum), where the Home department will attest it. Next, it has to be sent to the Home Ministry in New Delhi for a further attestation and then, the UAE Embassy at New Delhi, where they attest it again and stick a AED 100 UAE revenue stamp on it. This process (from District Notary attesting it till the UAE embassy attesting it can be done through an agent who will take care of the hassles for you). I paid the agent Rs. 2700 (Indian rupees) to get it all done and I believe it was worth the cost.

Then, I brought the marriage certificate (which by now, is covered with seals and signatures) to the United Arab Emirates. Next, I took it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abu Dhabi (on Airport Road, next to Carrefour) and paid them AED 100 to stick another stamp and attest it (again). I came back to collect it the next day.

Tip: You can reach the Ministry by taxi or you can take bus number 54.

Once I had all this done, I got the marriage certificate translated in Arabic (the organization I work for got this done for me, at my expense) and then my employer applied for the residence entry visa for my wife. Under the urgent track (100 dhs extra or so), you should receive the visa the next day.

The process is not very complicated (except the attestations part). The important thing is to make sure that both your name and your spouse's name is EXACTLY as per your passports. This is really important - I've heard that even a minor spelling error can cause your application to be rejected.

Once I got the visa in hand, we booked tickets and I asked the airline to send a visa on arrival message after showing them the original visa. On the day of arrival, I just delivered it at the Visas section in Abu Dhabi Airport (with a fee of 25 dhs) one hour before the flight arrived.

It is good to inform your spouse that a retina (eye) scan will be done at the airport on arrival.

Once my wife entered Abu Dhabi, I took her for medical tests at the New Medical Center. After obtaining medical insurance, the Residence can be stamped in the passport.

Certified Reverse-parking specialist!

After several classes at Emirates Driving Company in Abu Dhabi, I finally got the chance to appear for their 'yard test' (also known as "Reverse-Parking" test). I passed the test.

The test essentially consists of two parts: a '90-degree' parking and a 'side-parking'.

In the 90-degree parking you need to reverse the test car into a parking space perpendicular to the initial position of the car and then exit the parking space and get back to the initial position on the road.

In the side-parking, you need to reverse the car into a parking space parallel to the road and then take the car out to the initial position.

The rules are simple - (a) no moving forward while parking - you're allowed to move in reverse only. (b) No part of the car (including tyres) is allowed to touch the kerbstone, traffic cones or any other object.

The cars used in the test are EDC's orange-and-white Nissan Sunny cars. The examiner stands outside and does not sit with you in the car.

After passing the test, you are given a report by the examiner indicating that you passed, which you are supposed to take to the Traffc (muroor) counter inside EDC. They then give you a 'green card' with your photo on it and a test appointment for your 'road test' at the Traffic Dept. (Muroor). They also give you a 'certificate' of 'course completion'.

There is a long wait between the yard test and the road test.

See Part 4: The Road Test

Learning how to drive - the EDC way

See Part 1: Getting a driving license at Abu Dhabi

At Emirates Driving School, first you need to sign up for a PEP test (Dhs. 50). On the day of PEP test, one of the EDC examiners (who, by the way, are very friendly and well-mannered people) will ask you to drive a car and he will sit beside you. You will be driving inside the EDC compound, where there are traffic lights, roundabouts, etc. He will ask you to do a side-parking as well. In the end he hands out a sheet, which specifies what level of additional training you require.

There are 5 levels: Area 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The examiner will assign you to one of these training programs depending on your skill level.

You then pay the fee and register for the training. Training doesnt come cheap. Make sure you have a budget allocated for this course. The lower the Area number, the more you gotta pay (and the more time you will spend learning). EDC runs almost 24hours a day, you can even book a class at 1:00 AM. Well, quite often you don't have any other choice because it seems they are always over-booked. :-)

Make sure you got the whole day to yourself when you go for registration, the queuing system is kind of slow (or may be they need more counters there). I once had to wait 2 hours to get to the counter. Try to register for all areas together so that you don't need to get back on that queue again.

Also make sure that you have cash with you or a credit card. They don't accept debit cards for unknown reasons (even though the cards will work on their terminals). They do have an ATM machine there, but it didn't work when I needed it.

Due to strategic location of EDC at Musaffah, a taxi from Abu Dhabi to EDC in Musaffah will cost anything between Dhs. 20-30, depending on your negotiation skills. To and fro would cost you approximately Dhs. 50. That's 50 Dhs for each visit (registration, class, whatever) so you better bring all the documents, cash, photos, etc whatever you need for registration process.

Make sure you bring copies of all the required documents because you the coin-operated copier machines are usually crowded, and you also need to have coins - which you don't get from the cafeteria, unless you buy something there that gives you enough coins in change :)

Here's a breakdown of what they teach in each Area:

- Area 1 & 2: Basics - I don't know what exactly, I've never been there.
- Area 3: 45-degree parking, 90-degree parking, Side Parking
- Area 4: Stopping on the Hill/bridge. Turning into another road.
- Area 5: Driving around the EDC compound, roundabouts, traffic lights, free right turn, all kinds of parking.

After completing all 5 areas:

- Simulator: You drive a virtual car. To my techie eye, you are actually driving a Windows XP machine with 6 Dell monitors, which has a steering, a gearbox, and a real car seat (with seatbelt) attached. The 3D is marvellous. It was an enjoyable experience.
-Refresh Parking (free of cost). They teach you the 'tricks' on how to pass the reverse-parking test.
-The Yard test (reverse-parking test)

Each Area has 2 classes in which the instructor sits with you in the car and a few classes where you are on your own, and the instructor talks to you via radio installed in the car (aka "tower"). The "tower" cars have a strange box-like thing with flashing lights mounted on the roof and can move at a max speed of 20km/hr. The cars are all Nissan Sunny or Ford.

The ones who have been driving for years in the real world, and then sadly failed the Muroor test, may find it annoying at times to drive slowly inside EDC, with the instructor giving you a terse warning whenever you increase your speed unknowingly.

Bottom line, the training is really good - the instructors are great. The facilities are great, especially the driving simulators.

Hope this is useful, please post a comment!

Part 3-The Yard Test (aka Reverse-Parking test)!

Getting a driving license in Abu Dhabi

If you have a driving license from one of the listed countries like GCC countries, USA and UK, you can directly get a UAE license without further ado - but ONLY if you are also a CITIZEN of one of these countries.

What this means is that an Indian citizen like me, who has a Bahraini driving license (a GCC country), cannot get a driving license straight away - while a Bahraini citizen with the same license can get a UAE license straight away. Kind of ironical, but that's the way it is. Maybe the roads here can make out what passport you hold, so its not safe for you to drive on them if your home country is not the country that issued your driver's license. :-)

Well, rules are rules. So you need to follow them.

If you have a driving license from another country (or if you are not a citizen of one of the privileged countries), you are allowed to appear for a road test straight away after undergoing mandatory 'theory classes' worth Dhs 780 at Emirates Driving Company (EDC) in Musaffah, Abu Dhabi. Before registering for the classes, you need to spend a few hundred dirhams to "open a file" at the Traffic dept, get an eye test, etc. This can be done at EDC or at the Traffic dept.

Once you complete the 4-day theory class, you need to appear for an online exam at EDC and you need to pass the test to get a 'course completion certificate'.

After that you pay 50 Dhs. to get an appointment for a driving test at the Traffic dept. (commonly known as Muroor). On the date of the test you pay Dhs. 40 rent for the car, and get on the car with 2-3 police officers. They are very strict and keep talking to you in a mix of Arabic and Urdu/English while you drive, which is kind of distracting. You basically need to take the car out of the Muroor compound through one gate and get it back in thru the other, but this involves getting on the road, and making a free right at a traffic light or two. The officer may even ask you to drive fast and overtake other cars.

Here are some things I learnt:
1. Dont panic no matter what the officer says. Be cool. (Yes, it is tough!)
2. If you've been driving automatic gear for the better part of your driving experience, apply for an auto gear license instead of manual gear. It really helps you save your time and money.
3. Look in the rear view mirror every 5 seconds for no reason. The guy sitting in the back seat is watching. Make sure you move your head towards the mirror to show him that you're actually looking at it.
4. Try not to overtake, unless the officer shouts at you to overtake. Be careful, and overtake only if its simple to do. Make sure you look in the rear mirror, left mirror, and out the window, again in a way that's evident to them that you're looking.

Unfortunately, I flunked my first attempt. So, off I went to EDC in Musaffah, where I registered for further training.

Part 2: The driving course at EDC