Day 1 in Abu Dhabi: The Search for a Cell Phone
Total Arabic Words used: 1
Miles Walked: 8.7
Temperature: 106 F
Humidity: 14%
I am an American who recently decided to move, with my young family, to Abu Dhabi. When my wife and I announced this decision to our friends and family their responses ranged from "Dude, that's awesome!", to "Dude, you are a moron!". This blog will chronicle how correct both responses are.
My first day in Abu Dhabi was dictated by my search for a cell phone. Cell phones are required to get a UAE bank account, which are required to get paid. The only hitch is for my work I need a cell phone with no camera.
First, I needed cash. The people here are so incredibly nice! I started my effort to convert US Dollars to UAE with the concierge at my hotel. She politely refused saying she would only convert some of my money and referred me to a bank in the nearby mall. I went to the mall, more on that story in a moment, and found the bank. The banker asked me if I had seen their rates, then asked if I had seen the rates at the foriegn exchange around the corner. He then ALSO politely refused my payment and referred me to the foreign exchange counter, saving me like 7 bucks!
Well the very first store I saw in the mall was...
Suffice it to say Buca Di Beppo was not the first store I expected to see. The mall was huge! It is smaller than the Mall of the Americas, but it would still do any Texan proud. It is located on Yas Island and is immediately adjacent to Ferrari World
Well I quickly found the mobile carrier I needed in the mall. But they didn't have a single cell phone with no camera. A series of stores politely recommended me to other stores and even though I hate shopping I criss-crossed the mall multiple times. I recognized 70% of the stores, which is about all I would recognized in a US Mall. It was very modern, very clean, extremely nice and surprisingly Western. Every sign is labeled in both english and arabic. Like this street sign.
Suffice it to say you can find anything here! There are some surprising twists like the Virgin store sells very nice prayer mats right when you walk in the door. Well after walking 5 miles all over the store and Ferrari Worlds and eating my first meal here (Shake Shack!!!) I know its not at all local but it looked so good! And the chocolate shake was amazing! I decided I needed to take the 30 minute taxi ride to downtown Abu Dhabi. But first I snapped this picture of a Formula 1 racer at the Lego store.
Well for some reason all the stores of a single kind are bunched together so I went to "Defense Road" which is actually called Hazzah Bin Zayed street, but everyone knows it as Defense road. This road is literally miles of small cell phone shops. I finally found a cell phone with no camera!
Here is a picture of a cool street in downtown(ish) Abu Dhabi
American friendly cross-walk
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