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